Wonder Goal by Uruguay!

Uruguay is good. At least when they want to be. For the first 15 minutes and the final 20 minutes, Uruguay looked like a dominating team. It was those middle 55 minutes that was so troubling. Apparently, they feel like they can turn on the offense whenever they want. They could against South Korea, but that's not going to hold up moving forward. Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan are the best attacking duo in the tournament so far, but the coach shouldn't press his luck.

So is Uruguay doomed by their coach's tactics? It's hard to be critical of someone who clearly is the second "most interesting man in the world." Luis Suarez had this to say about his coach:

"He once taught a german s hepherd to bark - in Russian."

"He once had an awkward moment - just to see how it feels."

"Bear hugs are what he gives bears."

So, it looks like he has the respect of his team.

Stars and Stripes vs. Black Stars Preview

Thanks to McClure for the wonderful image. The excitement in that locker room must have been incredible - so incredible that they were happy to drink Budweiser. I had no idea that Budweiser was not only was the official beer in the stands, but also in the locker room.

In any event, the futbol Buffet needed a good 30 minutes to catch his breath after the Donovan goal against Algeria. The team had gone 90 minutes playing their best game of the World Cup, and had somehow, inexplicably, failed to score a goal on a cowardly Alegerian side. Why cowardly? Because they could have advanced with a win, but instead decided to play like Greece.

But moving on to the Black Stars of Ghana: The more I think about this game, the more convinced I get that the U.S. should win. Ghana is without Michael Essien, but have found a new star in their central midfielder Andre Ayew. Asamoah Gyan is their France based striker who looks good all the way until he fails to score. That's a lot like Jozy Altidore. But the American team seems to have a good balance of going for goals and not being caught on offense.

I think Gooch is done for the tournament - he's just too slow right now. And although I have never liked Jonathan Bornstein because he tends to do really stupid stuff, he had a very nice game against Algeria. I can't think of a single bad play.

Proposed starting U.S. lineup:

Strikers: Altidore and Buddle
Midfield: Dempsey, Bradley, Edu, Donovan
Defense: Bornstein, Bocanegra, Demerit, and Cherundolo.

The futbol Buffet prediction:

U.S. beats Ghana 2-1.

The Goal

Group H Preview

Like all of the futbol Buffet readers, I'm a huge Honduras fan. Unfortunately, despite how much I want them to win, I don't believe it will happen. So let's say hello and goodbye at the same time to super-midfielder Wilson Palacios. Rumor is that Real Madrid are seriously considering acquiring him. And that's a long way from where he started. He's hard not to root for - especially considering the considerable hours he has spent with team psychologists trying to get over the kidnapping/murder of his brother in Honduras. Go Catrachos!

Predicted Finish:
1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

Spain:
Along with Brazil, they are the favorites to win the World Cup. They have world-class talent at every position, and play a more crowd-pleasing style than the Brazilians with the quick midfield passes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Fernando Torres and David Villa will score lots of goals, and Carlos Puyol will savagely patrol the back line. This team will probably come away with the full 9 points.

Chile:
In probably, the easiest group, Chile will advance, despite not being a very well-rounded team. They score a lot of goals behind Real Zaragoza's Humberto Suazo (top scorer in South American qualifying) and play an attacking style. They should be fun to watch, until they get destroyed by Brazil in the 2nd Round.

Switzerland:
This blogger is running out of gas and is getting progressively less detailed. But then again, there's not much to say about a team that is as boring as Switzerland. They don't give up many goals, and they don't score many goals. They don't play an attractive style of futbol. They score mostly off of set pieces. In short, I don't care about them. Goodbye.

Honduras:
Although impossible not to root for them, they have a defense that makes Rountree Juniors look formidable. I'm looking forward to the Carlos Pavon and David Suazo attacking combo. They are exciting to watch. This Honduras team will score some goals, but also give them up two-fold. I like Spain to roll through the opener 5-2, with the possibility of some American football scores lighting up the scoreboard.

That's it for the previews. Go U.S.! Go Cameroon! Go Honduras!

Post-posting comment

I apologize for spreading my whole preview out among eight billion different posts; everything ended up looking screwy when I tried to just cut-and-paste the preview into one post. And I don't know why the posts didn't all go up in the order in which they were posted (which is chronological order of the tournament).

