Fifa World Cup

The FIFA World Cup Syafadzil : A very good morning to our English class teacher, Mr. Lee and to all my friends. Today, me and my friends, Amir and Firdaus are going to engage in a forum about the World Cup. Syafadzil : To explain it briefly, the World Cup is the world’s biggest sports event. It was held every 4 years since the first World Cup in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of World War 2. The tournament will be held in South Africa which involves 32 teams, each got to be in the tournament by a series of qualification phase, which took place over the three years after the recent World Cup. The host nation has automatic qualifiqation. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event, with an estimated 715 million people watching the 2006 tournament, which was held in Germany. To go with the largest sports event, there are some notable records that had been set along the month-long exhibition since it was held. Brazil holds the record for lifting the coveted trophy the most, which stands at 5. Brazil also boast the most goals in the tournament, scoring a whopping 201 goals. Moreover, it is the only country that had participated in every World Cup. individually,the most goals scored is held by Ronaldo, who plays for Brazil, with 15 goals to his name. Diego Maradona also set a record for appearing as captain 16 times for the Argentina nation. Amir : thank you for the interesting informations, Syafadzil. Shall we move on with the questions then? Syafadzil : Yes. First off, which team would you bet on to lift the crowned World Cup this year? and why do you think that? Firdaus, any thoughts? Firdaus : A very good question, Syafadzil. I think Spain would win it this year. Here are some of the reasons. Undoubtedly, they are the team at the moment. They boast one of the best records along their way to South Africa. They are currently the number 1 ranked team in the world, which comes to no surprise to many people. Footballers like Xavi, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso all but to name a few, all playing their trades for their national team. Just say their names, and it will bring a cold shiver down to the spine of their opponents. Spain is a side full of footballing talents, with their players showing great form at the moment with their respective clubs. This team has resilience and team spirit. That’s just some of the reasons why I choose Spain. But Spain is not going to have a easy run-in to the trophy. They are going to face some stern test along the way, notably Brazil who wants to lift the trophy for the sixth time. Brazil is the 2nd ranked team in the world. Their attacking talents such as Robinho, Pato, Luis Fabiano and also not to forget their midfield engine, generated by the 2007 Ballon D’or winner, Kaka. They are not going to be easy to beat, especially with some great run of form recently found by the players. Syafadzil : Looks like Spain is going to be the winner, yes? What do you reckon, Amir? Amir : Not if I have something to say about that. The team to watch by my opinion had got to be Holland. Don’t take your eyes on this team, which ranked 3rd in the world. Their star player is arguably Robin van Persie, who plays for Arsenal but his progress had been held back due to the recent serious injury to his ligament. But he will be fit to play in the World Cup. Everybody knows that no team is made up of only one player. Other key players are Arjen Robben, who recently scored a spectacular volley that sent Manchester United out of the Champions League, Wesley Sneijder, who scored the winner at Russia that sent Inter Milan to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and not to mention the footballing masterclass of Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel and many other talented footballers. This team is rich in attack, and will surely run riot in the opponets defence in this upcoming World Cup. like Spain, they also thrive on an enviable record along their way to South Africa. They were the first European team to secure a place in the finals, with a perfect 10 wins out of ten in the group stages. Syafadzil : thank you for sharing your thoughts Amir. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see who will be the champions then. Moving on, who is going to outshine any other players in this tournament? Firdaus, give your take on this one. Firdaus : It’s hard to choose, but I think I will go with Messi. The plucky Argentine forward had got to be the best striker in the world. He spear-headed Barcelona to an unprecedented 6 trophies last season, and were the top scorer in the Champions League. His work rate is high, his brilliance of controlling the ball is just mesmerizing and what else can I say? He had been praised by some of the world’s best footballing legends, Diego Maradonna being one of them. And he had been dubbed as one of the best if not, the best in the business. Amir : It’s true that Messi is just spectacular when wearing the Barcelona shirt. But when he donned on the national jersey, he just could not find the form that he showed with Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong, he still scored some important goals that helped the Argentina team to qualify for the World Cup, but for a footballer by his standards, he could have done better, much better. Argentina only qualified by the skin of their teeth. They only secured their place with virtually the last game of the group stages and occupied the last automatic qualifications spot. And I just could not see that Messi will shine in the World Cup by the way things are going. Syafadzil : Amir certainly gave us something to think about. But, who do you have in mind, Amir? Amir : I’m definitely going with Fernando Torres. He’s right up there with Messi, and can perform brilliantly both in club and international level. Even though he was pampered with injuries this season, he still can come back and immediately give a marvelous performance. By my opinion, he is better than Messi, but because of his injuries, he fell short every time. His skills are amazing, his reading of the ball is just spectacular, and he can pop out from anywhere and score. He truly is one of the best in this era. Syafadzil : Thanks for that, both of you. Let’s wrap up this forum then. 32 teams, with everything to play for, vying for the most coveted trophy in sports history. All will be unveiled in this upcoming summer. Do not miss it for the world.