Fantasy Football World Cup Warm Up – Community Analysis
Over to you….! As you may have guessed the usual team of FF247 writers are enjoying a bit of well earned rest and relaxation at the moment and they immensely enjoyed watching our 8 guest writers squirm uncomfortably under the pressure of coming up with the ‘Group Analysis’ for you all, which we are pleased to say went down a storm in the end. Well done to you all!
Rather than bother the regular writers to do any detailed research when they are sunning themselves we felt it would be more relevant, and easier (!) to pull together in one article, what the community members are posting regarding the World Cup teams. We have seen many relevant and informative posts about the teams involved, be it line-ups for friendlies, scores, scorers, assist-a-makers (Kagawa), injury news or squad selection.
As such we have left this open as a rolling article for this week. We have added what we have found so far to each team and will add to it daily from any relevant posts and credit the person who does so.
There are many friendlies to be played before the tournament itself begins and we don’t expect that every single team will be covered by any means but we have pooled together what we have so far and if anyone posts any review or line-up, or any relevant information we shall endeavour to add it on here and keep this article going as a live update up until the kick off of the World Cup itself. So if you feel you have something to add please do so and we shall post it on here accordingly. If we miss it and you think it should be added just shout!
****LEAGUE CODES**** ****LEAGUE CODES**** ****LEAGUE CODES**** ****LEAGUE CODES****
McDonald’s / FIFA game –
Mcdonalds Fantasy World Cup, you can register here. Two comps in this –
Pottys Perfect and Dodgy comp leagues. Codes will be e-mailed out by Potty
**********FF247 league. Simply search for FF247 in the league section and press Join**********
Mirror game –
http://fantasyfootball.mirror.co.uk/CleverTV/en/mirror/fantasy/27/entryhome.do?fromSelect=true Two comps in this –
Bench’s Banterbury League (again a classic not a H2H) League Code 1390566-14031
Elleffcees Doubles League. League Code 1401709-15411
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GROUP A:
BRAZIL
Brazil w/ a strong line-up for their pre-WC friendly vs. Panama:
Cesar; Alves, Luiz, Dante, Marcelo; Gustavo, Ramires, Oscar; Hulk, Neymar, Fred. (FC Sanchez) 3.6.14
Brazil 4-0 Panama
Neymar goal
Alves goal
Hulk goal Neymar assist
Willian goal
Up until the first goal (25th min), Brazil were really poor. They made individual mistakes such as bad passing and poor touches. Their defense was absolutely dreadful; they tried to regain the ball quickly by pressuring, but only ended up making fouls instead. They would seriously struggle against a team that passes a lot like Spain. Panama had nothing after the first goal, without Brazil impressing any more. They have a lot of work to do – especially defensively – if they wanna be a challenger for the WC.
Neymar was the target forward and was heavily involved in the play. He was both a finisher and an assister. He also took close-range free-kicks and corners. What more can you ask for? Fantasy must-have. (Tekno) 3.6.14
Regarding my comments on Brazil’s poor defensive play:
Brazil employs something known as tactical fouling. This is a very cynical and destructive tactic that is done to prevent the opponent from attacking. It involves pressuring high and chasing the ball immediately after possession is lost. The role of players like Neymar and Oscar is to chase the ball, at best winning it back, at worst committing a foul. They were the two players who committed the most fouls in the Confederations Cup. This of course means that it wasn’t just poor defending as I originally thought, but delibirate fouling to sabotage the opponent. This also means that Brazil’s players can be expected to get minus points from fouling (in the McDonald’s game, -1 point is awarded for every 3rd foul)
Read more here: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27665182 (Tekno) 5.6.14
Oscar and Maxwell with assists too. (The B ) 4.6.14
Brazil 1 v 0 Serbia
Everyone’s favourites to win the WC, Brazil, struggled against a tough Serbian team who refused to lie down & let the samba boys take the piss…in fact it was the Serbs who created more of the first half chances, with Brazil being out muscled, especially in the air…
Coach big Phil scolari put out his big guns, showing us a glimps of his starting 11 in the big showpiece opener against Croatia next sat.
The breakthrough finally arrived, against a chorus of boo’s from the expectant Brazilian fans, … On 58mins, with a angled cross from Silva, to the strangely named Brazilian striker.. “FRED”..?
