The World Cup may be 6 months away, but now that the draw is done and the groups are set, what are everyone's bold predictions? Here are mine: Croatia will win Group D Mexico won't get out of their group Uruguay will upset Portugal and France to get to the semifinals
Argentina will be knocked out before the Q Final. England will go out in the Semi Final to Germany on Penalties or to Brazil 2-0.. Only Brazil from the Americas will reach the Quarter Final. Germany and Brazil will contest the Final with Brazil getting their revenge for the humiliation they suffered 4 years ago by winning the final 2-1 after Extra Time.
1) Australia will send Peru and Denmark home from their group 2) Brazil will (seamlessly) snatch the trophy from all other powerhourses (Argentina, Germany, Spain, even Belgium) 3) Italy will.... oh wait! Nevermind 4) Argentina will draw both with Iceland and Croatia 5) Panama will finish 3rd in their group, Tunisia 4th 6) Russia will be helped to advance
-One of Spain and Portugal will fail to advance from group stage (most likely Portugal). -Tunisia will beat either Belgium or England, but will still fail to advance from the group. -France will lose in R16 to Argentina, Croatia or Nigeria.
Yeah, I feel that Portugal will choke, too ... Also, I don't think Tunisia will beat anyone at this WC, as for France... hmm... yeah, they might lose to Croatia, but I don't see them losing to Argentina and Nigeria. I actually will bet on France in a France - Argentina match
The thread asks for bold predictions so here they are. Saying things like "Brazil will win the world cup" or "Panama will beat Tunisia", is not bold at all, with all respect
Current odds on Brazil winning the World Cup are at 5-1, which means only about 20%. So it's still somewhat bold to predict they will beat everyone else and be champions. I agree about Panama beating Tunisia, however. That is probably only about 40-60.
I don't know much about betting but aren't they 2nd favorite for most of those companies? that isn't a bold bet at all then...
I guess it depends on how you define "bold". If I were to put $100 on a horse with odds of 5 to 1, that would be a pretty bold bet in my book.
You are on the wrong track then, mate. Panama is a team of fully professional players, San Marino are all semi-pros. I have watched Panama play powerhouses like Argentina and Chile and I can safely say that, comparing to Europe, they are around the current level of Norway or Bulgaria.
Mine are as follows: Russia 2018 will be seen, in retrospect, as the tournament that hinted at the barriers and established hierarchies in international football breaking down: At least 3 of the quarter-finalists in Russia will not be from the list of usual suspects from UEFA or Conmebol. One of them will be Iran. Nigeria will make the semi-final in Russia. Maybe even the final. Messi and Chris Ronaldo will be forgettable and the players that will shine the most in Russia will not be ones that are household names right now. Three other points to go with the above: Both CAF and AFC fans will be reasonably pleased with their performances in Russia despite having 3 group stage match ups against one another. Concacaf, which had its best tournament last time, will have a very poor showing in Russia. Neither Conmebol (which will have a rather poor tournament overall) nor UEFA will be dominant by any stretch of the imagination. More so Conmebol than UEFA, but in reality both.
There will be at most one non-UEFA team in the semi-finals, and if there is one, it will be Brazil. Admittedly, it's not really that bold a prediction because in over 80 years of playing World Cups in Europe there has never been more than one non-UEFA team in the semi-finals. In fact, only six times has a non-UEFA team played in a semi-final in Europe, and Brazil was that team four of the times. So I'm not expecting a semi-final berth for anyone else.
*Senegal will become the first African team to get a medal at the World Cup: It just seems fitting to me that a staff consisting of former players who were part of one of the best African performances ever will be able to convey that winning mentality to the players. Aliou Cissé, the manager, was the team captain in the Senegal team that made it to the quaterfinal in 2002. Tony Sylva was the starting goalie. Omar Daf & Lamine Diatta were the starting leftback & centre back respectively. Since all of the current Senegal players were born in the 1980s & 1990s, they were all children/teenagers at the time and probably look up to Cissé & co. I'm not entirely sure, but isn't it rare that an African team is managed by former players that are more or less considered national heroes for their nation? I think it boosts the confidence and team spirit. *Iago Aspas will be the top scorer of the World Cup. He is in terrific form for Celta Vigo, yet still quite unknown outside of La Liga. Spain is a team that is strong enough to play enough games to increase its players' chances of becoming the top scorer. Neither Diego Costa nor Alvaro Morata are superior to the degree that Aspas getting a starting berth is out of the question. *The Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira will be one of the best players of the tournament and sold expensively to Real Madrid afterwards.
20% in a field of 32 is not bold. Although if you said this right after the WC fiasco of 2014, it would be bolder.
the boldest prediction I could make is that we will have new world cup champion, someone that never won! not gonna happen of course, this is world cup, not euro, everyone takes it with maximum seriosity and focus, so it‘s gonna be usual suspects as every time!