Writing about teams #19-12

These were even more fun to write about than #24-20. These teams have become much more familiar to me and writing about them. Team #19 was Team USA, who I have the most knowledge about so far, so my analysis was much more comprehensive than previous posts. Obviously, there I have a rooting interest, so that was a fun post for me. I think USA can do well at this tournament, but it will take some great, unified performances.  #18 was Chile, who is a high ranked team in the world but I still didn't know much about them. I was interested to research and learn more about them as they were such a highly touted team in the World. 

Team USA

#17 was England, who is such a massive team in the world, so I know a lot about their team. A good friend of mine is an avid England supporter, so I know he'll be mad about where I slotted them. However, they're in a group with Uruguay and Italy, who are powerhouses, so I don't think England makes it out of their group even though they're quality. #16 was Switzerland, who I don't think is very good, so I think they're the worst of the 16 teams I picked to advance out of the groups. #15 is Russia, who always is composed in playing. I watched them a lot this year since they were in the same qualification group with my favorite team Portugal, so I know they're a decent team. But I think #15 is fair.

England National Team

#14 is Cote D'Ivoire, who has so much talent, but never comes together, so I have them at #14, where they could finish much higher, or plummet. Croatia is #13. They're really underrated, and they have Luka Modric, who I think is a fantastic player. But they're not going to be able to score and defend with the top class teams. Lastly, Bosnia and Herzegovina was at #12, where i think will be a great finish for a team at their first World Cup. They're up and coming, but not ready to compete with the top class teams. Look out for Edin Dzeko. 

Only 11 teams left, which will be fun to finish up.

Writing about teams 24-20

This week, the teams were a lot easier to write about in comparison to the other teams I wrote about.  I actually had a lot of knowledge of the teams I wrote about.  

For Algeria, Nabil Bentaleb plays for Tottenham, who I support in the Barclays Premier League. Algeria also has Islam Slimani and Nabil Ghilas on the team, who play for two teams in the Portuguese Liga that I hate, Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto respectively (I support SL Benfica, so these are their two biggest rivals.) My hatred for Porto and Sporting runs in my blood (my mother was born in Portugal, and her family all support Benfica), so naturally I watch a lot of Sporting and Porto matches in hoping that they lose miserably. Slimani and Ghilas are really top quality players on teams I hate, so I could write about them easily and (somewhat) objectively. I get the last laugh though, because Benfica are going to win the league easily this season.  Algeria has some good players but beyond these three players, they lack quality. Hence, 24th ranked for me.

As for Ecuador, I only had extensive knowledge about Antonio Valencia who plays for the most supported club in the world, Manchester United. It was easy to write about him and his blazing speed, but Felipe Caicedo and Renato Ibarra were two players I had limited knowledge about. Ecuador didn't fancy me, so I slotted them at 23rd.

Nigeria is one of those teams that has some players who are top class, so I had little difficulty writing about them. Victor Moses, Victor Obinna, and Emmanuel Emenike all play top flight soccer in Europe, so I am familiar with them. Nigeria could make it out of the group phases, but I really don't think there's enough depth here. 22nd ranked.

Greece. Greece was the first soccer team to break my heart, beating Portugal in the Euro 2004 final which was held in Lisbon. It sucked. I had a lot of family at the game who were devastated. Greece always plays such a structured, sound, team game. They probably will make it out of the group phases just because I doubt them in this tournament. Giorgos Karagounis is like 100 years old (actually 37) and is still playing at a high level. Plus, they have the Greek Jesus (Georgios Samaras) and also Kostas Mitroglou who is a really good striker. 21st ranked for me, but probably will beat Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, and USA and win the World Cup, just because I am doubting them and the Greek Jesus.

I told you he looks like the Greek Jesus.

Last up, Cameroon. This is the best African team at the moment, but they always crap the bed. I have them ranked at 20, but they can definitely make it out of the group stages. They were pretty easy to write about, since Samuel Eto'o, Nicolas N'Koulou, and Alex Song all play for world class clubs. I really think they're going to be a pain in the ass for Brazil, Croatia, and Mexico, and could advance, but right now, I think they'll miss out on the knockout stages and finish 3rd above Mexico.

Ok, so now you've heard from me. Let me hear from you in the comments section. I hope you guys can follow what I'm writing. If not, I would definitely recommend scrolling through my blog if you haven't by now. Get at me at Around the World Cup With 32 Teams. Thanks for reading!

Writing about teams 32-25

Writing about some of these teams was really terrible.  I had a difficult time figuring out how Iran made the World Cup, let alone who was on the team that could actually impress viewers.  Australia, South Korea, Mexico, and Japan were all ok to write about, especially Japan because I am familiar with many of the players.  I plan on it becoming much easier to write from this point on because I will be more familiar with the teams.  I will have to start writing more if I am going to reach number one, and I think I know how to figure out how I can review more than one team per post to limit the workload.  Ultimately, I enjoy writing the posts, but sometimes it can be frustrating because of how unfamiliar I am with some of the teams.