(I’d work on that mate…how about fredinho or Fredaldo…the possibilities are endless) …. Anyway he chested the cross down & buried the shot, to make it 1-0 …. Game over.
Big Phil’s starting XI
Cesar
Alves / Luiz / Silva / Marcelo
Gustavo / Paulinho / Oscar
Hulk / Fred / Neymar
Subs used… Maxwell, Fernandinho, Willian, Bernard, Jo, maicon.
Danger men
All of them…!!
See them in the final…. To lift their 6th World Cup….maybe..? (Bigpopz) 7.6.14
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CROATIA
Croatia 2-1 Mali
Perisic x2 (Tekno) 1.6.14
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MEXICO
Mexico 3-0 Israel
Mexico (5-3-2)
13 José Corona
22 Paul Aguilar
3 Carlos Salcido
2 Francisco Rodríguez
5 Diego Reyes
7 Miguel Layún
17 Isaac Brizuela
18 Andrés Guardado
8 Marco Fabián
10 Cuauhtémoc Blanco
19 Oribe Peralta
Goals by Layun (x2) and Fabian (Tekno) 1.6.14
Mexico 3-1 Ecuador
Montes, Fabian, dos Santos
Guagua (Tekno) 1.6.14
Mexico 0-1 Bosnia
Dzeko goal (Tekno) 4.6.14
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CAMEROON
Cameroon: tandjé; Djeugoué, Matip, Nkoulou, Bedimo; Enoh, Song, Mbia, Moukandjo; Choupo-Moting, Eto’o (The B ) 1.6.14
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GROUP B:
AUSTRALIA
Tim Cahill (Australia) scored against SA (The B ) 1.6.14
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NETHERLANDS
Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out of the World Cup with a calf injury. (Mito)
Netherlands 1-0 Ghana
RvP (Tekno) 1.6.14
Netherlands 2-0 Wales
Holland were terrible. Van Gaal wanted to check 4-4-2 for weaker opponents, my o my we are bad in 4-4-2. We’re gonna play 5-3-2 this worldcup or … whatever van Gaal calls it. That system could work, 4-4-2 is impossible for Dutchies, it’s suicide. (Raziel) 4.6.14
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CHILE
Chile 3-2 Egypt
Diaz
Vargas x2 (Tekno) 1.6.14
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SPAIN
Spain 2-0 Bolivia
Spain (4-3-3)
23 José Manuel Reina
5 César Azpilicueta
3 Gerard Piqué
4 Javi Martínez
14 Alberto Moreno
8 Xavi
15 Ander Iturraspe
20 Santi Cazorla
13 Juan Mata
9 Fernando Torres
11 Pedro
Torres goal (pen)
Iniesta goal
(Only saw 2nd half)
Spain were actually entertaining to watch. They played with short passes of course, but more direct and with a higher tempo than I expected. many though passes that gave Torres many chances. Had they played a striker that wasn’t complete shit they would have gotten more goals. I’m serious, I’m usually more tolerant of people who are commonly disliked but Torres is 120% shit. He tried a chip, and ended up shooting the ball 10 meters above the goal.
If Spain play like this in the WC, their chosen striker (unless that striker is Mr. Shit) can be a serious fantasy asset. Iniesta also was dangerous with his passing, he’s probably most likely to get assists.He scored a long-shot goal as well. Got a much more positive view of Spain’s attacking players after this game. Can absolutely see them wreck weaker teams to shreds. Iniesta + Costa on my radar. Can’t really say much about their defense as Spain dominated possession. (Tekno) 1.6.14
Azpi could be the budget man we are looking for. Now nailed to play in the Spain squad. (The B ) 1.6.14
Spain 2 – El Salvador 0
David Villa steps of the bench to score twice as Spain complete their final World Cup warm-up game against El Salvador.
Diego Costa Starting upfront as the lone striker, looked lively following his CL injury heartbreak & was awarded a penalty after just 3mins…..
new Chelsea signing Fabrigas stepped up, but blazed over the cross bar….
0 – 0 HT
On the hour mark Alonso fired in a deep ball to Sergio Ramos his Knock down found Villa who headed in from close range 1-0..
