wish the u.s. team didn't have so many question marks, particularly on defense. gooch's injury killed us because he was really rising to the level of recognition. i'm glad he can play, but you have to wonder if he will be the same player. bocanegra is pretty good, but also recovering from injury. the rest of the defense, however is very questionable. of course at keeper, howard is a big help, but defense is far more than about good keeping. i would say, in a penalty shootout, which many teams end up having to go through in the knockout phase (if we make it), howard could show to be a huge help.

either way, the u.s. team is better than we have ever been before, in terms of quality players. offensively, particularly at midfield, we are pretty darn good. donovan has really improved and matured. he has looked like a star since the confederations cup and while at everton. dempsey is another player, who i like, also due to his attitude. if beasley can keep on track to what he is capable of he gives us another nice weapon with his speed, and of course, bradley as one of our young players with promise, and holden a pretty decent player off the bench.

jozy had a rough year at hull, but at 19 he still shows signs of being a star. tough call as to who will play the other forward spot. maybe gomez, but my guess is he comes on as a sub to provide a needed scoring punch. i have a suspicion donovan plays up front, actually, since we are deeper at midfield.

england looked shaky and nervous against japan, and while i have been picking them to win this year, i am increasing skepticism again due to the pressure that seems to always affect them in big tourney's. maybe this time it will be different.

it's tough to call this year who will win.

argentina is another question mark, due to maradona's insanity.

brasil is always a favorite, but aren't as superior as the past, and are in this year's 'group of death.'

the netherlands have a lot of talent, especially up front, and could win.

germany is not as good this year, i think, but i think they have a good chance at the quarters.

france is also full of question marks, so hard to see them going too far, but who knows. maybe with the awareness of domenech leaving it could help.

portugal is another contender, but being in this year's 'group of death' is not going to help. too bad for cote d'ivoire, as well.

all that being said, spain is probably the favorite.

again...i'm hyped!!

Silverfuel wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:i seriously can't wait for the world cup - i took off the week of the first round so I can watch plenty of games. got my spain david villa and italy canavaro jerseys and i'm ready to go.

I plan on meeting up with guns to watch some of the Brasil game. You down?

where at?

firefly wrote:So ruddy excited. Forget England, we look cack. Wazza can only take us so far before the rest ofthe team have to weigh in, and I'm not confident of that happening. Glad Walcotts not on the plane but can't understand why Adam Johnson wasn't taken, he's in great form, and can really bang the ball into the box.

Keep an eye out for Aaron Lennon, there's not a single defender who can stay with him. If hecanget his delivery right, Crouch will be top scorer.

saw lennon playing against japan in the friendly. japan was handing it to you guys in the early stages of that game but lennon impressed me w his runs up the wing. kid has talent and too much speed.

That is all.

Another team I'm looking forward to see is Cameroon.

respect...but of the probable starters and key bench players for the u.s. team most play in top european leagues.

this is espn soccernet's most recent projected lineup:

G Tim Howard, Everton (England)
D Jonathan Spector, West Ham United (England)
D Oguchi Onyewu, AC Milan (Italy)
D Jay DeMerit, Watford (England)
D Carlos Bocanegra, Stade Rennais (France)
M Stuart Holden, Bolton Wanderers (England)
M Michael Bradley, Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)
M Maurice Edu, Rangers (Scotland)
M Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy (U.S.)
F Jozy Altidore, Hull City (England)
F Clint Dempsey, Fulham (England)

only donovan is listed as playing in a lower league (mls), but he shined on loan at everton this season, and is clearly the u.s.'s best player. for those that don't know, jozy is also a property of villareal (spain), loaned out to hull this past year (he did not do very well, to be honest, although hull was also TERRIBLE overall)

i'm not saying the u.s. team is all that great or even that good. the u.s. team does not have a superstar like rooney, c. ronaldo, fabregas, messi, yet it is capable of causing some damage in the tournament. again, no disrespect to your assessment of the u.s. team, but it is no longer full of inexperienced players who have not competed against top talent around the world. young u.s. talent is far more watched by big clubs in europe and elsewhere, as you saw the biggest transfers for american players ever take place over the past few year. however, the u.s. is also not on the level of top nations around the world...but i think top 15-20 is a fair ranking (fifa has the u.s. currently ranked at 14...and yeah, i know their rankings are not usually that good).

this team beat a legit spain squad in the confederations cup semi-final last summer and took a 2-0 lead on brazil in the final, before losing. the current u.s. team is banged up, missing davies (who played very well then) and has some big question marks (as many teams do), especially on defense, but i think the chances of making the round of 16 is a reasonable expectation. it isn't going to be a cakewalk, but the group the u.s. is in this year is much better than the last time around with (eventual champion) italy, czech republic, and ghana.