2022 World Cup

Japan beat Germany as well. The underdog teams seam to be doing pretty well

Are you all still all in on Denmark? :D

Belgium out, Germany out, Spain very nearly out. This a year of surprises.

It's coming home

When we turn it on, we look good. We’ve got to be brave.

Spain clearly placed 2nd on purpose. They now avoid Brazil and Argentina.

[quote=My Predictions]Group A: 1. Netherlands 2. Ecuador 3. Qatar 4. Senegal Group B: 1. England 2. USA 3. Iran 4. Wales Group C: 1. Mexico 2. Argentina 3. Poland 4. Saudi Arabia Group D: 1. France 2. Denmark 3. Tunisia 4. Australia Group E: 1. Germany 2. Japan 3. Costa Rica 4. Spain Group F: 1. Belgium 2. Morocco 3. Croatia 4. Canada Group G: 1. Brazil 2. Switzerland 3. Serbia 4. Cameroon Group H: 1. Portugal 2. South Korea 3. Uruguay 4. Ghana [/quote] Group A (1/2), I thought Senegal without Mane would completely crumble, but fair play to them. Ecuador played well too. Very defensive side, they can hold their heads high. Qatar, though I predicted would have a poor tournament usually hosts win at least once, they were probably the worst team at the World Cup. Group B (2/2), I certainly didn't expect England to be as dominant as they have been. I thought Wales would be the country that would hold us to a draw... Wales weren't great at all. I predicted this as their squad is aging but thought they'd give their all against England. Other than the 6-2 game against England, Iran played well, but for the best team in Asia, could have done better put more intensity on Wales or the USA. I genuinely believe we hit Iran in a completely off day for them, which made their qualification so much harder. The USA have really impressed me. They have one of the most athletic squads in the competition, put the opposition under pressure the whole game which was why teams had a really hard time against them. In an alternate universe they come away with 9 points. Defensively, they are solid, only conceded a penalty, and were playing some vicious Iran and England attackers. They play a tough game in the Netherlands next, but I don't see why they can't go through, especially if it goes to extra time and penalties. Group C (1/2), This group was mad, and so unpredictable. All 4 of these teams looked poor except Saudi Arabia, who nobody expected anything of. It started with the Saudi shocker. Poland VS Mexico was as boring and as uncreative game you get at the World Cup. No wonder even a poor Argentina side can dispatch them with not too much difficulty. Argentina, seem to be a little one dimensional. They look lost of ideas unless it comes to Messi which is weird because there is so much talent in that team, but unless it is Messi or a pot shot from Macalister or Offside, they can't seem to score. In the Poland game, Argentina looked good, but I think that was because Poland were so awful. And still Argentina could only score 2. Imagine Mbappe playing against that Poland defence? I'm betting on at least a hattrick for him. The saving grace for Poland is that Szczesny, their GK has saved them on so many occasions. Usually the Golden Glove goes to the GK of the winning team, but I think Szczesny already has a good chance of a mention with 2 penalty saves. Mexico, all they had to do was score 3 against Saudi Arabia to go through... They don't deserve to go through. Group D (1/2) I predicted Australia to get 0 points this tournament and I don't know how they are doing it but they are playing really well. They've scored in every game and only conceded against France. Really compact, good on the counter and they'll be fancying their chances against a poor Argentina. I don't think they'll win, but I didn't think they'd win any of their games. Australia is my second WC team and cheering for them has been better than cheering for England. Every game I think they'll lose, and they kept snatching wins! France are looking really, really good. They rotated heavily for Tunisia as they were already through so we can't count that game too heavily. It is likely to be England France in the Quarters and whoever wins that I think will reach the final. Tunisia were as expected, defensively solid but not much fire power, Denmark though