Finally, I encourage everybody to make sure they look at the archives to find the posts labeled "previews," which are Leif's much more in-depth previews of each group, and which are now hard to find now that my posts are cluttering this previously uncluttered blog.

Group G Preview

The futbol Buffet assumes that this is a photograph of Kim Jong-Il and the North Korean World Cup futbol team, but it cannot be certain. One thing is for certain, there will not be any North Korean fans at the World Cup - not even that good looking guy in the front-middle. There will be, however, 1,000 Chinese fans who were paid to go to South Africa and root for North Korea. Stay classy Kim Jong-Il.

Oh by the way, this is the so-called Group of Death - and that has nothing to do with North Korea. So I'll try to stay focused.

Predicted Finish:

1. Brazil

2. Ivory Coast

3. Portugal

4. North Korea

Brazil:

The lovely people of Brazil don't seem to like this version of the Selecao. Apparently winning consistently and in dominating fashion is not sufficient. The team must also show the famous Brazilian flair that was noted by multiple Hotline members at the fanfest in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Rondaldinho did not make the team. I wonder if Brian Ching would have been in the picture for that last roster spot. To quote Al Davis, "Just Win, Baby." And the futbol Buffet thinks they will not only cruise through the group stage, but win the entire tournament.

Ivory Coast:

In a close call, C'ote d'Ivoire gets the nod over Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, even with the recent elbow injury to super-striker Didier Drogba. Although the credibility of the Ivory Coast public relations director must be questioned, word on the street is that Drogba will play. The same cannot be said for the Portuguese midfielder Nani - who is out for the entire tournament. In the battle of who is injured less, the futbol Buffet will take the Africans. They also clearly win the battle of the better jerseys.

Portugal:

Not only have they lost Nani, but their recent form has been poor, having not too long ago tied the Faroe Islands. I would compare that to a full U.S. squad tying Barbados. Pre-World Cup friendlies are hardly reliable for showing how the team will react when it counts, but this team hasn't looked impressive for a long time. If this were Mad Money, Jim Kramer would yell "sell." I'm selling. One-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has never found his groove with this national team, and won't in South Africa either.

North Korea:

Jong Tae-Se, otherwise known as "The People's Wayne Rooney", is their main striking option. Apparently he also plays like a bull in a china shop. In fact, he is one of their only players who has much known about him because he has spent a large portion of his life outside North Korea. He was born in South Korea, to a North Korean mother and a Japanese father. He attempted to renounce his South Korean citizenship and become North Korean. North Korea issued him a passport, but since South Korea doesn't recognize North Korea, he is technically still a South Korean citizen. He also plays his club futbol in Japan. One interesting anecdote is that when the North Koreans got together for pre-World Cup training, the other players were fascinated by Jong Tae-Se's cell phone and spent a long time passing it around a playing with it. I'd like to see them do well, but I don't think it's in the cards. There will be 1,000 greatly disappointed Chinese North Korean soccer fans.

Group D

• Serbia 2-1 Ghana
• Germany 1-0 Australia
• Germany 1-1 Serbia
• Ghana 2-2 Australia
• Ghana 1-1 Germany
• Australia 0-2 Serbia

Serbia and Germany advance, and the group is as boring as "Serbia and Germany advance" makes it sound.

Group C

• England 1-2 United States
• Algeria 2-2 Slovenia
• Slovenia 1-3 United States
• England 1-1 Algeria
• Slovenia 0-4 England
• United States 2-1 Algeria

Not as easy for the United States as the final tables make it look, and, with panic and mayhem imminent from London to Liverpool, the Three Lions lay down the hammer in their final match and, with help from their former colonial subjects, advance.

Final

• Netherlands 1-3 Spain

Finally, the Total Footballers play less than brilliantly, and Spain shows again that they only lose when they're playing the United States. Sergio Ramos and Fernando Torres combine twice--each one assisting the other on a goal--in the first half, and after Wesley Sneijder draws one back for the Dutch early in the second half, Cesc Fabregas provides the final margin in the 60th minute, and the last half-hour is a coronation for Spain.

