AuthorVarious The World Cup is not too far away now and so we thought we would write a little piece on our thoughts. However, the World Cup is one of the biggest events in the world and so we couldn’t tackle this beast alone. So we asked several other bloggers on their thoughts for the World Cup and we specifically asked these questions:
First up we start with my fellow Outcast Joe: Football Outcasts – Joe Who do you think will win the world cup? Head says Germany. Heart wants England’s brave lions to go all the way! To be fair, if Southgate just gets the England team to go out and play with no fear, why can’t they go far? They normally play with total fear which gets them nowhere, so may as well go and play and enjoy themselves! Who do you think will be top scorer? Mo Salah (if he makes it there), in his teams group he has the potential to rack up plenty of goals against some poor opposition, which even if Egypt don’t progress that far, may be enough for him to take out the Golden Boot. Who do you think will flop at the tournament? Team wise - Portugal? Pipped by Morocco to 2nd in the group with Spain topping it! Name one player you think will become a star? Raheem Stirling – Pep’s got him playing with supreme confidence at club level, so if he can replicate his City form for England then the world may sit up and take note. If only the media would leave him alone. Who will be a surprise team? Egypt. Salah could fire them out of the group and in to uncharted territory. Similarly, people have touted Poland to quietly do well on the back of a good qualifying campaign. England Football Blog – Jonathan Who do you think will win the world cup? I'll go for France, they still have the side that made the final of Euro 2016 and have Varane back and added M'bappe & Dembele- their depth of talent IS frightening. The erratic club form of Lloris & Pogba is a concern but I suspect Pogba will enjoy playing in a more advance position this summer. Of the other contenders I think Germany will badly miss their big character from 2014 at the business end of tournament and much as I love what Tite has done with Brazil I don't think they're quite ready to win it all. Who do you think will be top scorer? I'm going to be patriotic and say Harry Kane. He hasn't been at his best recently but has plenty of time to get mentally & physically ready and I suspect being in a group with Panama gives Kane and indeed Romelu Lukaku a chance of a hat-trick and you normally only need 6 to win the Golden Boot. Who do you think will flop at the tournament? Argentina could be in serious trouble- they were awful in qualifying and needed the genius of Messi just to get this far. Their defence looks dodgy, the squad is getting older and the draw did them few favours with Croatia, Iceland & Nigeria and the possibility of playing the French should they make the last 16. Name one player you think will become a star? If there's one certainty in football it's that Real Madrid will sign the World Cup's brightest new star come August. This year they won't need to because I think it'll be their very own Marco Asensio, he lit up the Euro Under 21s last summer and with Spain likely to go a long way I think he'll emerge as his nations new superstar. Who will be a surprise team? Senegal - their group with Poland, Columbia & Japan will be a lot of fun as they are all better going forward than defending and in Mane & Balde they have a pair of match winners who could take them a distance. Sporting Mad – James Who will win the World Cup? I have used the Telegraph.co.uk's World Cup predictor to 'map out' the tournament. Much like Dr Strange in The Avengers Infinity War, I have 'seen' 14million different futures and Germany win it in all but one of them. I think Germany will do back to back World Cups, beating France in the final to avenge their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat. I think Germany will be too strong... I think. Should easily negotiate their group, before beating Switzerland in 1st knock-out round, England in Quarter Finals and Argentina in semi-finals. France's path to the final will also see them easily get through their group, before beating Croatia, Portugal and Brazil. Who will be Top Scorer? Its a hard one to call. There are no 'out and out' strikers anymore. Messi doesn't like big tournaments, Ronaldo will be too selfish, Kane wont get past the quarters with England, so I'm going for Antoine Greizmann (France) as the tournament’s top marksman. Who will flop? It's so tempting to put England here isn't it? But that would be the easy choice. Plus I think a Quarter Final exit to the eventual winners is not a bad showing for them. Australia? Again they are not expected to do much, so wouldn't really be considered a flop. There's always a 'big' nation that struggles at each World Cup, but with the stakes so high it's difficult to call. I cant see any of the so called 'big' teams not making it out of their Group. That's why I'm going to say host nation