Subject: FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 (Draw results)

Maxwell > Filipe, although Filipe was acceptable. Even Maxwell+Filipe was acceptable to me, actually, although Marcelo has his days :P

I also think Adriano is underrated - I prefer him to Alba most of the times (better defending, better decision making, great shooting), unless you really need top speed.

Alba is great offensively, but in the back...yeah, a bit risky at times.

what do you think about Brazil's attack? Is Jo any good...?

I was expecting to see Leandro Damiao, he was supposed to be next big Brazilian star...30m € for transfer to Europe etc...and now what? :P

no luis suarez? seems so many good players gonna be missing through injury :/

good :) now neymar and half of spain team and no falling and theatre playing ;)

I hope sokker Will make a world championship as They did with the european championship :)

These guys have already won the cup in 2006...
We are generous... we want to let the opportunity to other players to lift the cup also...
;-)))

How many players from '06 team left in Azurri?

Buffon, Barzagli, Pirlo, De Rossi...and that's all, right?

So it's time for another World Cup trophy. ;P

Anyone playing the WC FIFA Fantasy (Mc Donalds) game on fifa website? :)

only some feggits

So, who will win?!

I've spent all my money on Uruguay and France (2€ for each.. :p) Hoping for them to do well. Brazil and Germany would be too common and "easy" squads to bet on, although they'll go pretty far for sure.

Though it would be a huge surprise, i'd really like Belgium to win this tournament. But it will be tough for european teams to win cause of the heath there.

Which heat? Have you checked the weather in cities hosting WC matches? Or the fact that it is winter in most of Brazil right now?
And in any case, the comparison will depend very much on which European country you are talking about... Would Pedro or Silva perform better if the tournament took place in Norway? :P

Hmm, you're right, forgot about the southern hemisphere has different seasons. I was remembering the WC'94's hot temperature.

Winter? In the Tropics? And even if, they'll have temperatures above 25°C in almost all the places anyway. Plus, most matches take place in the middle of the afternoon.
But the bigger problem will be the humidity. In Manaus it's probably somewhere around 200% :p

Winter? In the Tropics?

Yes, winter, that time lapse between winter's solstice and spring's equinox.

Have you checked the weather in cities hosting WC matches?

In any case, the comparison will depend very much on which European country you are talking about... Would Pedro or Silva perform better if the tournament took place in Norway?
Will, perhaps, Argentina, Chile or Uruguay be better suited to the alleged tropical weather?


Actually, I'm just back from Zurich. Have you checked the weather there? Seems nicer in Porto Alegre to me, but maybe I'm wrong and European teams are at a huge disadvantage :P

I didn't claim that the weather is an advante for the South/Central American teams. But I think heat and more important humidity can be a problem in general. I just checked a few cities, temperatures around 25 (but it's already evening now) and humidity up to 90% in Manaus for example. The many teams that travelled to Brasil in advance didn't do just for fun, but to acclimate.

There is good reason matches in Spain or at tournaments in Europe are played in the evening. As I said, in Brasil some will be at noon or early afternoon. That will be tough for the players.