Third-place match

• England 3-2 Mexico

With obviously nothing to lose, both teams play carefree, attacking soccer. Wayne Rooney nets a brace to clinch the Golden Boot but, having managed to stay calm the entire tournament, headbutts Cuauhtemoc Blanco in retaliation for a crude comment about Rooney's sister and is shown a red card.

Semifinals

• Mexico 0-2 Netherlands
  
• England 0-1 Spain

The dream finally ends for Mexico as they are, like all Dutch opponents of the past few weeks, overwhelmed by total football. Spain, meanwhile, finally avenges the humiliation of 1588 in a game that is much more exciting than the score indicates, with both teams creating many scoring chances but only David Villa converting. Ashley Cole, desperately pushing forward in stoppage time, hits the woodwork in England's last chance, and I comment for the last time about how I can't hear his name without thinking of Ashley-Pitt from The Great Escape.

Quarterfinals

• Mexico 2-1 United States
• Netherlands 3-1 Brazil
• England 2-2 Argentina
• Cameroon 1-3

In a cathartic win for 111 million of our friendly neighbors to the south and another 40 million or so immigrants and Americans of Mexican descent in the United States, El Tri avenge a bunch of things--their loss to the bullies from the north during the 2002 octovofinals; the ascension by the United States, at the expense of Mexico, to the top of CONCACAF; drunken idiot frat boys descending on Cancun every spring break; and general American haughtiness, condescension, and occasional belligerence toward Mexico--when Oguchi Onyewu, lacking match fitness, is finally betrayed by his tired legs in the 116th minute and is beaten to a head ball for the winning goal by Andres Guardado, the shortest man on the pitch. Meanwhile, the Brilliant Orange Total Footballers continue their brilliant, orange total football.

In the other half of the bracket, England goes through 4-2 on spot kicks to end decades of frustration and also decades of somehow always being cast as plucky underdogs despite inventing the sport and having the richest domestic league and many of the world's best players. Kind of like the Red Sox of international soccer. And, much like the Red Sox after 2004, they become insufferable immediately after the match, and the rest of the world starts rooting against them again. Which feels much better. Meanwhile, La Furia Roja continue their post-2006 roll, having lost only once now in their last 53 matches.

Octovofinals

• Mexico 2-1 Nigeria
• United States 2-0 Germany
• Netherlands 2-0 Italy
• Brazil 3-2 Chile
• Serbia 1-3 England
• Argentina 2-1 South Africa
• Paraguay 1-3 Cameroon
• Spain 3-2 Portugal

The United States exacts a measure of revenge for their quarterfinal loss in 2002; Italy's cowardly, whiny, flopping brand of football finally fails to pay dividends as they are overwhelmed in the opening half-hour by the Total Footballers, who spend the rest of the time making short passes that go nowhere; Lionel Messi makes sure the dream ends for the hometowners; and the Battle for Iberia provides the most thrilling, back-and-forth match of the tournament, with Andres Iniesta netting the game-winner just two minutes from full time. England and Cameroon advance easily while late goals shrink otherwise comfortable margins of victory for Mexico and Brazil.

Group F Preview

Not only does the futbol Buffet not see this happening again, it doesn't see Italy advancing out of group play in the shock of the tournament. New Zealand is clearly out of its league and will lose every game it plays. But Slovakia will show that they are no pushover, and when they play Italy in their third game on June 24th, they will shock the world. P.S. Has anyone seen Buffet Slovak Martin Zabka since he was spotted playing midnight futbol with a random German in Gelsenkirchen?

Predicted Finish:
1. Paraguy
2. Slovakia
3. Italy
4. New Zealand (and last place in the entire tournament)

Paraguay:
The big question for Paraguay is whether they will be able to compensate for the loss of striker Salvador Cabanas. The Hotline probably remembers that Cabanas was savagely shot in the head while in a restaurant in the otherwise tranquil town of Mexico City. And you thought Charlie Davies had bad luck. But Paraguay is not a team that is lacking in offensive ability. The Hotline is expecting strong showings from Nelson Valdez (Dortmund) and Oscar Cardozo (Benfica). Off the bench they can also call on World Cup veteran Roque Santa Cruz. There defense was their strongest area in South American qualifying so they should get through no matter what.

