World Cup Prospects

by Dario

The long road of qualification to World Cup 2010 South Africa has proved to be full of surprises, with the failure of teams such as Russia, Croatia, and Egypt, to qualify. Now that it is over, it's time to pick who we think the winners and losers will be. The 32 teams are sorted into eight groups, from which the top two will advance to the final tournament.

My Predictions: (December 09 World Rankings)

Group A. 1st France (7) 2nd Mexico (17) 3rd South Africa (85) 4th Uruguay (20)
Despite a shaky qualification, in which France finished behind Serbia, France still is easily the best team in this group, and should finish first. Mexico also, has made it to the second round in the four last World Cups and a fifth trip is very possible. Le Celeste (Uruguay) and Bafana Bafana (South Africa) are the outsiders in this group, but one of them will probably advance if Mexico drops a game.
Game to Watch: South Africa vs. France: 12 years ago, World Cup Hosts France defeated South Africa 3-0. If South Africa can pull off a win or at least a tie, it will spell trouble for France's hopes of advancing.

Group B. 1st Greece (13) 2nd Argentina (8) 3rd Nigeria (22) 4th Korea Republic (52)
Argentina is full of big names, but recently they have not been able to translate it into wins. Nigeria, on the other hand lacks the depth it had in its last World Cup outings. Greece is the only team in this group that was impressive in qualifying, and the Euro 2004 champions should advance at the top of the group.
Game to watch: Argentina vs. Nigeria: These teams will both be battling for second place; the first game of Group B will decide which will advance.

Group C. 1st England (9) 2nd USA (14) 3rd Algeria (26) 4th Slovenia (31)
England is overwhelmingly the favorite to win here, and the USA actually now has the depth and experience to advance to the second stage this time around. Both Algeria and Slovenia barely squeezed into the cup, but they will looking take advantage of every oppurtunity the English-speaking favorites give them.
Game to Watch: England vs. USA: The USA is a better team than it was when they upset England in the 1990 World Cup. This is England's toughest match in the group if they lose, will not take 1st Place.

Group D. 1st Germany (6) 2nd Australia (21) 3rd Ghana (34) 4th Serbia (21)
One of the tougher groups in this cup, Germany will be looking to win, but all three of the other teams will be realistically aiming for 2nd Place. All of the teams in this group finished in 1st place in their respective qualifying groups.
Game to Watch: Any, really.

Group E. 1st Netherlands (3) 2nd Cameroon (11) 3rd Japan (43) 4th Denmark (28)
Netherlands won all their games in qualification, but against teams like Norway, and Scotland. Both Denmark and Japan had solid qualifying campaigns, but look to highly ranked Cameroon to advance.
Game to Watch: Netherlands vs. Denmark: Denmark has won five of the last six encounters with The Netherlands, who had an extremely easy qualification group and will have to prove they can win against a World Cup opponent

Group F. 1st Italy (4) 2nd Paraguay (29) 3rd Slovakia (33) 4th New Zealand (82)
Italy is looking to win the cup again, and will probably not drop any games here, while Paraguay has a talented squad that finished with ten wins in qualification. Slovakia, competing for the first time not as Czechoslovakia, and New Zealand, absent since 1982, are the outsiders.
Game to Watch: Italy vs. Paraguay: The group favorites play in the opening match, and the losers will face pressure from Paraguay.

Group G. 1st Brazil (2) 2nd Cote d'Ivoire (16) 3rd Portugal (5) 4th Korea DPR (86)

Brazil should win this extremely tough group, and Cote d'Ivoire should also advance, unless Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) can make a difference. Korea DPR was lucky to make into the tournament and unless they can bring back the power that led them to the quater-finals in 1966, should make an early exit.

Game to Watch: Portugal vs. Korea DPR: In 1966 Korea DPR led 3-0 in a match against Portugal before giving up five goals. If Korea DPR can beat or even tie Portugal, the Portuguese will not advance.

Group H. 1st Spain (1) 2nd Chile (15) 3rd Switzerland (18) 4th Honduras (37)
Spain, #1 in the world, will advance without complication. It is then up to Chile and Switzerland to fight for 2nd place. Honduras does not have the wealth of talent of the other teams, but is no pushover at this level.
Game to Watch: Chile vs. Switzerland: Whoever wins here will probably get 2nd Place.

Links:
Matchlist: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html
Tournament Bracket: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html
Calendar: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/calendar.html

Redskins Midway Report

by Abin

The Redskins have without doubt disappointed fans, like me, this season. This young team is struggling and has a record to show it. 2-5 is not the sort of record a NFL team would like to have. It’s not just the record that the team has this year however; it is the teams that it has played against. According to a recent article by Yahoo Sports, this is the first time in history of the NFL that a team has gone up against 5 winless teams in a row. The only time a team ever even went up against 5 winless teams was in 1954 by the Giants.

