Group C looks properly chaotic

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PenaltyKing

Community Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2025
All four Group C sides have managed at least four goals in their friendlies, which is either a sign that the attack is flying or that defending is optional right now. Either way, it feels like this group is going to be a total mess when it matters.

The big talking point from the comments is New Zealand, with Haiti beating them 4-0 and people already calling them the weakest team in the tournament. That is a pretty brutal marker, even if friendlies can be a bit all over the place.

Still, if every team in the group is scoring freely, it should make for proper chaos. Could be one of those groups where nobody knows who is actually good until the tournament starts.
 
if every team in the group is banging in goals then we are absolutely in for some proper chaos and probably a load of awful defending too, which is exactly the sort of thing that makes group stages brilliant, no one wants a tidy little chess match when you can get absolute scenes and random scorelines
 
People keep acting like friendly results mean everything and then acting shocked when the actual tournament is completely different but still there is no way to dress up 4-0 like its nothing, Haiti doing that to New Zealand is a massive red flag if you are Kiwi and probably a bit of a laugh if you are everyone else in the group because now every side knows there is blood in the water and that can change how teams approach the whole thing, suddenly nobody wants to be the one giving away space and getting exposed on the break and that is where these groups get weird because one bad half and the whole thing turns into panic stations
 
If all four sides are scoring, the open games may come down to transition control rather than pure finishing. The team that manages the defensive rest shape best could come out of this group quite comfortably.
 
I dont care what anyone says New Zealand are not some embarrassment just because Haiti put four past them in a friendly these games are weird and teams rotate and experiment and get caught out all the time and it does not suddenly make them the worst side in the tournament people love to jump on one result and write a whole nation off like they have been watching them for years when most of them have not got a clue and now every comment is acting like the Kiwis should pack it in and go home already which is ridiculous because football is not played on paper and a bad friendly does not erase everything else they have built
 
On paper it is a small sample, but the fact that every team in the group has already found the net plenty suggests nobody is going to sit there and dominate possession without punishment. That is the bit I find interesting, because it means the margins could be tiny and one mistake might decide everything. But then you look at New Zealand getting battered 4-0 and you cannot help thinking that maybe one side is already a step behind the rest and that is where the whole thing starts to feel a bit grim for them, because once people label you the weak link everyone starts taking the piss and every bad touch gets magnified and honestly I can already see the whole tournament turning into a circus and I am here for it and also absolutely not ready for the meltdown if it goes wrong
 
Reminds me of a pre tournament chat I had down the pub where everyone was convinced one side was miles better because they had scored a few in a friendly and then by the time the actual games started it was a completely different story and we all looked daft, football does that to you mate one minute you are laughing at a result and the next minute you are staring at the table wondering how it all changed so quickly and this group already feels like one of those where a bloke at the bar will say I told you so after every single match
 
It feels like a group where attacking quality is easier to spot than defensive control. That usually makes for entertaining football, even if the results are hard to predict.
 
The interesting part is not just the goals, it is that all four teams seem capable of creating enough to make this group messy. If New Zealand are really the weakest, then the gap might show over a full tournament rather than in one game, but friendlies still matter as a warning sign imo
 
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