Slovakia:
Slovakia is not favored by the experts to get out of the group stage, and you could easily argue that if you like Slovakia, then you have to also like Slovenia, since both advanced out of the same European qualifying group, beating out the Czech Republic. The Hotline, however, is impressed by their silky smooth midfield, led by Marek Hamsik and the coach's son, Vladimir Weiss. The Hotline is also welcoming to World Cup football Stanislav Sestak, who we expect to tear up the group stage with 4 goals.

Italy:
The last straw for the Hotline came with the news that Italy's central midfield maestro, Andrea Pirlo, would be out for the entire group stage. This injury, combined with their recent poor form and their lack of new/younger players from the 2006 squad is going to see them eliminated. Think France in 2002 and that's what you can expect from the 2010 Italians. Why change a squad that won the World Cup? Because Slovakia is young, talented, and going to clean your clocks.

New Zealand:
This could be one of the worst teams to ever play in a World Cup. They will be lucky to score a goal.

Group H

• Honduras 1-2 Chile
• Spain 2-0 Switzerland
• Chile 3-1 Switzerland
• Spain 1-1 Honduras
• Switzerland 2-2 Honduras
• Chile 1-3 Spain

In a match reminiscent of the USA/Italia match from Kaiserslautern, Honduras plays to a shocking draw in their second match, but it's not enough to send them through or to hold back Spain, who advances, followed by Chile.

Group G

• Ivory Coast 1-2 Portugal
• Brazil 4-0 North Korea
• Brazil 2-2 Ivory Coast
• Portugal 3-1 North Korea
• North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast
• Portugal 1-2 Brazil

The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and the absence of Didier Drogba make the difference, as a late bit of brilliance from the much-maligned world's highest-paid footballer in the opening match provides the margin to send Portugal through after Brazil.

Group F

• Italy 0-0 Paraguay
• New Zealand 1-2 Slovakia
• Slovakia 1-2 Paraguay
• Italy 2-0 New Zealand
• Slovakia 0-1 Italy
• Paraguay 3-1 New Zealand

Confident that the rest of the group is, at best, pedestrian, Italy and Paraguay celebrate Flag Day with the least-inspired match of the tournament, and then barely break a sweat the rest of the way.

Group E

• Netherlands 3-1 Denmark
• Japan 1-2 Cameroon
• Netherlands 3-0 Japan
• Cameroon 2-1 Denmark
• Denmark 3-2 Japan
• Cameroon 2-3 Netherlands

Finally, at least one former Axis power does not survive the group stage; Brilliant Orange and the Indomitable Lions go through.

Group D

• Serbia 2-1 Ghana
• Germany 1-0 Australia
• Germany 1-1 Serbia
• Ghana 2-2 Australia
• Ghana 1-1 Germany
• Australia 0-2 Serbia

Serbia and Germany advance, and the group is as boring as "Serbia and Germany advance" makes it sound.

Group B

• South Korea 1-0 Greece
• Argentina 3-1 Nigeria
• Argentina 2-0 South Korea
• Greece 0-1 Nigeria
• Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
• Greece 0-2 Argentina

Argentina cruises, and a stoppage-time consolation goal for Nigeria in their opening match winds up providing the margin to send the Super Eagles through.

Group A

• South Africa 1-1 Mexico
• Uruguay 1-1 France
• South Africa 2-2 Uruguay
• France 1-2 Mexico
• Mexico 2-0 Uruguay
• France 2-2 Mexico

Mexico and the hometown favorites advance.

Some technical difficulties

And the formatting for this preview is completely annoying. This might take longer than it should.

Avillo's 2010 World Cup previews

Per Leif's request, I'm posting my World Cup preview to the Buffet. Please stay tuned for more.

Group E Preview

Go Cameroon! The Buffet is not going to try and hide its love for the Indomitable Lions. It's true that they on occasion play defense like a pub team, but if there is one African team that is positioned to make a quality run at this World Cup, it's Cameroon.

Oh yeah - this group also has the Netherlands aka Holland (Trivia for Buffet readers: Why are they the Dutch?) But since I am heavily USA biased, I have a hard time not being grumpy about them since Nigel de Jong's brutal bone crushing (literally) tackle on Stuart Holden earlier this year. Thankfully, Holden is now back from injury, but my hatred for all things de Jong are only getting started. I look forward to Cameroonian destoyer Alexandre Song sending de Jong to de showers early.