were disappointing. Erikson playing too deep, they kept switching strikers every half game and couldn't find one that worked. I don't think they even scored in the World Cup. Really disappointing. Group E (1/2) Japan were the Robin Hood of the tournament, taking from the strong teams (Germany and Spain) and giving to Costa Rica. I didn't watch the last 2 Costa Rica games, but I don't quite understand how they beat Japan. Perhaps this team is only better than Qatar in the tournament because against Spain and Germany, they were poor. I predicted Japan to go through because I like the way they play, it's intense, aggressive and it showed in the group stage. European teams hate the way they play. Germany weren't great. Spain I like Gavi is quite the midfielder, youngest ever scorer for Spain at a World Cup. Great defence and though I might have spread hate to Morata previously, he's scored 3 times now, they have a very complete team. Group F (1/2) Canada showed promise in the first game but it was deceptive because Belgium, ranked 2 in the world gave the worst World Cup performance I've ever seen from a tournament favourite. They needed 1 goal against Croatia in the last game and their £100 Mil striker had 3 golden opportunities. Belgium is an aging squad and it's their last world cup going in as favourites till they get a new golden generation. Croatia is also an aging squad, but it wasn't their old superstars who secured it for them. Gvardiol, their 20 year old CB is a real talent and was central to their success. A real rising star. Morocco, I predicted them to be defensive but not much of an attacking force, but this could be the most well rounded squad to come out of Africa in a long time. They played well in attack getting 2 goals against Belgium, 3 goals against Canada, and though their superstar is Ziyech, goals are coming from lots of places. I really can't predict the Morocco Spain game. Group G (2/2) I actually didn't get to watch too much of this group. Just the Switzerland, Serbia game. But Switzerland are the Arsenal of internationals. Never really winning anything, but always getting past the group stage and always scoring beautiful well crafted goals. I don't see them winning the next game against Portugal but they always play some beautiful football. Brazil went through the first 2 games without a shot against them on target, that is scary and finalist material. Richarlison looks nightmarish as well. Group H (2/2) Portugal look good. Not Ronaldo he needs to be dropped but Bruno Fernandes is insane. He is the best midfielder in the World Cup. Defensively though, they look shaky. Expect some big scores from Portugal games. South Korea, I guessed to go through because I didn't fancy Uruguay, but they have been clinical. Even the game they lost they scored twice. I'm not sure who this Cho Striker is, but he could have a real place in European Football. The manager of Uruguay needs to be sacked. They have this young midfielder who is tearing the league apart in Brazil and they didn't play him until the final game of the group where he scored twice... You can have the best Strikers in the world but if you don't play good midfielders they are not going to score. Uruguay could have got a lot further but there was some poor management decisions. when South Korea scored to put them through, the manager had already subbed off the goal scorer and his 2 best strikers. They had 10 mins left to play. New Predictions of the R16 to the final Netherlands 0 - 0 USA (USA wins on Penalties) Argentina 3 - 1 Australia (Argentina win in Extra Time) Japan 1 - 1 Croatia (Really tough to decide here so Japan win on Penalties) Brazil 3 - 0 Korea England 2 - 0 Senegal France 6 - 0 Poland Morocco 2 - 2 Spain (Spain win on Penalties, really tough one here as well) Portugal 3 - 2 Switzerland (Extra Time Ronaldo winner to get the record) Quarter Finals USA 1 - 1 Argentina (Argentina wins on Penalties) Japan 0 - 2 Brazil England 2 - 1 France (I've gotta believe it's coming home) Spain 3 - 0 Portugal Semi Finals Argentina 1 - 1 Brazil (Messi misses the deciding penalty Brazil go through) England 2 - 2 Spain (England win on Penalties) Final Brazil 1 - 0 England

