Other qualifying matches

Scott Fisher34 said:I’m with nimblemarlin17 on this one. These guys are mentally fragile. Their managers cave to the media pressure way too easily, which forces them to play a bunch of flashy nobodies who end up blowing the whole thing (like Ortega back in '98 against France).
They’re just like their biggest rivals, the Americans.

Plus, they have that massive issue where they actually have too much talent for the national team. Brazil doesn't deal with that. You know exactly who’s starting upfront; there's no debate. But the Argentine manager is stuck picking between five or six guys who are all basically equal. At the last World Cup, he had to choose between Batistuta, Cresp, Lopez, Saviola... not to mention Palermo, Cruz, Riquelme, and Ortega. If they just had one superstar like Brazil has with Ronald, it wouldn't be such a headache. It's the same mistake the Italians and the Dutch make. They’re always paralyzed by indecision over the roster.

nimblemarlin17 said:They’ve got a massive surplus of talent that actually belongs on the national team. The manager is basically forced to pick between five or six guys who are all equally elite. Back at the last World Cup, he had to choose between Batistuta, Cresp, Lopez, Saviola... not to mention Palermo, Cruz, and Riquelme.

When you look at the Americans, they have perhaps the deepest roster of high-end talent out there. But their coach always seems to pick the wrong lineup.
Maybe they should just hire a European to run the show?

Finally snagged those three points!👍

In my view, Brazil possesses even more high-caliber talent than Argentina does.
The issue lies within their attacking lineup.

Ronaldinho is superior to any Argentine striker.
Adriano is better than any Argentine attacker.
Ronaldinho Gaucho is better than any Argentine forward.
Luis Fabiano is better than anyone from Argentina, perhaps excluding Saviola—though he'll likely surpass him after a few good seasons playing in Europe.
Diego is far too young to judge, but by the time the World Cup rolls around, he’ll be ahead of the pack.

And then there are those who aren't even remotely close to being national team caliber, such as:
Rivaldo is better than Lopez.
Romario—who still scores at a rate of one goal per game—is still better than Cruz, Lopez, or even Batistuta, given his current level of play.
Edmundo isn't ready to be discarded just yet; he's in the same tier as Cruz.
Diogo Rincon is better than Palermo, Cruz, and Lopez.
Elber is on par with Cruz.
Jardel is better than Cruz.
Ailton is better than Palermo, Cruz, and Lopez.
S. Anderson is similar to Cruz.
Then there is Anderson Love—that Brazilian phenomenon from Santos Rigoberto, if I recall correctly—along with Diego; in two or three years, they will dominate Europe. Then you have Nilmar. It's absurd; the Brazilian league alone has five or six strikers who could start for any national team in the world.

And so on, and so forth.

That is precisely the dilemma. Brazil simply has a vastly superior attack and arguably the best midfield in the world; they are just a step ahead of everyone else. Even their defense isn't the sieve it used to be; they've produced quality defenders and reliable keepers over the last fifteen years. Taffarel and Marcos were always fantastic for Brazil, and Dida has been excellent at Milan. Their fullbacks are top-tier too. If they ever develop real tactical cohesion, like Arsenal, they'd run through the French and Germans with ease. More kids play soccer on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro every single day than there are registered players in all of Germany.

Jerry Evans57 said:I think that amazing Brazilian player from Santos Rigoberto is his name, or maybe I got it wrong, but

Robinho?

I suppose Brazil is a lock for the championship....
And Lippi couldn't care less. One only needs to look at who he actually put in the attacking lineup, versus the players he conveniently left out...

Marina, aren't Ronaldinho Gaucho and Ronaldinho actually the same guy? He just dropped the Gaucho part once he hit superstar status. 😁

Alright, after what feels like ten different threads and a dozen PMs, I finally realized that the Ultras actually started a thread about the World Cup 2006 qualifiers way back. So, let's just move the conversation over there and keep discussing the other matches. If you think a specific game needs its own dedicated space, feel free to start a new thread—but make sure there's an actual reason for it (like, say, a high-stakes matchup against Canada or Mexico and Mexico).

In the meantime, I want to get your take on something. Is it better to follow the World Cup qualifiers in one massive, all-encompassing thread, or should we just kick off a fresh topic every two matchdays (Sunday through Wednesday)? Topic closed.😉