Predicted Finish:

1. Holland/Netherlands/Dutch/Dirty de Jong

2. Camerooon!!

3. Denmark

4. Japan

Netherlands (12 to 1):

This team is loaded and one of the Buffet favorites to win the World Cup. There is a recent injury scare to report, Arjen Robben strained his hamstring in a warm-up match a couple of days ago, but reports are that the injury is not too serious. That would be a blow, but this team has talent all over - except perhaps in the goal. Wesley Sneijder is the key. The Inter Milan midfielder is not exactly an unknown, but he may become a break out star. Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, and Rafael Van Der Vaart will provide plenty of scoring punch. And they have a formidable defense with both skill and savagery (See de Jong, Nigel - above).

Cameroon (80 to 1):

I anticipated picking Denmark to finish second, but after further review the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will take it. Cameroon opens up against the weakest team, Japan, while Denmark gets the Dutch. Cameroon will come into that all important second match against Denmark with 3 points and Denmark will have 0, meaning Denmark will have to go for the win and play an open match. This plays right into the Lions' favor, and they will sneak another victory. Go Lions! This is likely the final World Cup for Samuel Eto'o, the former Barcelona and current Inter Milan striker and the Buffet can expect a big tournament. And with fans like the guy in the photo, do you really want to bet against Cameroon?

Denmark (125 to 1):

They started European qualification with a long unbeaten run, and then sorted of coasted to the finish with a couple draws and a loss. But if their new wonderkid, Nicholas Bendtner of Arsenal, is healthy, they will have enough creativity to be dangerous. This team reminds me of the Swiss team from 2006 - scraping out results, but not looking particularly good doing it. If they can steal a point against Holland - watch out.

Japan (250 to 1):

Japan is a team without any real stars and without any real big wins in the past 4 years. They consistently beat the teams they are supposed to beat, but haven't had a break through against a quality team in forever. Interestingly, and I don't understand why, they have an incredible recent record against African teams. No matter, Cameroon is too big and strong. Japan also tries to play ball possession as if they were Brazil or Spain yet don't have any creative engines in the midfield. That's not good - and neither are they. Sionora.

Group D Preview

Group D has been struck by some serious injuries in the lead-up to the World Cup. Michael Ballack did not seem pleased when he was tackled by Portsmouth (and Ghana) midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng in the FA Cup. The studs-up tackle left Ballack with ligament damage and has made him unavailable for the entire tournament. Ballack thought it was a dirty tackle, and perhaps there will be payback when Germany meets Ghana on June 23rd. Boateng better watch his back.

But Ghana has its own injury problems. Their best player (and another Ballack's Chelsea teammate) Michael Essien has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury. So this leaves Group D without their two biggest stars. No matter-it's still a strong group and should be competitive in every game. Ghana, Serbia, and to a lesser extent, Australia have realistic shots at the second spot.

Predicted Finish:
1. Germany
2. Ghana
3. Serbia
4. Australia

Germany (14 to 1):
Even without Ballack, the Buffet remembers the Euro 2008 squad that featured most of the same characters: Bastian Schweinsteiger in the midfield, Phillip Lahm at right back but leaking forward on occasion, and the strike partnership of the ageless Miroslav Klose and the inconsistent Lukas Podolski. Germany doesn't lose in the first round, and there's no reason to think that they won't advance out of their group.

Ghana (66 to 1):
Despite the hugh loss of Michael Essien, Ghana still has significant talent and look to at least equal their 2006 World Cup run. Returning from that 2006 squad is striker Asamoah Gyan and midfielder Stephen Appiah. Readers may recall Gyan's 76th second goal against the Czech Republic, the fastest goal in WC history. Although ranking Ghana and Serbia is tough, I give Ghana the slight edge in this African World Cup.

Serbia (66 to 1):
After Serbia qualified ahead of France in their European group, Serbia became a sleeper pick to do well. That love for the Serbs has gone down considerably since they lost a World Cup warm-up to an AWFUL New Zealand squad. The friendly was played in front of a heavily Serb crowd in Austriia and led to the angry Serbs booing their own squad after the game. In fact, Nemanja Vidic, their fullback (and Manchester United star) had to take the microphone and calm down the masses.