Spain squandered several chances to put the result out of sight, until Man city’s David Silva (on for Fabregas) set up Villa in the 87th min, to seal the win…
Starting xl
4-2-3-1
Casillas
Juanfran / Ramos / Javier Martinez / Alba
Alonso / Koke / Iniesta / Pedro / Fabrigas
Costa
Subs used.. De Gea, xavi, Villa, Cazorla, busquets, silva.
Danger men.
Silva…little magician
Ramos…not just a good defender, great at set pieces.
Costa….big powerful goal machine.
Torres….. Ok maybe not…! (Bigpopz) 7.6.14
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GROUP C:
COLOMBIA
So tonight at halftime Colombia were coasting 2-0 but inside 5 mins of the 2nd half it’s 2-2 with Senegal!
Pottys thought’s?….. Stay clear of the white powder smuggler’s. (Potty) 1.6.14
Now for a response to Potty on the 2-2 draw from Colombia. They made 4 changes at halftime including removing 2 of the starting 4 defenders. Their keeper was the 3 rd string keeper who is being taken to the world cup as a prize and for leadership. He doesn’t even play on a club team. Both goals were preventable if one of our other 2 keepers would have started,that old man has no reflexes. Both were goals that he should have stopped. Plus Colombia were not using their most important players for any part of the game. I was satisfied with the game as it gave us an opportunity to look at our other guys.
It is the big day for teams today as they must turn in their 23 person squads. (Mito 21 @FantasyFooty247) 2.6.14
Our third string keeper was our keeper in the 98 world cup. Colombians feel they need him as a coach type. All I know is the other two better not get hurt or tossed otherwise I rather have England’s keeper from the last world cup ( Americans thank you ) than that vertically and horizontally challenged statue.
http://youtu.be/a8coyD37vHM these were the goals scored on him on Saturday. The second one doesn’t look as bad because of the angle, but I seen it from different angles and it was just as bad as the first one. (Mito 21 @FantasyFooty247) 2.6.14
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GREECE
Greece travelled to Portugal and drew 0-0.
For me Greece and Japan will qualify. (Potty) 1.6.14
Greece 0-0 Nigeria (Tekno) 4.6.14
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IVORY COAST
Bosnia 2-1 Ivory Coast
Dzeko x2
Drogba (Tekno) 1.6.14
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JAPAN
Japan 1-0 Cyprus
Japan beats Cyprus and Kagawa came up with the assist of the only goal scored.
Surely people might now look at him and pick him to get the most out of him in the group. (The B ) 1.6.14
Japan 3 – 1 Costa Rica
Write Japan off at your peril. (I quite fancy them to win the group)
Write Costa Rica off at your leisure.
(0-1) Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring in the 31st minute, outracing Japan defender Yasuyuki Konno and flicking the ball into the back of the net.
(1-1) Japanese captain Keisuke Honda, a forward for AC Milan, left-footed a centering pass to half-time sub Yasuhito Endo who equalized for Japan in the 60th minute.
(2-1) Shinji Kagawa swept a right-footed shot home to give Japan a 2-1 lead.
(3-1) Yoichiro Kakitani, who came off the bench in the 76th minute, added an insurance goal in stoppage time for the Blue Samurai.
Line Ups:
Japan
14 T. Aoyama 22 M. Yoshida 18 Y. Osako 16 H. Yamaguchi 13 Y. Okubo 15 Y. Konno 10 S. Kagawa 6 M. Morishige 4 K. Honda 2 A. Uchida 1 E. Kawashima
Subs (used)
11 Y. Kakitani 9 S. Okazaki 7 Y. Endo 21 H. Sakai
Costa Rica
1 K. Navas 19 R. Miller 17 Y. Tejeda 16 C. Gamboa 15 J. Diaz 9 J. Campbell 10 B. Ruiz 7 C. Bolanos 5 C. Borges 4 M. Umana 3 G. Gonzalez
Subs (used) 14 R. Brenes 21 M. Urena 22 J. Cubero (Bryan Munich) 3.6.14
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GROUP: D
ENGLAND
Hart; Johnson, Jagielka, Cahill, Baines; Gerrard, Henderson; Lallana, Rooney, Welbeck; Sturridge (Tekno)
England 3-0 Peru
Sturridge goal
Cahill goal Baines assist
Jagielka goal Cahill assist (corner by Baines)
Not very impressed by England. Their play often stagnated and they struggled to break down a defensive Peru. Reckon they’ll do better against Uruguay than Italy, if the Uruguayans play more attacking. The first goal was directly after a throw-in, and the other came on a corner. So really no goals from open play. Don’t think Sturridge should be lone-forward, he should have less responsibility and more freedom, allowing him to do his own thing and score wonder goals like he did today. Welbeck and Lallana (side attacking midfielders) often went in centrally, allowing Baines and Johnson to come on overlaps.
