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[Nander]

FIFA are corrupt as hell - we all know that, But I can't help but think the author is grasping at straws here. If enough people in the world make a prediction, a few of them will be right.

Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day.

Yeah, the so called "evidence" is pretty weak.

I think the best evidence is really the outcome of the draw. Both Brazil and Argentina got pretty much the best possible draws they could have got, when the WC is held in South America. And the outcome of the draw made it impossible for the best South American teams to face eachother before the final, making a Brazil-Argentina final a real possibility(pretty much a dream final as far as FIFA is concerned).

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

I think your Maple Chugging days have caught up to you, good sir

Also Olympics > FIFA in corruption

LOL! <3

 

[Vitten]

Me? It's much better when you have teams like that who are all somewhat close in skill level playing against each other than on super team with a bunch of shitty ones. That one team will just go on to dominate and the rest will just be left fighting for second. That isn't fun at all.

I guess it can be somewhat entertaining when two 'low' level teams are going at it if they decide to go all out and forget defense but usually it results in boring matches as the average players lack the skills to put something exciting on the field. For me, the main excitement of football comes from seeing the sport's best players doing their stuff.
If I wanted to see average boring football I'll just stick to watching our Belgian competition.

 

[Jezbollah]

Of course it was rigged. Stinks to high heaven, especially with Platini and the group France got.

 

[Madness]

I, too, wondered why the guy would open the balls out of view in front of his little podium, as opposed to the girl who did it in plain view.

But I don't think it was rigged. Just too hard no, plus what do they really get out of it? In this age of spying and social media, those involved with the rigging would either spill their guts or be caught. You don't think the US, after losing the world cup and Olympics to places like Russia and Qatar and Brazil, would monitor these things?

 

[industrian]

There is always this weird thing about sports rigging . . . why does it matter? These are games, not some legal dispute. Why should the government care if they are rigged? . . . especially in places where gambling is not legal.

No one complains that the WWE is rigged. So why should it matter for the NFL, MLB, or FIFA?

I'm not sure if I'm being trolled here or not, but the WWE is scripted. Like theatre. Because that's what it is.

 

[Skellig Gra]

The live draw wasn't rigged. It happened a long time before that.

 

[muddream]

There are no groups of death in World Cups, USA and Ghana couldn't even qualify for a European Cup. People watch WC group stages either because their team is playing or because there's nothing better on TV, what's the point in rigging that shitfest?

 

[gutshot]

I don't understand the claim for this:



And we heard that when Qatar won the 2022 WC. Why wouldn't FIFA want to break in the US market, which is huge? They most definitely do IMO, just like rugby, team handball, and every other sport out there want to make it big in the US. I think claiming FIFA has something against the United States is a flawed argument.

Note: I think stuff was rigged for Qatar and possibly this WC draw, but I don't think the entity has anything against the US and would love it if soccer was as popular as even hockey (the smallest of the big 4) in the US.

I think the theory goes that FIFA doesn't like that the US won't money-hat them to win a WC bid, like other countries do. Also, Sepp is still annoyed that the MLS doesn't follow the international soccer schedule.

There are no groups of death in World Cups, USA and Ghana couldn't even qualify for a European Cup. People watch WC group stages either because their team is playing or because there's nothing better on TV, what's the point in rigging that shitfest?

 

[FDC1]

So much salt

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

I don't give a fuck if it is rigged or not. if you want to be the best you have to beat anyone who comes before you.

Azzurri 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Konosuke]

I don't want to defend FIFA or anything but wouldn't a Brazil - Portugal final be as exciting and dramatic as a Brasil - Argentina one? Given the whole ex-colony thing, Scolari having coached both, S. America vs Europe and Neymar vs Ronaldo? Why would FIFA place Portugal in the group of death then?

 

[IceCold]

I don't want to defend FIFA or anything but wouldn't a Brazil - Portugal final be as exciting and dramatic as a Brasil - Argentina one? Given the whole ex-colony thing, Scolari having coached both, S. America vs Europe and Neymar vs Ronaldo? Why would FIFA place Portugal in the group of death then?

Portugal isn't in a group of death.


A Brazil vs Portugal final would be crazy due to the history but Brazil vs Argentina/France would be crazier due to their rivalry in the sport.

 

[AndyD]

anything could be true of him if he was a bouncer back in the day.

Pretty much. He seems like a genuinely interesting person.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Portugal isn't in a group of death.


A Brazil vs Portugal final would be crazy due to the history but Brazil vs Argentina/France would be crazier due to their rivalry in the sport.

Brazil/France have a rivalry???