Russia will flop by not winning a game or making it out of their group. Who will become a star? Hard one to pick but I think Timo Werner (Germany) will shine in this tournament. A known entity at RB Leipzig and 7 goals in 12 Germany caps, I think this is where he will put his name to the World and become a 'big' star.... so bet on him being Lewandowski's replacement at Bayern in the not too distant future. I also think Mo Salah will have a great tournament, can't say he will become a star, as you could argue he already is following the season he's had at Liverpool. I think he'll back it up at the World Cup, leading Egypt from the front into the knock-out rounds, before settling into his new home in Spain. Who will be a surprise team? I hate to say it but I don’t think there will be one. Unless you count England making the quarters! On paper the stronger teams look too strong and the weaker teams too weak to cause upsets. I would have said Egypt but with Salahs injury they may not make it out of their group (having first said that they would). ManchesterM – Freelance Ah, the World Cup will soon be amongst us. With that comes many pressing questions and predictions. Here are my thoughts on the upcoming World Cup in Russia. Who will win the World Cup? Germany - If you’ve turned on your TV in the past 4 years since Germany’s last World Cup win, you’ve noticed how good they are. They boast an enormous amount of talent in the squad, with essentially a B-team winning the Confederations Cup. The perfect mix of seasoned internationals and energetic youngsters will take them to their second straight World Cup win. Who will be Top Scorer? Mohamed Salah - surprised to see Salah over Messi and Ronaldo? Hear me out. Egypt have one of the ‘easier’ fixtures, with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay. None of these teams are boasting World Class defenses. Sure, the team around him won’t exactly be Liverpool quality, but with just enough luck, Mo Salah can bring himself to be the top goalscorer. Who will flop? A big leap, from a World Cup finalist to being my prediction for a flop but im going for Argentina. The fact of the matter is that Argentina almost didn’t qualify for the World Cup to begin with, as the difference between 3rd (which is where Argentina placed), 4th, 5th, and 6th (which is the spot where qualification is not possible), was only 2 points. Combine that with a tough group D, containing Croatia, Iceland, and Nigeria. Argentina may just be the biggest flop in 2018. Who will become a star? Kevin De Bruyne; that name almost explains itself. When’s he’s not slicing perfectly placed long balls, he’s dancing through Premier League defences. His name itself strikes fear in opposition. The fact of the matter is that Kevin De Bruyne himself is an amazing player, but being surrounded by other class players, such as Hazard or Lukaku will only boost his playing. Kevin De Bruyne is sure to be a star. Who will be a surprise team? Croatia's squad is packed with talent. Mandzukic up top, Perisic and Modric in the midfield, Vrsaljko and Lovren in the back, and Subasic in goal. If they can get past their group, the squad can surely make it far in the knockout rounds Football Outcasts – Tom
Ok to round this article out ill finish up with my predictions. Who do you think will win the world cup? I also went down the path of using the telegraphs prediction app and I came back with a Germany vs France final. Both sides are just brilliant and have strength in depth across the park. I am going to plump for France though, the recent German loss to Austria suggests they have weaknesses. Who do you think will be top scorer? There is always a player that seems to surprise with their goal scoring exploits but I think the golden boot will go to one of the big boys. Based on the groups I think that either Gabriel Jesus or Antoine Greizmann and based on my predictions I think the Frenchman will just pip the Brazilian on account of France potentially playing more games. Who do you think will flop at the tournament? I’m going to go with Spain, while I think they will make it out of their group I think they will fall at the first hurdle in the knockout stages. Name one player you think will become a star? I am actually going to go for Daniel Arzani from Australia, the kid has been great this season and it could be a perfect chance for him to showcase his skills. He is only 19 years old and I really hope they give the boy a chance to shine. Who will be a surprise team? I’m going to throw it out there and say Nigeria, long shot but I actually think they will pip Croatia and Iceland to second place in that group and might even surprise Argentina. They beat Argentina 4-2 in Argentina last year so its not completely out of the realms of possibility. What do you guys think? Any other teams or players you think will rise or fall in Russia? |
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June 2018
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