Brazil will not repeat as World Cup champion, according to a simulation of
the tournament.
Electronic Arts, using the simulation engine from its 2006 FIFA World Cup
video game, has the Czechs defeating Brazil 2-1 in the final.
Czech striker Milan Baros won the Golden Shoe as the tournament's top scorer
with six goals, while teammate and playmaker Pavel Nedved took the Golden Ball
as the top player.
Ronaldo and Tomas Rosicky exchanged goals in the first half, according to the
simulated final, before Nedved unlocked the Brazilian defense in the 77th minute
to set up Baros for the winner.
In other action, England lost to Germany in the round of 16, with the host
side eventually losing 2-1 to the Czechs in the semifinals.
Brazil downed rival Argentina in the other semifinal in the only penalty-kick
shootout of the simulated tournament. Tied 2-2 after overtime, substitute
Robinho knocked in the winning kick after Juan Riquelme shot wide on Argentina's
final penalty.
Argentina beat Germany 3-1 in the third-place game.
The simulation had its share of upsets, with Italy and Portugal knocked out
in the group stages.
The surprise team was Costa Rica, which made it to the quarter-finals before
losing to Argentina.
The United States fared well in simulated play, with wins over Italy (3-2)
and Ghana (2-0) and a tie against the Czechs (2-2) in Group E, before losing 3-2
to Brazil in the round of 16.
TARDY ARGENTINA: Mariana Lescano traveled by train and bus for several hours
to see Argentina practice. She didn't see much.
Unlike Brazil, which is famous for its open training sessions, Argentina has
often practiced behind closed doors at its World Cup camp in southern Germany.
And the two-time champions are seldom on time, making things difficult for fans
and the 200-plus journalists who cover the team.
"It's horrible," said Lescano, a native of Buenos Aries who lives in Germany
teaching Spanish. "I've been waiting here two hours and haven't seen anything.
I'm by myself, but families come -- make the long trip -- and they go away
disappointed."
The session Lescano attended earlier this week in Herzogenaurach was typical.
An hour after practice was to begin, not a single player had shown up. When
they did arrive from the hotel, located 100 yards from the training site, it
wasn't stars Lionel Messi or Hernan Crespo. In fact, the players who first
appeared weren't even on the team's 23-man roster. They were from the practice
squad. The regular team eventually began to practice, almost 90 minutes behind
schedule.
When practice finally did start, it made little difference for most fans, who
are kept behind a chain-link fence, far from shouting distance of the players.
"There are so many fans who come here with so much hope," Lescano said. "But
it winds up disappointing. You can't see the practices, and tickets are
unavailable -- or unaffordable -- for regular people."
