Big Question: Who’s going to win Group G?

France
South Korea
Togo
Switzerland

…I mean, France couldn’t flame out again, could it?

France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

France might be the real deal this time around.

1. South Korea
2. Switzerland
3. France
4. Togo

This is going out on a limb a bit. But I got a sneaky suspicion France may flame out this year.

I think this how it would finish up:

1-France
2-Togo
3-South Korea
4-Switzerland

I have a feeling Togo would be the African black knight. Or perhaps no Black Knight this time!

Since Ivory Coast and Ghana are in tough groups. Angola won’t do anything, and Tunisia, well maybe?

1. Switzerland
2. France
3. South Korea
4. Togo

1. South Korea
2. France
3. Switzerland
4. Togo

I would go with:

France (Zizou, Zizou, Zizou!)
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

If you’re only going to watch from this group, then the one to watch will be on June 18 – France v South Korea.

This is the match that the South Koreans must get at least a draw from. By drawing with France, they put themselves in the driver’s seat for their last match against Switzerland.

In the June 23 match, I see Switzerland fighting hard to get all three points to advance, but who can they really count on to score? Frei, maybe, if he’s recovered from groin surgery or he’s not on a red card somewhere. Plus, no Lonfat.

France – 1st
South Korea – 2nd

1)france
2)winner(kor v swi)
3)loser(kor v swi)
4)togo
……….. ;)

1. South Korea
2. Switzerland
3. France
4. Togo

How can the swiss fail?
It’s 2006. It’s swiss o’clock.

#1: FRANCE
#2: South Korea
#3: TOGO
#4: Switzertland

What about a small surprise – Switzerland previous to France? South Korea is not at home – it is difficult for it to forward in finals. Take a look at my whole prediction: http://fo.reca.st/wm.php?u=gogi

1.France
2.Switzerland
3.South Korea
4.Togo

The question is, are our strikers good enough to score on this level. Frei seems to be back on track. but who else, Streller? The other problem is going to be our goalie. Zubi is definitely the weak point of this team and coach Kuhn would do all of us a favour by not selecting him for the squad. Did you know, when playing for Bayer Leverkusen, the german press used to make a little joke with his name and call him a-zubi, which means apprentice. that’s about right, the only problem, is the guy is already 35. Anyway, we are going to make it to the last 16! Hopp Suisse!

France and South Korea will advance to the next round. Togo will finish 3rd. Too bad for Switzerland.

Switzerland have a good side with a solid defence, they won’t make it easy for anyone. With South Korea having to play in Europe and the Swiss just a few miles from home, I’d back them to edge second place in the group, behind France (who may bomb again, but I’m not going to predict it)

1) Switzerland
2) France
3) Korea
4) Togo

Schweiz
Süd Korea
Togo
Frankreich

HOPP SCHWIIZ! HOPP SCHWIIZ! HOPP SCHWIIZ! HOPP SCHWIIZ!

France 3 wins
Switzerland 2 wins, 1 loss
South Korea 1 win, 2 losses
Togo 3 losses

South Korea won’t fare as well away from their homeland.

1. S.Korea
2. France
3. Suisse
4. Togo

1.France
2.Switzerland
3.Togo
4.S.Korea-they will NEVER go to the second round again.

1-Hop Schwiz
2-France
3-Togo
4-Korea

1. South Korea
2. Switzerland
3. France
4. Togo

This South Korean team is stronger team than the 2002 version. Switzerland has the almost home team advantage.

1. France
2. S. Korea
3. Swiss
4. Togo

Togo is to go home

France has Henry whos the best and unstoppable striker.

Swiss is well organized but will struggle because of S.Korea.

S.Korea team has improved since 2002 with more players play in Europe.

Group G Predictions by Dave Hamilton

Don’t expect FRANCE to repeat its disastrous 2002 World Cup performance, but also don’t expect them to return to 1998 form either. Zinedine Zidane’s farewell will fuel the best efforts from “Les Bleus” this time around, but the sad fact is most of the team’s core is well past its prime, including the Z-man. The key factor for France is finding the right combinations and bringing their A-game each match. Goals shouldn’t be as scarce as in 2002 with fleet-footed Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Louis Saha and Sylvain Wiltord perennial threats to fill the net. Fabian Barthez should not be the keeper; he does not compare favorably with the justifiably-disgruntled Gregory Coupet. Zidane himself looks tired and Claude Makelele isn’t far behind, with pitchmates Florent Malouda – who prefers to come forward — and Alou Diarra leaving the vaunted midfield a bit suspect on the flanks. Patrick Vieira is solid in the middle. The defense behind has steel in William Gallas and another oldtimer, Lilian Thuram, who may be the best of the French 30-something crowd. Coach Raymond Domenech has been busier lately with the media and Coupet than his preparation, it seems, neither of which bode well for the Bleus. But they should be able to get at least to the next stage in a group that is hardly intimidating.

