Posts by samusama

Quote from zhutingfan

U think Netherlands will qualify? I'm predicting Turkey over them based on their performances at the last ECh. Poland definitely has a solid chance too. I'm guessing those two are finishing in the top 2

Well yes that is a BIG IF with Ned although I do agree that Europe qualification will be a 3-way race between Ned, Poland and Turkey (I totally forgot about Turkey earlier now that you mention it). If Turkey qualifies instead of Ned, Pool B will be the pool of death.

POOL A

Japan (Host)

Serbia (3)

Brazil(4)

Korea(9) (assuming they qualify over Thailand out of Asia)

Dominican (10) Republic (they should qualify their continental)

Cameroon(17) (assuming they qualify out of Africa)

POOL B

China(1)

USA(2)

Russia(5)

Italy(8)

Argentina (11) (IF they qualify their South American continental)

Turkey(12) (if they qualify out of Europe)

so I had a little fun doing some forecasting. with the current WR rankings here is the forecasted pool for tokyo2020 (with some assumptions on continental qualifiers)

POOL A

Japan (Host)

Serbia (3)

Brazil(4)

Italy(8)

Korea(9) (assuming they qualify over Thailand out of Asia)

Cameroon(17) (assuming they qualify out of Africa)

POOL B

China(1)

USA(2)

Russia(5)

Netherlands(6) (assuming they qualify over Poland out of Europe)

Dominican (10) Republic (they should qualify their continental)

Argentina (11) (IF they qualify their South American continental)

I think pool B is a harder pool. The last spot for pool A will be between Japan and Korea. For Pool B, the last 2 spots will probably be a coin toss between Russia, Ned, and DR.

This world cup is China's to lose. Unless NED pulls an upset which is unlikely with how they are playing right now. Anne Buijs is a liability in passing. The more interesting battle is the one for silver which will be between USA and Russia. USA is more favored in this aspect but Russia has really improved with their passing and defense which was their achilles heel since 2016. Russia vs Brazil will also be an exciting match because Brazil has really been peaking at this tournament.

Volkov once again choked at the most crucial time. We saw this happening at World Champs last yr versus Brazil. Slovenia has learned from their previous match. They targeted high hands. They served tough which exposed the passing unit's weakness which is keeping their cool in a hostile environment. Mikhaylov should focus on training as an Outside so he can come in when Volkov or Kliuka are off. That match was really a test of character for the team. They should learn a lot from that match.