Archive: Iran
Who Do You Like in Group D?
Ok, it's Friday, time for some predictions. Here's some background on Group D: - Steve Goff's group analysis (written the day of the draw). - The Post's short team previews (also written in December). BBC team previews: - Angola - Iran (please note the emphasis on Iran's one WC victory -- vs. the U.S. in 1998) - Mexico (also some good reading here) - Portugal My thoughts: Hard to imagine huge surprises in this group. Iran and Angola just don't seem viable picks to advance. Yes, the U.S. wishes it got the seed the Mexicans did. Oh well. 1. Portugal 2. Mexico 3. Angola (this is my only surprise -- the Angolans will play a good team close and beat Iran, taking third) 4. Iran...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 5, 2006; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (28) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
Some items of interest: - Angola's Gilberto is out -- snapped Achilles' tendon (that has to hurt). "Gilberto was a regular for his country in last year's qualifying campaign and also helped his club to win the 2005 African Champions League." - Iran's coach admits his team is, at this point, not well prepared for Germany. But it's not because of the geopolitical tension, he swears. - Some doubts persist about Tim Cahill's recovery. Cahill plays for Everton and, he hopes, Australia this summer. - Brazil F Oliveira is holding out hope he can still land a spot on the team. Best part (emphasis mine): Yet even if he were fully fit, the task would be far from easy, facing as he does fierce competition from players such as Fred of French champions Lyon and Nilmar of Corinthians. - Poland loses a friendly to Lithuania. Despite the fact that a...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 4, 2006; 09:55 AM ET | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
Kind of a slow news day so far ... - South Korea's Lee Dong-Gook is definitely out. Did you know his club team is the Pohang Steelers? - FIFAWorldCup.com does the Q&A thing with Croatia Coach Zlatko Kranjcar. The 1998 semifinalists (ask me about the game in Germany vs. Lyon) were pretty solid in qualifying: Unfancied prior to the start of the preliminaries, the Croats marched unbeaten through their section with a record of 21 goals scored and just five conceded, leaving opponents such as Sweden, Hungary and Bulgaria trailing in their wake. - Speaking of Croatia, Iran has a Croatian coach. He has annouced a couple of friendlies ... Arranging FIFA World Cup warm-ups has been a problem for Iran, particularly on home soil, with many international sides apparently reluctant to travel to Iran amid mounting tensions over the country's disputed nuclear programme....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 14, 2006; 09:36 AM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
