It’s June 27th and we are half way through the World Cup. The entertainment and excitement has been relentless with a record number of 136 goals scored and enough thrills and spills to fill a Marvel comic! Unfortunately Suarez‘s impression of Count Dracula could overshadow a wonderful tournament, and that is why I have no intention of mentioning him or the incident again in this blog. The group stage has concluded and we find ourselves in the round of sixteen which I’m sure you all know is the knockout section. There will be no more draws (or ties as the Americans irritatingly call them,) so the losers pack their bags and go home. The second round draw is as follows;
- Brazil v Chile
- Columbia v Uruguay
- France v Nigeria
- Germany v Algeria
- Holland v Mexico
- Costa Rica v Greece
- Argentina v Switzerland
- Belgium v USA
The group stage conjured up many surprise results none more so than the elimination of holders Spain. Fellow European giants Italy, Portugal, England and Russia also fell by the wayside. I’m tempted not to refer to England as a giant of the European game because quite frankly they were clueless. Roy Hodgson has been told by his employers he can continue his ineptness through to the European Championships in 2016. He’s a decent man, but should do the decent thing and resign!!!
FIFA must be quite pleased with the composition of the last sixteen since they represent three continents. Eight teams are from the Americas, six teams from Europe, and for the first time in a World Cup two teams from Africa.
Three teams who have 10 world cup wins between them, Brazil, Argentina and Germany, predictably made the next round. Holland, Argentina and Columbia are the only.teams with 100% records. Greece squeezed through to the next round thanks to their striker Samaras tripping over his own feet to earn and convert a penalty in the last seconds to defeat the luckless Ivory Coast. USA revealed an abundance of guts and determination to escape from the “group of death” and earned the right to play my dark horses Belgium.
The two African teams, Algeria and Nigeria, have difficult ties against former Cup Winners Germany and France. France have recovered very well following the traumas and diabolical nature of their exit from the World Cup in 2010. Both European teams have shown their strengths and weaknesses in the tournament, but should comfortably take care of their African opponents.
Uruguay will be not be the same force without the suspended Suarez (Oops! I mentioned him again,) but Chile are capable of springing a surprise on host and fellow South Americans Brazil. Mexico acquitted themselves splendidly in finishing runner up to Brazil, but will probably run into a Dutch oven. Invariably the team who can be relied on to beat Holland are usually themselves. Never has a team in the history of the World Cup shot themselves more in the foot than the Dutch.
Switzerland recovered from the hammering they received from France and took care of business against a hapless (I love that word as regular readers will know) and ten man Ecuador. Argentina did enough to win their group with three wins from three matches, but looked a little vulnerable against Nigeria.
Finally I can’t heap enough praise on little Costa Rica. They have been nothing less than a revelation in this tournament having defeated previous Cup Holders Uruguay and Italy and holding clueless (I make no apologies for repeating the word) England to a goal less draw.
Let us not forget that only EIGHT teams have won the World Cup. Furthermore, no European team has won the tournament when it is held in the Americas. Okay let’s get down to the nitty gritty and put my money where my mouth is (should be keyboard really.) I’m predicting wins for: Brazil, Columbia, France, Germany, Holland, Costa Rica, Argentina and Belgium.
