With their worst performance in past 2 years, India is now out of the race of favorites of world cup..?
610607
You never know, Indians are so great that even Scotland can defeat them and sometimes, even Aussies can't.
383021
No. They have teams whith a very good chance in the last two world cups, but they choked. Same for Portugal in 2002.
1062015
Poland, Costa Rica, and Paraguay have been mathematically eliminated from the tournament.\nthere is a 0% possibility of them advancing any further. they still have the last of there 3 group matches to play though. however, these teams will be playing for pride, rather than a spot in the next round.
564527
I don't think so.  Too often in the past, the top teams get eliminated.  There is too much risk of upsets when it gets down to one game challenges.  It has been several world cups since the #1 team has won it.
628515
I think they have a better team this go around at the World Cup.  The only thing is that they are going to have a hard time getting out of their group.  At the last World Cup they didn't have as tough of a group, and that helped them progress further.  I think the experience that the team got from the last Cup will help them to get out of the group stage and they will be able to make it to the quarters.
205944
No doubt brazil will be the hottest favourtie but don't forget about germany the host! They're strong once in the finals. Remember last world cup? They're mediocre in the qualifying rounds but fought to the final but lost 2-0 to brazil. Italy ain't bad also and watch out for argentina with lionel messi as their new engineer. These are the 4 potential winners, i believe.
653997
India is lot improved in one day matches these days. their winning streak in the last six months is proof to this. Reason for this is the emergence of players like dhoni and pathan. they play positive and aggresive cricket which is so important in one day cricket. If they continue this form which is helped by the mix of youth and experience, they can surely win the worldcup.
668990
India cannot win the world cup so easily...they have to do something special for it...we saw India chased a good total like 280 against pakistan In pakistan...but in W.I they were not able to compile even 199 runs with their strong batting line up...we can see how India is perfoming overseas...so it would be difficult to say that India can win world cup atleast in West Indies...
547826
No, It is the worst team that I saw in my life.\nIt was in chance to come into the world cup.
978540
If they perform to their potential and ability, they are defenitely going to be assets to Indian Team.  Unfortunately they are not doing justice to their potential.  One can see many youngsters coming to Indian Team in the near future before team for the world cup is selected.
370992
It is hard to distinguish surprising. Last time Turkey and Korea in the Semi's was surprising, but so was Senegal out of the first round. So I'll give you a "few" surprising for both. Look for Austrailia to get out of the first round. Their coach, Guus Hiddink has never finished less than 4th in World Cup, he's lead Holland and Korea to that distinguished mark. Do not think he'll make another run to 4th place but look for him to get them to the 2nd round. England is coming off a bumpy campaign to get to the World Cup, but they are highly motavated now and their team is starting to gel. Also their young talent is ridiculous with Gerrard and Lampard, two Euro Player of the Year finalists last year, and Rooney best striker in the world under 21, as well as the "old" talent of Owen and Beckam look for this team to do well this time and even better in 2010. Both these teams also benefit from weak groups. Usual suspects include of course Germany, Brazil, Holland, Portugal, Italy. Look for Italy to dissapoint however. They have the strongest group in the tournament and Totti has been hurt. The Czechs will look to justify their no. 2 ranking in the world within that same group. They also want to make up for their shortcomings in Euro 04. The US in the same group will advance also due to the fact that no one takes us seriously, it is to their own peril.
408470
If our Cricket board can get rid of these grave politics, there is no reason why a worldclass player like Sourav cannot represent his nation in Worldcup.\nHow can we forget that we proceeded to the finals of the last WorldCup under his Captaincy?\nWe should always choose the best team for reaching the ultimate goal, and I think Sourav will fit the slot by his own charisma.
543996
Ya i agree with you...\n\nI think minnows like Namibia, Uae, etc should be groomed at other smaller and unimportant tournaments...not at the MAHA -EVENT of CRICKET !!!\n\nForget all the new teams playing in the world cup, even Test playing teams...Bangladesh, Zimbabwe...have only got worse...Adding more 'not so good' teams is not a very good idea...\n\nIt does dilute "THE CRICKET WORLD CUP" a little bit...\nAny World Cup must have 'THE' BEST teams....\nSo i agree...
246148
On the current evidence it is too close to call.Australia is still the one to beat but that aura of invincibility is over now.Others are beginning to fancy their chances now.This cup is as wide open now as was the one in 1996.My gut feeling is that England or South Africa will win it for the first time.No one deserves it more than England having made it in to three finals.
2227
Hmmm..... It's a tricky one. So, here is a tricky answer from my side.\n\nOn their current form India looks capable of winning the WC 2007, Infactany team can win it. If we look at the ICC ODI Ranking Table then we would see that Australia is 1st and way ahead. But competition is strict from 2nd to 7th as South Africa is marginally ahead of Pakistan who is followed by India, England, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand. This shows how close these teams are when it comes to their standard of play and their consistency. It also means that from 2nd to 7th Position any team can beat its opponent (Even Australia, As New Zealand has just proved it by beating Australia in a record chase). So I think any of the Top Seven teams can won the World Cup on its day. Now a days ODI cricket has become so unpredictable that any thing can happen. \n\nComing back to the question, I would say that Aussies are favorites to defend their title but a bad day can stop their march towards a dream hat trick. Apart from Australia, every other team (i.e.; England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa) have equal chance to win the WC 2007. Any of the above mentioned team can make Aussies pay for their mistakes on the certain day. So, I would say that, India has equal chance of winning the World Cup 2007 as any other Top 7 team, with Aussies being the Favorites.
614557
Yes, they are. They are 52nd right now, as per FIFA latest rankings. But if you are talking about this year Wolrd Cup, they did not qualify for the final tournament.
1008306
to me, it seems to be so. this time world cup 2006 doesnt seem to have any dark horse. just big name teams and players as you said.