Baines took free-kicks from the left and corners from both sides. After this match I’d only really suggest Baines and Cahill, Baines has a potential for assist due to set pieces and will get points from both recoveries and crossing. Cahill is as always a serious threat on set pieces. Sturridge always has a potential for goals as well, but I think England are more of a threat on set pieces than from open play. (Tekno) 1.6.14
In Miami its currently the monsoon season, and that England training had to be cancelled yesterday cause of heavy rain. haha we’re off to a good start (Photek) 3.6.14
England 2 – 2 Ecuador
Difficult to say really as it was all experimental from us too. Realistically we played 1, maybe 2 from the start who will begin the Italy game. We played Rooney purely to get some match sharpness and perhaps Milner will start if we go a tad more defensive for that one. Oxlade Chamberlain had a decent run out, Barkley was ok, Smalling and Jones continued their Waldorf and Statler impressions, Wilshere got cramp / may have broken his leg but who can tell the difference, Sterling got sent off for a challenge where he slipped a bit, Lambert scored a belter, Shaw was quiet, Lampard was old. (Inittowinit) 4.6.14
England line-up vs Honduras
England: Hart, Johnson, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Gerrard, Henderson, Lallana, Sturridge, Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: Foster, Lampard, Smalling, Jones, Milner, Lambert, Sterling, Barkley, Shaw, Stones, Flanagan, Forster.
That’s pretty much the starting X1 for next week. (Inittowinit) 7.6.14
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URUGUAY
Uruguay 1-0 Northern Ireland
Stuani (Tekno) 1.6.14
Uruguay 2 v 0 Slovenia
England’s W.c group rivals Uruguay continue their warm up preparations by winning 2-0 at home against Slovenia in Montevideo.
With Luis Suarez still not fit ….(hope it stays that way) …it fell to, Cavani and Substitute striker Stuani to provide the goals…
Cavani headed the first from 10 yards, when he powerfully met a floated cross from the left by Diego Forlan (remember him) just before Halftime..
PSG striker Cavani was involved in the second goal in the 76th minute, when he took the ball away from Slovenia goalkeeper and handed Stuani an easy tap in…
Danger men…
Cavani… Tall, skinny & lethal in front of goal…
Suarez…. Let’s hope he stays sidelined…otherwise it could get embarrassing… (For England)
Forlan…. Not the player you remember at Man U. (That was an imposter).. The real one is clever, tricky & scores loads for his country…
Could go all the way…..!!! (Bigpopz) 6.6.14
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ITALY
Italy 0-0 Ireland (Tekno) 1.6.14
By the way. Italy Luxembourg was 1-1…. (Raziel) 4.6.14
Italians looking out of form..?
As England prepare for there opening WC game against the Azzuri, the Italians are looking decidedly ordinary…
No wins in 7 (1 defeat 6 draws)
A lackluster 1-1 draw against a Luxembourg team ranked 119th (1 above Mozambique ..!)
With the influential Richardo Montilivio out of the WC with fractured shin bone…ouch
The Azzurri lined up with a 4-5-1 formation, with Andrea Pirlo and Marco Verratti playing at the heart of midfield and Mario Balotelli operating as the lone striker.
So.. England have nothing to fear….or do they, … The italanians are past masters at starting slow in world cups, & just as you start to doubt them…their in the final..?
Danger men to watch..
Pirlo..whose about 43 but is an expert at unlocking stubon defences plus a free kick magician..!
Balotelli… Well we all no this guy…amazing one minute, completly nuts the next….speed, strength, finishing, all in his locker..!
Write the Azzuri off at your perill…?
Arrivederci….. (Bigpopz) 6.6.14
BigPopz – nice write up, mate !
Italy are still driving in “neutral gear” , I would say…
Italy should have won their last game (they hit the woodwork twice + the visitors netted a late equalizer from a corner).
