www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Group A 1. Brazil 2. Croatia 3. Mexico 4. Cameroon

Group B 1. Spain 2. Netherlands 3. Chile 4. Australia

Group C 1. Colombia 2. Greece 3. Ivory Coast 4. Japan

Group D 1. Uruguay 2. Costa Rica 3. England 4. Italy

Group E 1. Switzerland 2. Ecuador 3. France 4. Honduras

Group F 1. Argentina 2. Bosnia 3. Iran 4. Nigeria

Group G 1. Germany 2. Portugal 3. Ghana 4. United States

Group H 1. Belgium 2. Algeria 3. Russia 4. South Korea

Bad luck for le sele in the world cup groups. They could not be in a worse group. Truly the group of death.

Mexico finished last in the last qualifier and by far got the easiest group. Go figure.......

Another reason to hate soccer.

Yes, the World Cup draw was a tough one for both the US and Costa Rica. Gonna be difficult to make it out of Group Play. France and Argentina seem to have the easiest path to the second round. (France is my long-shot special.)

I was in Germany during the 2010 World Cup. The spirit and enthusiasm shown by the locals towards the national team was amazing. At that time, I decided that for every World Cup, I will travel to a country that loves their Futbol. (Funny, but visiting the host country during all the madness doesn’t appeal to me.)

I will be traveling through both Holland and Spain during this World Cup. I will be in Amsterdam when the Dutch play Australia. Then, I will be in Madrid when Spain plays Australia (Unlucky Aussies…). Parque Retiro, Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol will all be amazing…thousands of people partying outside and watching giant projections of the match.

So, next June, while the majority of sports fans here in the US will be tuning in to month #3 of baseball…yawn…the rest of the world will be going crazy rooting for their beloved National Teams.

Another reason to LOVE soccer.

Prost and Salud,
-sport

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I am a citizen of the World...
All mankind are my brethren...
To do good is my religion.
(Thomas Paine)

How do they pick which teams get into these final categories/groups?

We know that in the US soccer is not the life or death heart throb that it is in CR and most of the world, but for the sake of having a decent conversation with my tico friends about this every fourth year international World Cup event and "futbol", I'd like to know. I saw the drawing on the news. It wasn't ping pong balls in a lottery cage or based on elimination round records. It's like they (whomever they are) choose who they wan't to see in the final four.

Another poster in this thread who like you obviously understands soccer more then most of us pointed out that Mexico got into the World Cup tournament by squeeking in after getting beat by the US and CR and others in the elimination rounds but by some final last chance elimination procedure by beating little perennial loser NewZealand, not only gets into the Cup, but winds up in an easy(ier) World Cup play off group.

Kind of like the 9-7 wild card NFL team getting a higher birth then the team that went 12-4.

Who determines these final groups? Both the US and CR, from what I've read, got put into the two most difficult groups, which means they are both probably one game and out, and Mexico which got its ass beat in the elimination rounds, gets put in one of the patsy groups, and so will advance to the quarter finals.

Another reason to hate soccer?

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Jaco is called little USA by all ticos

I tried using that link, but I could not make any sense out that data.

Too be fair i dint think there are any easy groups in this world cup even though the mexico group seems easier apart from Brazil the Croatia and Cameroon are competent word cup performers.

If anything i feel the Italains,English, and the Dutch got it tough.

Hopefully this link will help..

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1873 ... determined

That helped alot thanks, looks like there is some logic to it.

I realize there is current list of rankings in the world but this way of making the selections downplays the qualifying process. To have the four teams from the Americas in the same selection pool is not right. If you win in your qualifying pool, you should be a higher seed automatically. What is the point at qualifying? Mexico was terrible in qualifying and gets the same seed? You can't pick by the number of great players a team has. Put up or sit home watching.

Actually every team in the world cup is guaranteed 3 games. Everyone plays everyone else in the same group.

2 teams advance from every group to the knockout round. Which is the final 16.

In group play there is no overtime so there will be many draws. Ties.so in some cases advancing will be determined by goal differential. Only in the knockout rounds will there be overtime and possible penalty kick shootouts.

World cup games tend to be played conservatively so count on many exciting zero zero draws in group play. Or nill to nill as the limeys say.
With Brazil being the exception as they tradionally play an attacking style.

Look for many theatrical flops with movie star facial grimaces. Renaldo is the worst or the best. A future career in Hollywood surely awaits him.

That is why I detest soccer as flopping is cowardly unmanly and unsportsmenlike. Heck the women flop hardly at all.

I understand the passion the world has for this game. It is a marvel to behold but the game is undeserving of it.

But I will watch many games fall asleep many times and be amazed at how this cowardly boring game became the worlds favorite.

I never watch the "World Series"
I fall asleep at Suoer Bowl parties too.So what ?
To each his own.

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Softbob

There is nothing either good or bad
but thinking makes it so.
HAMLET

So many surprises every world cup even though usa is in a very tough group it doesnt mean much. Look at 2010, italy had the easiest group and they didnt make it past the group stage, hell they didnt even win a game. France had a tougher group and failed to win a game either, both italy and france were in the top ten in fifa rankings at the time. I usually watch every single game in world cup and usually there are only a few tough games in the group stage this year there are many. Will be one of the best world cups in group stage that i can remember. Costa rica has no chance but honestly if you put them in any group they wont make it anyway. 32 countries make it to the world cup from all countries in the world so for a small country like CR that alone is a reason to celebrate.

I agree, I always thought the flopping really was comical, but detracted from the game. Borderline pro wrestling.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

to expand on what Gersen mentiond, I believe there are business motives involved with teams qualifying. Mexico doesn't deserve to be in , but Mexico has a ginormous fan base. that equals large advertising revenue, so the guys in charge decide ....guess what .they qualify. f.w.i.w. i think CR is in the "group of death", but I'm always partial to the ForzaAzzuri.

oviedo(costa rica) out of the world cup...broken leg today....

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Jaco is called little USA by all ticos