[quote=DreamStreet]Is anyone here into the World Cup? It is starting next week, and I am curious about all of your predictions and what you think is going to happen? As for me, knowing almost all facts about every team, having watched soccer for years, and having followed every big team throughout the past couple years, these are my predictions: [b]Group A:[/b] 1. Netherlands 2. Qatar 3. Senegal 4. Ecuador [b]Group B:[/b] 1. England 2. Iran 3. Wales 4. USA [b]Group C:[/b] 1. Argentina 2. Mexico 3. Poland 4. Saudi Arabia [b]Group D:[/b] 1. Denmark 2. Tunisia 3. Australia 4. France [b]Group E:[/b] 1. Spain 2. Germany 3. Japan 4. Costa Rica [b]Group F:[/b] 1. Belgium 2. Croatia 3. Morocco 4. Canada [b]Group G:[/b] 1. Brazil 2. Serbia 3. Switzerland 4. Cameroon [b]Group H:[/b] 1. Uruguay 2. Portugal 3. Ghana 4. South Korea [b]Round of 16:[/b] Netherlands beats Iran Argentina beats Mexico Spain beats Croatia Brazil beats Portugal Qatar beats England (on penalties, after a game that gets out of control with one English player being sent off, and tons of fouls and cards. The refs slightly favor Qatar). Denmark beats Mexico Germany beats Belgium (on penalties) Serbia beats Uruguay [b]Quarterfinals:[/b] Netherlands beats Argentina Brazil beats Spain Denmark beats Qatar Serbia beats Germany (on penalties) [b]Semifinals:[/b] Netherlands beats Brazil Denmark beats Serbia (on penalties) [b]Third Place:[/b] Brazil beats Serbia [b]Final:[/b] Netherlands beats Denmark [b]Winner:[/b] Netherlands [b]Runner Up:[/b] Denmark [b]Third Place:[/b] Brazil [b]Fourth Place:[/b] Serbia What do you all think? Anyone Excited?[/quote] Few surprises here: Group A: I honestly didn't expect Qatar to be so weak. How on earth did they win the Asian Cup in 2019? I don't know, but they definitely disappointed me. First Host Nation to lose all 3 matches and finish rock bottom. Group B: I kind of overlooked all the political mess that the Iranian National Team was facing. If not for all that, I think they could've done better, but it seems the mess really affected the players according to Carlos Queiroz. I was also impressed with the USA and they did better than I thought. Group C: Mexico should've went through. Poland really played horribly, and Mexico deserved second place more. They were the better side against Poland and were so unlucky against Saudi Arabia. In fact, Saudi Arabia should've gotten at least a draw against Poland, as they were really the better team for most of it. It should've been Argentina and Mexico, but luck was for Poland and not so much for Mexico. Not to mention, if it weren't for Goalkeeper Szczesny, Poland would've finished rock bottom. Group D: LOL, I honestly looked into the World Cup Curse too much and predicted France to go out. I went back and fourth between Tunisia and Australia for second, but thought Tunisia were slightly better. Australia surprised me though. I was extremely shocked by Denmark. Most underwhelming team in the World Cup. I have no idea what happened to them. They looked so good before the World Cup started. Group E: The only reason Japan went through is because Spain kind of tanked their game. If Spain vs Japan ended in even a draw, Germany would've been through. That being said, I expected Japan to do better than we thought, but they did surprise me. Although, I was shocked when Costa Rica beat them. Group F: I had some high expectations with Morocco, but I didn't realize how much Belgium have declined. I thought Croatia and Belgium were just too good, but I guess not. Morocco really did very well. I knew Belgium was in decline but I didn't expect that much. They only even played well for the last 30 min against Croatia. Group G: All I can say is Serbia is a team that just cannot be trusted. I had high hopes in them, and they attacked very well but their defense, OMG. Their defense was beyond terrible. I couldn't believe it. Serbia is like the Roma of National teams. Always looking good and underperforming and not to be trusted when it matters. Serbia, and also Ukraine I must say. You can just NEVER EVER trust those teams. Group H: Again, Portugal tanked the game, which is why South Korea are through. If Portugal didn't tank, it would've been them and Uruguay. Although I will say that I was very underwhelmed by Uruguay. Suarez and Cavani have declined so much and they are just so slow. It really costed them. Anyways Now to the Knockouts: Netherlands already beat USA Argentina already beat Australia Croatia beats Japan Brazil beats South Korea (I'd love to see South Korea win, but I think Brazil will win) England beats Senegal on penalties France beats Poland Spain beats Morocco (Very Close Match) Portugal beats Switzerland Netherlands beats Argentina Brazil beats Croatia on penalties (I hope Croatia wins, and I think they can considering all of Brazil's injuries. However, I don't trust their new goalkeeper. If they had Subasic, I would've tipped Croatia at this rate, but the new goalkeeper looks very shaky). England beats Fance Spain beats Portugal Netherlands beats Brazil Spain beats England Brazil beats England for Third Place Netherlands beats Spain 1. Netherlands 2. Spain 3. Brazil 4. England