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Post by Neko Bazu on Sept 6, 2009 12:04:04 GMT -1
Full list of qualifiers to date: HOSTS South Africa ASIA QUALIFYING Japan Australia South Korea North Korea EUROPE QUALIFYING Netherlands SOUTH AMERICA QUALIFYING Brazil So North and South Korea are both gonna be there... that could be interesting ;D  |
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Post by crawleyred on Sept 6, 2009 20:11:20 GMT -1
Argentina may not qualify.
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Post by Neko Bazu on Sept 6, 2009 20:43:51 GMT -1
They're certainly not well-placed, but I'd be amazed none-the-less if they didn't make the top five (and surely their 5th-place play-off spot against the 4th-placed CONCACAF member would be a gimme?). I'd certainly bet their fans consider this a poor qualifying campaign, though...
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Post by Pete the Wolf on Sept 6, 2009 22:19:25 GMT -1
Just looked at Argentina's final three fixtures. Paraguay away will be tough, but Peru at home and Uruguay away should bring them a minimum of four points, which should see them through, particularly with their nearest rivals Colombia and Ecuador closing their campaigns away to Paraguay and Chile respectively.
You're right about the fans though I imagine.....Maradona will need to produce a spectacular performance next summer.
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Post by Neko Bazu on Sept 6, 2009 22:34:17 GMT -1
Can Maradona do any wrong, though, or will it be the team's fault, sullying the national hero's name?
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Post by Pete the Wolf on Sept 6, 2009 22:41:17 GMT -1
GB and Ovechkin have a better knowledge of South American football.....I'll let either of them answer that one.  |
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Post by Neko Bazu on Sept 6, 2009 22:42:51 GMT -1
IWEDFM should have a good insight too, though appearances are somewhat erratic...  |
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Post by Pete the Wolf on Sept 6, 2009 22:47:36 GMT -1
Good point ;D I wonder if he went.
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Post by officergroyman on Sept 7, 2009 5:09:24 GMT -1
Can Maradona do any wrong, though, or will it be the team's fault, sullying the national hero's name?  |
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Post by Golden_Boy™ on Sept 7, 2009 15:42:25 GMT -1
Can Maradona do any wrong, though, or will it be the team's fault, sullying the national hero's name? Absolutely he can and indeed he has been doing wrong. Though on the last point you make in that sentence, I'd argue his hero status will always be there.. Contrast that to Dunga, the coach of Brazil - as a player he was a defensive master, he has mirrored Brazil into that and as much as it is so unlike Brazil to employ that style of play - the results have been fantastic on the whole. They are so ruthlessly efficient it's like they are German! Not so with Maradona and Argentina... I knew when he was appointed it'd be a very interesting story to follow. For a start - he's tactically incompetent, he has little knowledge on that side of things - this has been evident. If you look back at the games played since he took over as coach, you'll see. He also has a habit of picking players who in many people's minds should be nowhere near the national squad. The defence has been a problem but he has done nothing to improve that, not dropping Heinze and calling up an uncapped 29 year old and playing a guy with 3 caps v Brazil in a WC qualifier....well it's clear that's mental, especially when the talent is there. Something that's also insane in my view - is his refusal to pick players who blatently deserve to be picked, for me the fact Gonzalo Higuaín hasn't even got a cap is a disgrace. Of course when he was appointed it was a gamble, as time has gone on it looks like many of the frailties mentioned when he took over have been exposed and thus the results haven't been good, which is why they find themselves in the position they are in. They can still qualify, but Maradona's inexperience at this level has made that task much harder. I think they will be in South Africa for the World Cup, but whether Maradona will still be coach I'm not sure. |
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