Serbia is known for a solid defense and well-organized midfield. Although a loss to New Zealand could normally be forgiven, they are playing in a tough group and their lack of offense will lead to an early exit.

Australia (125 to 1):
This is a team that has quite a few players that play in England and will be recognizable to Buffet readers. Their only real scoring threat is Tim Cahill, the Everton midfielder who will likely play a striker for the Aussies since they don't have very many options up front. Normally this wouldn't be the problem with former Liverpool and current Galatasaray striker Harry Kewell in the mix, but Kewell has played a total of 5 minutes of competetive soccer in 2010. He claims he will be ready for the opener against Germany, but it's going to be hard for the coach to start a player who has been out for so long. At least the defense is good with Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Group C Preview

Pictured above is the 1950 United States team that defeated the heavily favored English in the 1950 World Cup by a score of 1-0. This year's U.S. team will be sporting uniforms with the same sash. The English are once again favored, but not nearly as much as they were in 1950. And a recent injury to England captain and central defender Rio Ferdinand should further even the playing field.

Predicted Finish:

1. England

2. United States

3. Slovenia

4. Algeria

England:

England suffered a big blow today when it was learned that Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the entire World Cup with some ligament damage in his knee. Matthew Upson or Ledley King will likely take his spot. The English captain is now going to be midfielder Steven Gerrard. This is a big blow, but not something that will stop the English from advancing out of this relatively easy group. With Wayne Rooney up top (and I like Peter Crouch too - even if his height makes him an awkward looking forward), Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the middle with Aaron Lennon on the wing, this is a very talented team.

United States:

This blog is heavily biased, so excuse the extra analysis of the U.S. team. Things seem to be falling just right for the U.S. at a World Cup, and this is their best chance to date to not only advance out of the group stage, but to also win their group. With the English injuries and the rise in the American talent pool, the opener on June 12th is winnable.

The U.S. is likely going to use their standard 4-4-2. Here is the predicted and preferred starting 11.

Defenders(from left to right): Carlos Bocanegra (captain), Jay Demerit, Oguchi Onyewu, and Steve Cherundolo.

Midfield: Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Jose Torres, and Clint Dempsey.

Strikers: Jozy Altidore and Robbie Findley

The starting defense is all set to go, unless Onyewu has some more trouble with his knee. The midfield is all set except for the Jose Torres (Pachuca) position, which might go to Maurice Edu (Rangers). I like Torres after the U.S./Turkey friendly last week because not only does he have great dribbling and distribution skills, but he finally showed that he is willing to play scrappy defense.

The attacking partner for Jozy Altidore is the final question. Coach Bob Bradley likes to have a speedster there (similar to the still injured Charlie Davies), so it will probably be either Findley (Real Salt Lake) or Herculez Gomez (Pachuca). It's a toss-up - but Findley is from Phoenix so he should get the start.

The scary part about this group is that the players for Slovenia and Algeria are not well-known, and will be tough to prepare for. If the U.S. can tie England and Slovenia, and beat Algeria in the final match, that should get them through to the next round.

Slovenia:

Slovenia is not supposed to be in this World Cup. When they were drawn in a home/away playoff with Russia for a spot most of the world booked Russia and Andrei Arshavin for South Africa. But Slovenia got it done. They are a team without any real stars, but have a lot of experience playing as a cohesive unit - that sounds a lot like the U.S. team. Probably their biggest individual talent is their goalkeeper, Samir Handanovic, who plays for Udinese. This is a hard team to preview so you could say that they have the potential to be a Group C sleeper.

Algeria:

I don't expect Algeria to do much more than get destroyed by everyone else. They stunned their bitter rivals Egypt by qualifying, but don't seem to have a lot of talent. Their biggest problem will be scoring any goals. Their best scoring option is old (35) and their most interesting quality is that their goalkeeper is a little crazy and shows it on the field.

Keys of the Group:

• Landon Donovan: If he can get the ball enough on the wing, the U.S. will score plenty of goals and be dangerous.
• English Defense: Will the injury to Rio Ferdinand be too much for the English?