They continue to experiment though and are doing this so close to the WC…
Verratti can fully replace Montolivo, imho – and in many elements even outperform him (remember my words)…
Verratti, De Rossi & Marchisio are expected to be the crucial men in midfield…Off course under the guidance of the “master of puppets” = Pirlo !
A lot will depend on Mad Mario’s “mood” on whether Italy can convert all chances created by the midfield players in goals – but do not forget the name of Ciro Immobile who will get a lot of space as all eyes will be on the “why always me” overconfident Mario…
If Klopp picked him, I have no reason not to trust his scouting abilities and doubt Ciro’s qualities (though, I follow the Calcio a lot and am a Juve fan in who’s co-ownership he was – so I know the lad can easily become a future star…especially after leaving the “catenaccio” league for the more attacking minded Bundes League)…
Add Mattia Destro (Italy’s most clinical finisher in 2014), Lorenzo Insigne & Antonio Cassano who will be entrusted for that creative flair in and around the opposition box – so off course we have no reason to believe that the Italians are not to be feared !! (HL) 6.6.14
Yeah I agree!
Especially Pierlo I think shouldn’t be underestimated…
Don’t forget about immobile – top scorer in the Italian league, a real workhouse forward and utter class. His goal against Roma was a screamer!!
I personally think he could pose a threat to Balo’s starting place, or a least give the Italians a real weapon on the bench – imagine having him to put on with half an hour left! Fully charged and wanting to prove himself to the manager?
Balo has a very good record with Italy though, and i can’t see them doing a Liverpool and putting two class forwards on together… (billisBob) 6.6.14
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COSTA RICA
Japan 3 – 1 Costa Rica
Write Japan off at your peril. (I quite fancy them to win the group)
Write Costa Rica off at your leisure.
(0-1) Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring in the 31st minute, outracing Japan defender Yasuyuki Konno and flicking the ball into the back of the net.
(1-1) Japanese captain Keisuke Honda, a forward for AC Milan, left-footed a centering pass to half-time sub Yasuhito Endo who equalized for Japan in the 60th minute.
(2-1) Shinji Kagawa swept a right-footed shot home to give Japan a 2-1 lead.
(3-1) Yoichiro Kakitani, who came off the bench in the 76th minute, added an insurance goal in stoppage time for the Blue Samurai.
Line Ups:
Japan
14 T. Aoyama 22 M. Yoshida 18 Y. Osako 16 H. Yamaguchi 13 Y. Okubo 15 Y. Konno 10 S. Kagawa 6 M. Morishige 4 K. Honda 2 A. Uchida 1 E. Kawashima
Subs (used)
11 Y. Kakitani 9 S. Okazaki 7 Y. Endo 21 H. Sakai
Costa Rica
1 K. Navas 19 R. Miller 17 Y. Tejeda 16 C. Gamboa 15 J. Diaz 9 J. Campbell 10 B. Ruiz 7 C. Bolanos 5 C. Borges 4 M. Umana 3 G. Gonzalez
Subs (used) 14 R. Brenes 21 M. Urena 22 J. Cubero (Bryan Munich) 3.6.14
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GROUP E:
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland 1-0 Jamaica
Switzerland
1 Diego Benaglio 2 Stephan Lichtsteiner 20 Johan Djourou 4 Philippe Senderos 3 Reto Ziegler 23 Xherdan Shaqiri 11 Valon Behrami 15 erim Dzemaili 18 Admir Mehmedi 10 Granit Xhaka 9 Haris Seferovic Drmic (sub) goal (Tekno) 1.6.14
Switzerland 2-0 Peru
Switzerland (4-5-1)
1 Diego Benaglio 2 Stephan Lichtsteiner 5 Steve Von Bergen22 Fabian Schär 13 Ricardo Rodriguez 18 Admir Mehmedi 11 Valon Behrami 10 Granit Xhaka 8 Gökhan Inler 14 Valentin Stocker 19 Josip Drmic
Shaqiri goal
Lichtsteiner goal (Tekno) 3.6.14
Switzerland vs Peru (2-0).