Their first game was against the Giants, who obviously had no wins because they hadn’t played anyone yet. That game was full of surprises like when punter Hunter Smith made an 8 yard touchdown from a fake field goal play. In the end however the team still lost 17-23.

The Redskins fans were still full of hope though and were cheering the Redskins on but the game against the Rams left the fans doubtful. Of course the Redskin won but was a 9-7 victory against the Rams something to be proud of? The players didn’t think so either, because the walk back to the locker rooms was a quiet one. Cooley was reported saying in an interview, "Everyone was a little down in here."

Then the game against the Lions came and it right down smacked every Redskin fan and every player in the face. When Redskins lost to a team that had not won any of its previous seasonal 19 games in a row, there was nothing more that needed to be said or done. All the fans could do was hope.

Then the coming week, the Redskins didn’t exactly give the fans what they asked for but it was something we had to make do with. The team delivered utter disappointment during the first half when, they had given up two sacks and lost a fumble in the first two minutes. It was Buccaneers 10-0 and Jason Campbell had thrown two interceptions. The fans now seriously doubted the failing quarterback and the new coach. But the team miraculously came back to win 16-13 in the latter half. The fans or players weren’t so happy with the win but you take what you get.

And just when you thought that this team was starting to get out of a pool of utter disappointments it had set itself into, the team suffered another loss against the Panthers but the real disappointment came when the team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. The team with a 0-5 record beat the Redskins with a score of 6-14. This was a sad day.

This was the end of the array of winless teams that the team played against. They now faced the Eagles with impressive 3 wins so far. Many guessed the outcome of this game and they were right. The Skins lost 17-27. The team has had a bye week and more time to get their goals and priorities straight. The young quarterback Campbell, the head coach Zorn, and the owner Snyder has faced a lot of criticism. Some fair and some were not but it was still something for all of them and rest of the players to think about.

They are playing the Falcons this Sunday and right now all the fans have is hope and that’s all we can do. And always no matter what happens, “LETS GO REDSKINS!!!”

Citations:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/

http://espn.go.com/nfl/teams/schedule?team=was

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Redskins-are-first-in-history-to-play-six-straig?urn=nfl,195479

Arlington Gang Task Force Soccer Tournament

"In the past four years, we have organized a partnership between AHC, Inc. and the Arlington Gang Task Force to promote a soccer tournament that has targeted hundreds of at-risk and gang involved youth. An event based upon an idea has earned the support of dozens of businesses, elected officials, probation officers, non-profit organizations, gang unit, and our community. Not only are these tournaments capturing the attention of our youth locally but regionally and reaching out to those in need of positive activities. In addition, we are breaking barriers between gang members and the population we target is diverse. Let’s continue the fight to prevent gangs in our region and I ask that you continue to stay involved and support these soccer tournaments we have twice a year.

Please see pictures of the soccer tournament that took place on October 3rd at Barcroft Park."

What’s Next for W&L football?

By Abin D., Teen Portal Staff Writer

Last season Washington-Lee (5-5) went to the playoffs but how will the team perform this year? The Generals had a lot of veterans with a strong background to propel the team forward. Now that many of its starters have graduated, can W&L return to post- season play?

As a W&L student, I decided to ask General Head Coach Shapiro some questions about the prospects for this season. When I asked him what the team’s greatest achievement was last year, he replied, “Last years single and greatest achievement was getting to the post season, the first time we have done that since 1975.” When asked to rate the season last year, Coach Shapiro gave the previous season seven out of 10.

Obviously, I said, last year is a chapter for the team to learn from, and to this Shapiro replied, “After achieving that (referring to the play offs), I think the players realized they can achieve success through their hard work and their efforts.” Shapiro was also asked to give his predictions for the upcoming season. He replied, “We have got a lot of new players so its going to be difficult in the fact that we are not going to have a lot of starters but we have a lot of good young players coming in with a couple of guys that have experience from varsity last year so I am cautiously optimistic; I don’t know.”

I also asked Shapiro about his expectations for the coming season. He said, “5-5 would be a good mark to repeat at for record but 6-4 would be gravy.” Yes, it would be, but was last year just a fluke? Can the team in fact repeat this or go beyond this? Can Shapiro, who has been head coach for only two years, bring this team to true glory?

Of course, I’m sure that all the players are also looking forward to a great season. After all, in the end it all comes down to a love for the great game of football