Last 16

[GoldenAsif]

@X2

Lets not get carried away here amigo,

brazil and germany are a contant powerhouse,
argentina are not in the same class, not for 20 years.

just last 2006 worldcup brazilian for all their flair were eliminated by france in quarterfinals, argentina at the same time by germany and then germany lost to the italians, (you know the gang that did not clear the group this time)

in 2002, argentina did not progress out of group, brazil won going all the way beating germany in the finals, and beating england by a goal in quarterfinals

in 1998 germany was beaten by croatia in quarterfinals, argentina lost to netherlands in quarterfinals, and brazil went to finals but lost to france.

in 1994 argentina lost in round of 16 to ‘mighty’ romania.

in 1990 england lost to germans in semifinals, and the same germans then won against argentina in finals, brazil were eliminated in round of 16 by argentina (germany and argentina was a replay of 86 worldcup where they clashed in finals)

in 1986 when argentina won, they beat germans in the final, on their way they beat england in quarterfinals, brazil lost to france at the same time.

Argentina has a great team this time around, but they really have not been serious contenders for 20 years, they seem to be favourites for a certain crowd each time around, although the performances have not been there like those of germans and brazilians.

we also see fans of netherlands and spain, who are free to look up their teams performances in the worldcup over the last 2 decades.

esentially you have 2 top dogs, germany and brazil, and then you get teams like italy, france and argentina who I would say are tier 2, then you have tier 3 teams like england, netherlands, spain, croatia, and then a host of teams that pop up on the scene like south korea, turkey, US getting to quarterfinals and then disappearing

Point taken

But I am not just talking about winning and losing. We all accept that winning and losing are part of the game. And whether or not teams like Brazil or Argentina or Germany or Dutch (khush zabardast :D) do well in every world cup, they are definitely more attractive to watch. There is a certain flair and stylishness about their play, something I honestly do not associate with english football.

The english game mainly relies on scoring thru short corners or a good header here and there. You would rarely see an english player score a really good or sensational field goal against a top team which is what real Football is about IMO. The Germans by contrast scored all field goals today

When I think about innovative and fluent attacking football, those 4 countries esp. Brazil and Argentina come first to my mind. Whether or not they do well in every world cup is besides the point. Even Ghana & Nigeria are more exciting to watch than England