Although the Swiss have apparently lost only one game in 18 in the past two years, I wasn’t that impressed with their back line, who looked somewhat tentative defensively and going forward. In terms of chances, the game changed when Shaqiri (Bayern Munich) came on in the second half and started to create. WC groupstage-wise, there may be a clean sheet and a goal or two in there for the Swiss against Honduras, but prolly not against France. Might be a pretty even game vs Ecuador. (FC Sanchez) 4.6.14
Rodriguez and Inler assists. (The B) 4.6.14
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FRANCE
France 4-0 Norway
Ruffier; Debuchy, Koscielny, Sakho, Evra; Pogba, Cabaye, Matudi; Valbuena, Giroud, Griezmann
1-0 Pogba goal Valbuena assist
2-0 Giroud goal Griezmann assist
3-0 Remy goal Debuchy assist
4-0 Giroud goal Valbuena assist
This result was more due to Norway being defensively poor than France being good. France would get the job done against weaker teams with such an performance but would need to up their game against top teams. Still, France had an air of efficiency about them, and was a threat most of the time they attacked. Remy looked good the 25 mins he played; will probably challenge for a starting spot and I would be surprised if he doesn’t get at least some gametime. (TEKNO) 1.6.14
France 1-1 Paraguay
Griezmann (Tekno) 1.6.14
Franck Ribery ruled out of the World Cup through injury. (Tekno) 6.6.14
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HONDURAS
Honduras 0-2 Turkey
Honduras (4-4-2) 18 Noel Valladares 3 Maynor Figueroa 7 Emilio Izaguirre 5 Víctor Bernárdez 21 Brayan Beckeles 20 Jorge Claros 8 Wilson Palacios 15 Roger Espinoza 17 Andy Najar 9 Jerry Palacios 11 Jerry Bengtso (Tekno) 1.6.14
So the horendus Hondoras get thrashed by the irresistible Israel in a 4-2 mauling.
Select players from the “H” team at your peril. (Potty) 2.6.14
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ECUADOR
Mexico 3-1 Ecuador
Montes, Fabian, dos Santos
Guagua (Tekno) 1.6.14
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GROUP F:
ARGENTINA
Argentina 3 v T & Tobago 0
So the score line suggest Argentina had an easy game against T&T.. But it took a first half injury time goal to get them going…
Corner from Di Maria (get him in your sdes) headed in by Palcios which the goalie fumbled in over the line.. 1-0
Messi having one of those quiet games…steps up & thunders a trademark free kick against the inside of the post…where Macharano, quickest to react scrabbles the ball over the line….2-0
With household names Aguero, Zab, Higuain, Garay, on the bench, the Argies had plenty of options to experiment, eventually subs where made….
As T&T started to tire the inevitable happend, & with a swift counter Attack the 3rd goal came with a super long ball from Macharano to the impressive Palacios who once in the box squared to the on coming Rodriguez 3-0…
Danger men..
Messi…erm..just Messi
Aguero …you’ve seen what he can do..even if not 100% fit
Di Maria…luv this guy..speedy, tricky, energetic, goal scoring superstar..
These will win the World Cup….you heard it hear first…! (Bigpopz) 6.6.14
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NIGERIA
Nigeria 2-2 TGPland
Nigeria lineup
Ejide Odunlami Egwueke Yobo Elderson Gabriel Chukwuma Obi Uzoenyi Babatunde UcheboAmeobi (Tekno) 1.6.14
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IRAN
Iran v Angola also ended 1-1, can’t find lineups though (not that I’ve really tried) ;p (Tekno) 1.6.14
Tekno, and FF247 community at large…. fear not for everything you need to know about Iran vs Angola is here….
http://www.goal.com/en/match/iran-vs-angola/1650829 (Bryan Munich) 1.6.14
Official Iranian correspondent here. Both these games were dull so I didn’t bother watching them. But here are the lineups which bear almost no resemblance to each other. Hope this helps guys.
Iran 0 – 0 Montenegro (May 26)
R. Ahmadi J. Hosseini K. Heydari H. Beikzadeh P. Montazeri A. Sadeghi J. NekounamA. Dejagah M. Shojaei A. Teymourian
R. Ghoochannejhaddahanajachoonannechoochootraintogatwickbesttripieverhad. (not racist)
Iran 1 – 1 Angola (May 30)
Iran lineup (9 changes from previous game!):
D. Davari H. Mahini A. Alenemeh S. Beitashour A. Dejagah M. Khanzadeh E. Hajsafi G. Hadadifar J. Nekounam S. Azmoun K. Ansarifard (Bryan Munich) 2.6.14
Iran 2 – 0 Trinidad & Tobago
(Scorers – Haji Safi 45, Ghoochy 54)
Starting Line up.