Best final would be Brazil vs Italy. South America's greatest versus Europe's. Italy going for the 5th gold star and Brazil doing everything to stop them and claim number 6.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Portugal isn't in a group of death.


A Brazil vs Portugal final would be crazy due to the history but Brazil vs Argentina/France would be crazier due to their rivalry in the sport.

Every member of the group made the knockout stages in the last Cup. If that's not a group of death I don't know what is.

 

[IceCold]

Brazil/France have a rivalry???

Best final would be Brazil vs Italy. South America's greatest versus Europe's. Italy going for the 5th gold star and Brazil doing everything to stop them and claim number 6.

Did you forget 1998 and 2006? They are Brazil's kryptonite.

 

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Yeah, the so called "evidence" is pretty weak.

I think the best evidence is really the outcome of the draw. Both Brazil and Argentina got pretty much the best possible draws they could have got, when the WC is held in South America. And the outcome of the draw made it impossible for the best South American teams to face eachother before the final, making a Brazil-Argentina final a real possibility(pretty much a dream final as far as FIFA is concerned).

I'm sure people would have made the same point whichever two teams were separated though, and, statistically, it was more likely [four to three] than not that Brazil and Argentina would end up on different sides of the draw.

Overall, the draw system is about as fair as it can be considering FIFA's desire to mix the confederations as much as possible.

 

[SKINNER!]

Brazil/France have a rivalry???

You serious?

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Did you forget 1998 and 2006? They are Brazil's kryptonite.

Two games does not make a great rivalry. 06 ended any relevance between the two when it was the last world cup of the guys from the 98 final.

You serious?

yes, two games does not make a great rivalry and the 06 one was pretty one sided to France.

 

[FDC1]

Did you forget 1998 and 2006? They are Brazil's kryptonite.

and 1986. They didn't beat us in world cup since 1958.

 

[Coen]

Yeah, the so called "evidence" is pretty weak.

I think the best evidence is really the outcome of the draw. Both Brazil and Argentina got pretty much the best possible draws they could have got, when the WC is held in South America. And the outcome of the draw made it impossible for the best South American teams to face eachother before the final, making a Brazil-Argentina final a real possibility(pretty much a dream final as far as FIFA is concerned).

True, but for that to happen, Brazil has to probably either face the reigning world champion or the reigning runner-up after the group stage. And Argentina will probably face either Germany, a top contender next summer (and my personal favourite), or Portugal, with the best player in the world in its squad. If FIFA really wants a Brazil - Argentina final, Blatter should've paid attention to the second round.

 

[Madness]

There are no groups of death in World Cups, USA and Ghana couldn't even qualify for a European Cup. People watch WC group stages either because their team is playing or because there's nothing better on TV, what's the point in rigging that shitfest?

Sure the US team doesn't have the star power or talent that many of the top European teams do, but to dismiss them outright is ridiculous.

Last world cup, they drew against England and Slovenia. Not to mention in 2002 beat Portugal in the group stage etc.

The only problem is, soccer gets 1/10th the funding, attention, and early development that sports like football, baseball or basketball get. It is changing quite rapidly, the expansion of MLS, more select youth soccer clubs, etc.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Also, as far as finals go the best one for FIFA would be Brazil-England. That would draw the biggest final TV audience.

 

[Eyeh4wk]

Did you forget 1998 and 2006? They are Brazil's kryptonite.

I would say Zidane was Brazil's kryptonite.

 

[Lambda Pie]

Dumbest thing I've ever heard.

it's really not. USA has the easiest qualifying group for the WC, by far. we could drop Cyprus, Iceland or Liechenstein in the CONCACAF zone and they would run a train.

USA in Europe would get dropped and plugged by any Swiss, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Wales, N and R Ireland, etc.

 

[Madness]

it's really not. USA has the easiest qualifying group for the WC, by far. we could drop Cyprus, Iceland or Liechenstein in the CONCACAF zone and they would run a train.

USA in Europe would get dropped and plugged by any Swiss, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Wales, N and R Ireland, etc.

Yeah I really started to think about it for a while and qualifying in Europe would be tough. I removed that part. There are a lot of European teams that didn't qualify for the world cup, and teams like Poland would have beaten the US.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

it's really not. USA has the easiest qualifying group for the WC, by far. we could drop Cyprus, Iceland or Liechenstein in the CONCACAF zone and they would run a train.

USA in Europe would get dropped and plugged by any Swiss, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Wales, N and R Ireland, etc.

While i would love to agree with you, playing against quality opposition on a consistent basis would improve the US immensely.

 

[gutshot]

it's really not. USA has the easiest qualifying group for the WC, by far. we could drop Cyprus, Iceland or Liechenstein in the CONCACAF zone and they would run a train.

