is the world cup host nation a favourite for the trophy?
346229
nope... brazilian samba will clinch it...
601481
Current top contenders are Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy. Holland could be the dark horse of the tournament.\n\nAny of the above country could win the world cup 2006.
517008
Yes I agree Brazil is highly favorable to win the cup, but i'm surprized Germany didn't get more votes, all their players are very elite and I believe they too have a very good chance to win it this year.
1172182
lol..I don't think so.\nItaly will not win the world cup, there's better teams.
1175036
No. When your home team is not playing you naturally pick a favorite. It could be because you have some affiliation to that other Country or just because you enjoy their game. I'm Portuguese and when we are not in the finals I like Brazil (we used to be the same country and speak the same language), but I've also picked other teams, like Argentina in 1986 or France in 1998 because they played a beautiful game.
486539
Current top contenders are Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Italy. Holland could be the dark horse of the tournament.\n\nAny of the above countries could win the world cup 2006.   \n\nIf Wayne Rooney becomes match fit to play, England should be considered as a top contender too.
667181
Brazil are the favourites but England will have a big say to who will lift the trophy
482389
Well,I don't know if they will win it. But they are\nthe clear favorites to win it.  The pressure is on\nBrazil.  Anything less than winning it will be considered\na failure for Brazil.  In contrast, any other team will\nconsider it a great success to finish in the top 4.\n\nIn my mind there are about 10 teams who can win the\nWorld cup, and Brazil tops the list.  (And yes the U.S.\nis one of those 10 teams.)
393071
The world cup favorite is definitly Brazil , with not just their all star line up but all star backups. With Ronaldo , Edilson and especially the best player in the world Ronaldinho   in the lineup , it would be next to impossible for anybody to pull an upset on them. Besides them if there is anybody who has even a chance is Germany , since they're the host and they have an impressive Bundusliga superstars lineup. I wouldnt count England in just because of the fact that every World Cup they bring their best premeir league superstars which I think are as good if not better than the brazilian players. Players like Beckham, Gerrard ,Cole , Ferdinand to name a few superstars but somehow they dont seem to perform their best as an English team. United States  have a very good team this time , better than last world cup's but if you are talkin about winning the world cup I would say they are not at that stage yet.
1169208
I think it is a very smart idea which probably evolved from the idea in the olympics where they needed a 3rd place winner. I think it also adds suspense and action to the World Cup, and whether or not the press approves of it, I think the fans enjoy the extra action which gives a lot of extra enjoyment to the World Cup. I will watch it regardless of who is playing...it will be good no matter what.  As for who will be there, I think it will most likely be Italy and the winner of England/Portugal. 3rd will be Italy, 2nd will be winner of Germany/Argentina (I think Germany, but am not sure) and 1st will be Brazil.
1074766
Maybe.. These two are amazing teams. It's going to be an interesting game. I think I have to go with... Germany. Idk. Its going to be close.
332288
Brazil is the favorite going in, but there are a few teams that can match them in skill and desire to win\n\nThe winner will be one of the following\nItaly\nBrazil\nArgentina\nCzech Republic
632285
Brazil is really the best team since before, in my own opinion the Host Country will be the best which is Germany, they are the no.1 contender of Brazil this coming 2006 world cup, because their countrymen will be supporting them on the first place.
383173
That is not true. A lot of people care, more than you  think. Just check the bars around June and see how many people are following their countries. It is truly a world champion, unlike the MBL NBA and the NFL whose teams are all from the USA. How can you really be a world champion if you did not play against any other countries? Germany has a good chance just because the fact that they are the "home team" and that is always good. Brazil is always the favorite. Argentina is always in the mix as Italy, England and France.
1019265
Yes everything is in their favour to win but watch, Argentina, Germany & spain as well.\n\ni think the final will be between Brazil & Argentina
1075599
Argentina is one of the top 4 favorites for Germany World cup 2006 and have a new "Maradona" to be presented to the world, do not loose detail for tomorrow morning!
620673
The world cup is most likely to go to Brazil or Germany. I think it could well be Germany because the always seem to perform at the world cup despite peoples missgivings and they are on home soil, with FIFA always giving the host nation an easy route through the competition, they may be able to avenge last time.