A. Haghighi J. Hosseini P. Montazeri A. Sadeghi K. Heydari J. Nekounam A. Dejagah A. Teymourian E. Hajsafi M. Pooladi R. Ghoochygoochygoowhosbeenagoodlad.
Haji Safi gave Iran the lead in first-half stoppage time with a thrashing 45 yard over head kick that broke the crossbar.
Iran won a penalty in the 50th minute after Dejagah was brought down in the area, but Nekounam could not convert the chance, so may face public slogging.
Iran did get their second goal, though, as Ghoochygoochygoowhosbeenagoodlad ran past 14 players (5 of them twice) before posing with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani for a brief photo opportunity. Ghoochy smoothly nutmegged his country’s leader then unleashed a… oh f*ck it, who cares. You’re not getting any Iranian players are you. (Bryan Munich) 8.6.14
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia 2-1 Ivory Coast
Dzeko x2
Drogba (Tekno) 1.6.14
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GROUP G:
USA
USA beat Azerbaijan 2-0 tonight. Goals scored by Mix Diskerud (Michael Bradley would have gotten a fantasy assist since his shot was saved) and Aron Johannsson (assist from Brad Davis). Just a few thoughts:
It wasn’t a spectacular game from the US at all, but a win’s a win. It’s good for confidence right? A few players could be good for your fantasy team if they’re cheap enough. My picks would be Fabian Johnson (defender), Alejandro Bedoya, and Michael Bradley (both mids). Dempsey didn’t play tonight because of a minor groin injury, but apparently it was precautionary. And to put the win into perspective, Azerbaijan only let in 11 goals in WC qualifying, 3rd fewest in their group behind Russia and Portugal. I would say it’s a solid win for us. (Josh721) 1.6.14
Any win is a confidence boost, but Azerbaijan aren’t a good team, not by a long shot. Looking at the U.S World Cup group, i think they’re the favorites to finish bottom of the group with the strong possibility of being slaughtered by Germany and or Portugal. As for fantasy picks, nah, group is too strong, there’ll be much better options elsewhere i think. (NIN)
USA 2-1 Turkey
Johnson, Dempsey (Tekno) 1.6.14
USA’s starting lineup vs Nigeria: Howard; Johnson, Cameron, Besler, Beasley; Beckerman, Jones, Bradley, Bedoya; Dempsey, Altidore
Klinsmann playing with 3 center mids this game. Not sure if that’s what he plans on doing in Brazil because I’ve never seen him do this before. Should be interesting. (Josh721) 7.6.14
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GHANA
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PORTUGAL
Portugal 0-0 Greece (Tekno) 1.6.14
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GERMANY
Germany: Weidenfeller; Durm, Hummels, Mertesacker, Boateng; Khedira, Kroos, Ozil, Reus, Muller, Gotze (The B )
Germany 6-1 Armenia
Germany
22 Roman Weidenfeller 20 Jerome Boateng 17 Per Mertesacker 5 Mats Hummels 4 Benedikt Höwedes 9 Andre Schürrle 16 Philipp Lahm 18 Toni Kroos 6 Sami Khedira 21 Marco Reus 13 Thomas Müller
Used subs 2 Kevin Großkreutz 19 Mario Götze 8 Mesut Özil 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger10 Lukas Podolski 11 Miroslav Klose
Goals: Höwedes, Schürrle, Götze x2, Podolski, Klose (Tekno) 6.6.14
Reus subbed off with injury. (Tekno) 6.6.14
Just saw a vine of the injury; looked like he twisted his knee to me. Won’t be surprised if he misses the WC with an injury like that. (Tekno) 6.6.14
Germany 2-2 Cameroon
Muller, Reus
Eto’o, Choupo-Moting (Tekno) 1.6.14
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GROUP H:
RUSSIA
Norway 1-1 Russia
Shatov (Tekno) 2.6.14
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SOUTH KOREA
South Korea 0-1 Tunisia
Korea Republic lineup Sung-Ryong Jung Yong Lee Young-Gwon Kim Jeong-Ho Hong Suk-Young Yoon Sung-Yong Ki Kook-Young Han Ja ol Koo Chung-Yong Lee Heung-Min Son Chu-Young Park (Tekno) 1.6.14
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BELGIUM
Lukaku scored a hatrick against Luxembourg, and De Bruyne scored as well, but it was a penalty. Hazard wasnt on the pitch, so he seems like the second choice PK taker. Chadli was also among the goals, and Januzaj played for Belgium for the first time. The manager did not look so keen on playing Januzaj in World Cup in the starting berth. (The B ) 1.6.14
Kevin de Bruyne was the best and most important player for the Red Devils during qualification. Not Hazard, not Lukaku, not Benteke (Raziel) 1.6.14
Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Van Buyten, Kompany, Vermaelen, Witsel, Dembélé, De Bruyne, Hazard, Mertens, Lukaku (The B ) 1.6.14
Sweden 0-2 Belgium
Lukaku, Hazard (Tekno) 1.6.14
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ALGERIA
Algerie 3-1 Armenia
Belkalem
Ghilas
Slimani (Tekno) 1.6.14
Pottys in the House So my outsiders for Group H the Algerian foxes have won again.