USA in Europe would get dropped and plugged by any Swiss, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Wales, N and R Ireland, etc.

Liechenstein? Liechenstein?? LOL no.

You're obviously ignorant of football outside of Europe. You should probably stop talking now before you make yourself look more foolish.

 

[Lambda Pie]

While i would love to agree with you, playing against quality opposition on a consistent basis would improve the US immensely.

only a gunner to say he would like to see the USA getting better. Wenger has polluted your mind.

Spoiler

Ozil

 

[andycapps]

This was the most damning part to me. But yeah, I agree that it was probably rigged.

Exhibit C: The Unrolled Strips of Paper

Then comes what is perhaps the most (a relative term, we remind up) convincing suggestion that something fishy was going on. When Lima lets go of her slips of paper after holding them up to the camera, they each immediately roll back up, just as you’d expect from a paper that had been rolled tightly into a ball. Yet the papers that Valcke holds up to the camera in the video don’t roll up quite as quickly nor tightly when he lets go. The implication? The members of the group were fixed, but their order was left to chance.

Of course one possible explanation would be that the sheets with the names of the countries were rolled up at a different time, and maybe even by a different hand, than those with the positions on them. So as damning as the video may appear at first blush, it's far from a case-clinching argument.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

So much salt

i wonder, is any non US/UK english media whining about this draw?

 

[Lambda Pie]

Liechenstein? Liechenstein?? LOL no.

You're obviously ignorant of football outside of Europe. You should probably stop talking now before you make yourself look more foolish.

shit, what a lapse. my mistake, i meant Luxembourg.

 

[gutshot]

shit, what a lapse. my mistake, i meant Luxembourg.

Either way, I think you are underestimating the quality of CONCACAF and, more specifically, the US. True, it doesn't have the depth of UEFA, but it has some solid sides which can play you tough, especially at home.

And yes, the US does have a relatively easy route to qualification but the fact that they dominated their qualifying tournament shows their quality. I'm sure it would be tougher if they had to qualify out of Europe, but I would like their chances.

 

[Anoregon]

i wonder, is any non US/UK english media whining about this draw?

US media doesn't actually talk about soccer.

 

[rooflapimp]

Either way, I think you are underestimating the quality of CONCACAF and, more specifically, the US. True, it doesn't have the depth of UEFA, but it has some solid sides which can play you tough, especially at home.

And yes, the US does have a relatively easy route to qualification but the fact that they dominated their qualifying tournament shows their quality. I'm sure it would be tougher if they had to qualify out of Europe, but I would like their chances.

And I think you are grossly overestimating the quality of CONCACAF. I am sure Panama, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, etc are really fierceful opponents.

And no, with the exception of the US and Mexico, it has no "solid sides". In fact, it has the very opposite of solid sides.

 

[liger05]

England are going out so the draw was all good!!

 

[tbm24]

And I think you are grossly overestimating the quality of CONCACAF. I am sure Panama, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, etc are really fierceful opponents.

And no, with the exception of the US and Mexico, it has no "solid sides". In fact, it has the very opposite of solid sides.

I have no clue how anyone could otherwise relative the rest of the world regions.

 

[muddream]

And I think you are grossly overestimating the quality of CONCACAF. I am sure Panama, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, etc are really fierceful opponents.

And no, with the exception of the US and Mexico, it has no "solid sides". In fact, it has the very opposite of solid sides.

Mexico might be the pound for pound worst nation in the history of football now that I think about it. It's the #1 sport in a country of 120 million supposedly hard workers, yet 3.5 million Uruguayans consistently produce better players. It's hard to tell which CONCACAF nation is the biggest laughing stock.

 

[gutshot]

And I think you are grossly overestimating the quality of CONCACAF. I am sure Panama, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, etc are really fierceful opponents.

And no, with the exception of the US and Mexico, it has no "solid sides". In fact, it has the very opposite of solid sides.

I said solid, not quality. A solid side in my book is one who can play you tough at home and pull out a draw and maybe a shock win. Turkey, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, etc. are basically comparable to Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, etc. going by the Elo ratings.

And Luxembourg, who would apparently "run a train" through CONCACAF, is outranked by 21 CONCACAF teams.

So please, let's not act like UEFA's bottom-feeders would dominate CONCACAF just because the US does. Both confederations have a comparable mid-level and bottom-level, it's just UEFA has more (and better) top-level squads.

 

[rooflapimp]

I said solid, not quality. A solid side in my book is one who can play you tough at home and pull out a draw and maybe a shock win. Turkey, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, etc. are basically comparable to Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, etc. going by the Elo ratings.

