Originally posted on 06/15/2014:

Quote Originally Posted by drfunkmaster View Post
France and Honduras have never met before on any pitch. This is the inaugural collision between the European dynasty and their up and coming South American counterparts. Astonishingly, betting on Honduras can net any taker a handsome bounty if they dare offer at the massive take-back. Comparing the FIFA Rankings, France is slotted at number 17 overall. Honduras is ranked 33rd. This by no means implies that France is twice as good as Honduras or does this cast a shadow of impunity in Honduras’ qualification. The presumption is that France will win the match because they are a perennial European power, however not so long ago, the expectation of French superiority greatly diminished. Teams like Belgium and Greece usurped the French in the rankings and were suddenly held in higher distinction. With these notions considered, Greece and Belgium on average are lesser of a favorite against less quality opponents overall. Honduras should by no means be a heavy underdog, as their body of work en route to the World Cup was exquisite. The Hondurans pummeled fellow qualifier Costa Rica, they defeated America in the aggregate and they were a problem for Mexico. None of the three teams could come up with a win against Honduras. In fact, Honduras outscored these opponents 5-3. America is a 13th ranked football club, Mexico is ranked 19th respectively. Without question, Honduras can compete against top twenty opponents and France is no different. On a neutral pitch, Honduras is very capable of pulling off an upset. With a better than 10-1 incentive to the bold souls willing to place the bet, a victory by Honduras could be a sweet return on an enticing investment. Choosing Honduras with these odds may very well turn out to be the steal of the first week of the FIFA World Cup. Huge overlay.
An entire paragraph about France and Honduras and not even one player mentioned.

Soccer is about players on the pitch. Their chemistry. Coaching. And formations. That's all. It has nothing to do with lines, line movement, history, nothing.

This French team is way better than Honduras. Since you don't want to mention players, I won't. But the key players on France are all in their primes right now and they are simply in another league. To say France is the 17th best country in the nation is simply ludacris. I urge you to try and name me 5 better squads than the French. You cannot.