They beat Romania 2-1 but they played a superb style of attacking football which was….
Agressive, inventive and talented.
Believe me these will not be a pushover. (Potty) 5.6.14
Thanks guys….
But Non of those really do it for me….
I’m temped by the likes of…
7.5 m bracket
Costa
Balotelli
Mandzukic
Goetze
Dzeko
6 – 6.5m bracket
Villa
Torres
Mata
Boney
Levezzi
Who ever I go for Need to be nailed on…..?
Out of those, I might go for Dzeko or Balotelli. Except with Balotelli, you can expect either a couple of goals or a red card. Haha. Dzeko would be a good pick, Bosnia are a decent team. I would consider Vargas though. He plays alongside Alexis Sanchez and they should create a lot of chances for each other. By the way, he has 12 goals in his last 15 games for the national team. Not a bad scoring record.
Dzeko, Costa, Villa, Giroud – those are my suggestions.
Dzeko is the star man on Bosnia, guaranteed starter, and I’d expect him to score at least 2 goals.
Costa should start up top for Spain, but hasn’t play’d much with the team which probably will hurt his performance.
Villa might not start, but will probably get some game-time and could easily score coming from the bench.
Giroud is also not nailed on, but like Villa I’d expect him to get goals if he plays.
not sure how many of the 6-6.5m players are actually first choice.
Lads – is your formation locked for the three games once it starts? Can you sub a midfielder for a forward for example?
I think your formation will be locked. At least that’s my guess. Everything will be revealed on Thursday…
Josh, Tekno , Dreamers…..
Thanks a lot great feedback much appriciated…
Will continue to tinker….
Hi potty. Sorry I’m late been out but I am now in
Alan
Thanks Alsed
My money is on you to Win Group B of The Perfect 32
Go Als Go Als Go
Potty
Hey folks. Anyone actually ENJOYING the McD Fantasy selection process? What a HEADACHE! And NEVERENDING!!! I need a BIGGER BUDGET!!!! I seem to want to stack my DFs and Fwds which inevitably makes me thin on MFs. Anyone figured out which position might profit the most in terms of points? Or have they allocated points so it will come out pretty even?
I think holding mids could come out well actually. Box to box mids are the best candidates in my opinion. Say Yaya, Vidal ( if healthy ) types.
Mito — I had Vidal especially looking at his first game (but it seems he will miss that one). And if there’s anything we’ve learnt from this season in the BPL, it is never go w/o YAYA, EVER, though granted, Ivory Coast is a different setup. Have you watched any of the Ivory Coast games? I remember that he was rested for a couple of them? What about Xabi Alonso for Spain? Or dare I say Gerrard? Haha.
Mito
I currently have J-Rod, Lahm, Busquets, Di Maria, and De Bruyne as my mids. Got 0.5 in the bank. Anyone you would replace/upgrade? Don’t want Yaya or Vidal due to their injuries.
I have Mascherano and the German guy schwasbtehngog so far. Waiting to see on Yaya and Vidal’s availability. Also have JRod. I might load up in the midfield and go cheap in the back as there is better value to be had on defense in my opinion. Forwards are overpriced for this format.
I’ve got most of my cash locked in on the Mids, most of them are defensive for the recovery points but I’ve got Di Maria in there to look cool.
Ronaldo starts against Ireland.