Right...so the World Cup starts tomorrow then.
What's everyone's predictions/bets placed so far ?

I don't bet, but here's what I think will happen regarding England...

They will beat Paraguay 3-0 and Crouch will score 2.
They will then beat T & T 6-1 and Crouch will score 4 because they are 'shit in the air'.

By the time it comes to the third match, Germany would have screwed up in their Group and finished 2nd to Poland, but because Sweden beat Paraguay and T & T by lesser margins than England, Sweden deliberately don't bother to score against England so that they play Poland in the last 16 instead of Germany.
As England don't mind losing either, they rest Owen and play Rooney from the start alongside Crouch. Rooney has no problems wth his foot and comes off after 60 minutes to give Walcott a run out.
Crouch scores the only goal of the game when an attempted clearance hits him on the back of the head and goes in. Nobody else has a 'shot' in the entire match.

England then play Germany in the last 16 and Rooney starts alongside Owen, but when England get their first corner after 5 minutes a German defender deliberately stamps on Rooney's metartarsole off the ball and he has to be replaced by Crouch, who then goes on to score both England goals in a 2-1 win.

England then play Portugal in the Quarter-Finals without the injured Rooney but Eriksson decides to go 4-5-1 with Hargreaves coming in to mark Deco man-for-man, leaving Owen on his own up front.
It is then a really tight game which finishes scoreless at the end of 90 minutes, but Portugal score early in Extra-Time. Eriksson then brings Crouch on for Hargreaves and Crouch scrambles in an equaliser as England suddenly look by far the better side. However, Eriksson left it too late and the game goes to penalties, which Portugal win 4-2, scoring all four, while England miss three because they haven't practised enough.

One consolation for England is that Crouch finishes as the Tournament's Top Scorer !
Trev...you can put a bet on that for me !

You reckon Crouch will score nine, the highest individual total since Gerd Muller in 1970! You must be crazy!

I believe Trev has put a bet on Ivory Coast to win the World Cup.

I would have thought the odds on that are pretty much the same ?

Junior, you've been away for so long. We don't call him Laurence 'Howling mad Murdoch' Hughes for nothing

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I have only just spotted this.

Absofackinglutely Mad Lol.

I think you are a metat'arsole.

I don't think my predictions are too far out at the moment really.
England have won their first two matches and qualified and Crouch scored with a header against T & T.
Germany will finish second in their group because Ecuador (not Poland) will draw 1-1 with them.
The England v. Sweden game will therefore see Sweden playing for a 0-0 draw so that they finish second and play Ecuador in the last 16. I can't see England scoring a deliberate own goal to 'throw' the match !

Having just read Gary Neville's ranting & raving in the Daily Mail this morning, my prediction for England v. Portugal tomorrow is that England will now be 'too fired up' and the Ref will send off an England player quite early on for what he perceives as a being a 'studs-first' sliding challenge (i.e. ball first, man as well). It could be anyone really.
England will then have to defend for the rest of the match because of the 100-degree heat, but they will hold out for a 0-0 draw after extra time.
They will then lose 3-0 in the Penalty Shoot-Out because their players will all shit themselves whereas Portugal will be 'as cool as you like' because they are technically better players...and they know it.

As for the other Quarter-Finals, I think Germany will beat Argentina 3-2 after extra time in a 'cracking game'.
Italy will get an early goal, then sit back to beat Ukraine 1-0 in a poor game. Shevchenko will be marked out of it and won't have a shot.
Brazil v. France will be another cracking game with Brazil winning 4-2 in normal time...their 4th goal coming on the break with the last kick of the match though.

I hope you paid William Hills a visit Lol....

I doubt whether they were taking bets for that one.
Too predictable wasn't it !

I even initially wrote 'Rooney' instead of 'it could be anyone'.