And Luxembourg, who would apparently "run a train" through CONCACAF, is outranked by 21 CONCACAF teams.

So please, let's not act like UEFA's bottom-feeders would dominate CONCACAF just because the US does. Both confederations have a comparable mid-level and bottom-level, it's just UEFA has more (and better) top-level squads.

The FIFA rankings mean nothing, you should know better than that. And the thing is, there are very few "bottom-feeders" in Europe that wouldn't stand a good chance in COCACAF.

Do you honestly believe that Turkey, Ireland, Slovenia and Poland are comparable to Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica? You seem to know very little about football outside of CONCACAF, if that's the case. Good luck getting a draw in an away game in Istanbul...

Edit: And I never said that the lesser teams in Europe would dominate CONCACAF. All I'm saying is that I think the US would have a difficult time if they would qualify with European teams. In no way would they be able to win their group. Placing second? Maybe, depending on the group, but that's also a big maybe.

 

[Grover Cleveland]

i wonder, is any non US/UK english media whining about this draw?

lol at the US media even talking about a World Cup draw.

This was the extent of mainstream coverage on the draw in the States:

"Oh look, the US national soccer team is in a group with Germany and Portugal. Oh well.

Back to Tebow and Lebron"

 

[John Kowalski]

I think your Maple Chugging days have caught up to you, good sir

Also Olympics > FIFA in corruption

 

[muddream]

Americans lack the poise to play The Beautiful Game, they're a brutish people and no amount of media coverage will change that. Just look at what they're "good" at: One's about being tall, the other's about steroid cattle running into each other for a few minutes between commercial breaks and then there's baseball, a sport so boring that the followers prefer to exclusively talk about statistics.

 

[tbm24]

Americans lack the poise to play The Beautiful Game, they're a brutish people and no amount of media coverage will change that. Just look at what they're "good" at: One's about being tall, the other's about steroid cattle running into each other for a few minutes between commercial breaks and then there's baseball, a sport so boring that the followers prefer to exclusively talk about statistics.

I don't blame someone for finding baseball boring, but is a game of finesse. Not comparing it to futbol but it's not a brute sport.

 

[Perfect Blue]

Eh, yeah probably. As long as the matches aren't fixed I don't care.

 

[ElyrionX]

Eh, yeah probably. As long as the matches aren't fixed I don't care.

Ummm, about that........

 

[gutshot]

The FIFA rankings mean nothing, you should know better than that. And the thing is, there are very few "bottom-feeders" in Europe that wouldn't stand a good chance in COCACAF.

Do you honestly believe that Turkey, Ireland, Slovenia and Poland are comparable to Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica? You seem to know very little about football outside of CONCACAF, if that's the case. Good luck getting a draw in an away game in Istanbul...

Edit: And I never said that the lesser teams in Europe would dominate CONCACAF. All I'm saying is that I think the US would have a difficult time if they would qualify with European teams. In no way would they be able to win their group. Placing second? Maybe, depending on the group, but that's also a big maybe.

I was using the much-more legit and respected Elo ratings. But you can pick or choose whichever ranking system you want: Elo, FIFA, SPI. They all tell the same story.

There's no doubt the US would have a tougher time of qualifying out of Europe. But I still think they'd qualify more often than not. Of course, there is no way of knowing that without the US playing in the UEFA qualifiers, which obviously would never happen.

So let's try and use the biggest tournament in the world to figure out how the US stacks up against the European teams, shall we? The US has advanced to the knock-out stages in 2 out of the last 3 World Cups. Here are a list of European teams who have done the same:

Italy, Portugal, Netherlands

And here is a list of Euro teams who only advanced out of group play in 1 out of the last 3:

France, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia

Surely if the US would struggle so mightily to qualify out of UEFA, they wouldn't be able to make it through the WC groups as consistently as Portugal or Italy and more often than France and Sweden, right?

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Americans lack the poise to play The Beautiful Game, they're a brutish people and no amount of media coverage will change that. Just look at what they're "good" at: One's about being tall, the other's about steroid cattle running into each other for a few minutes between commercial breaks and then there's baseball, a sport so boring that the followers prefer to exclusively talk about statistics.

At least Americans have sports they're good at ouside of the olympics, even if only because they're the only country that plays those sports seriously. What do us Brits have? Darts?

Spoiler

Huge darts fan here. Fuck anyone who says it isn't a real sport.

 

[muddream]

At least Americans have sports they're good at ouside of the olympics, even if only because they're the only country that plays those sports seriously. What do us Brits have? Darts?

Spoiler

Huge darts fan here. Fuck anyone who says it isn't a real sport.

Formula 1, which as a truly global sport holds much more weight than those American sideshow events combined.