SOUTH KOREA The biggest question is whether star defender Lee Young-Pyo will be healthy. Despite some doubts by the pundits, the 2002 Cup experience can only be an asset and another Dutch mentor, Dick Advocaat, is on hand to steer the superbly-conditioned Taeguk Warriors. Fan favorite Ahn Jung-Hwan is always a threat up front. Team catalyst Ji-Sung Park of Man United fame runs the midfield and can be expected to clear passes to Jung-Hwan, Park Chu-Young, Seol Ki-Hyeon and Kim Do-Heon, depending on the set. Even Cho Jae-Jin showed he still has it in a recent friendly against Bosnia. Cat-quick keeper Lee Woon-Jae covers the box efficiently and never panics. The weakness is a defense which has lost key contributors since 2002, including Myung Bo Hong, but if the tireless Young-Pyo is anywhere near 100 percent, the defense should be good enough with Choi Jin-Cheul providing commendable backline leadership. Combine all this with the Korean’s unrelenting passion and effort, and there might be enough in the tank to barely edge out Switzerland for a spot in the round of 16.

SWITZERLAND, a qualification rival of France, is a young side who is just now emerging and could be one of the tournament’s big surprises. The nucleus of this team were European Champions at Under-17 level in 2002 and the Swiss were unbeaten in 14 fourteen matches recently. And in case there are still doubters, talk to Turkey, who was eliminated in a playoff for this Cup by the “fighting” Swiss.:) Philippe Senderos will be the central distributor, with Mauro Lustrinelli – who can also shoot — probing in front of him. Midfielder Ricardo Cabanas will also create space and Tranquillo Barnetta can more than adequately perform holding chores. But make no mistake about who will be point man: forward Alex Frei, who did yeoman’s work in the qualies. Team captain Johann Vogel can do it all, but the danger is that the Swiss will be too reliant on Frei. The defense, still improving and encouraged by strong showings in recent draws against Ivory Coast and Italy, feature left fullback Ludovic Magnin and his counterpart on the right, Philipp Degen. Problem is, both like to move up and down the flanks supporting attacks and sometimes are prone to defensive lapses. Veteran Pascal Zuberbuehler offers stability in net-minding, but he might need more help than is available. Look for coach Kobi Kuhn’s stock to grow, regardless of whether his side advances, in this Cup.

TOGO was the first national side to arrive in Germany and the last to get their final rosters to FIFA. Wonder what that says about their priorities? My guess is the Sparrowhawks want to enjoy the ride and fill up on bratwursts and beer, and will end up nesting on their half of the pitch most of the time. German head man Otto Pfister is taking the event seriously though, threatening to expel players who speak to South Korean reporters – in fact, to Asians in general. Pfister should be more paranoid about his team’s chances in Germany after their meltdown at the African Cup of Nations, since striker Emmanuel Adebayor is about the only bonafide threat Togo offers, and he will surely be carefully marked by all opponents. Bundesliga B-team defenders Karim Guede and Assimiou Toure won’t be intimidated by German soil, but aren’t adequately prepared for the attacks they will surely face. The best Togo can realistically hope for is gaining experience for the future of their program.

Why do I have a feeling France will get stumped by Switzerland, then lose most of the ball possession to Korea Republic? Or is that just me?
We’ll see…

1. France
2. Swiss
3. S.K.
4. Togo

HOPP SCHWIIZ! BRING ON SPAIN IN THE ROUND OF 16! HOPP SCHWIIZ!

1) Korea! All the way~~
2) France
3) Switzerland
4) Togo

1) South Korea
2) France
3) Switzerland
4) Togo

1.south korea
2.france
3.swiss
4.togo

1) South Korea
2) France
3) Switzerland
4) Togo