Group Stage (First Team Listed--Group Winner)
Group A
France and Mexico advance
Group B
Argentina and Nigeria advance
Group C
England and the United States advance
Group D
Germany and Serbia advance
Group E
Netherlands and Cameroon advance
Group F
Italy and Paraguay advance
Group G
Brazil and Portugal advance
Group H
Spain and Chile advance
Knockout Stage
Round of Sixteen
Nigeria over France
England over Serbia
Netherlands over Paraguay
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Mexico
United States over Germany
Italy over Cameroon
Spain over Portugal
Quarterfinals
England over Nigeria
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over United States
Spain over Italy
Semifinals
Brazil over England
Spain over Argentina
Championship
Spain 2-1 over Brazil
These two teams are by far the most talented in the world. I'm giving the edge to Spain (2008 Euro Champions) because of the depth from top to bottom. In the title game, I think Fernando Torres and David Villa will score on perfect passes from Xavi in the midfield.
Hope For The United States?
Anything can happen. The proof is the 2-0 win over the world's top-ranked team, Spain, in last summer's Confederations Cup. It goes to show that in a single elimination scenario, the US has a fighting chance. But assuming England takes Group C, the Yanks will need positive results against Algeria and Slovenia in the group stage. Then in the knockout stage, they will most likely have to defeat (in order) Germany, Argentina, Spain and then Brazil in the final.
Is there hope to win it all?
Very little. I say it's one in a million.
But I'm saying there's a chance.
Funny, my brother and son thrive off the soccer mania going on right now. My DH is so frustrated that his precious ESPN has been hijacked by the little black and white ball!
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough about the teams to even venture a guess, so I'll ride your rankings and cheer for the best team to win!
Ha what is your husband wanting to watch? Most championships are over for now, so this is really the only thing going. Plus, it's the biggest sporting event in the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd you may need to look elsewhere for better predictions, since my pick to win it all lost its first match(Spain has only 2 losses in its last 48 matches...Switzerland today, US last summer). Hopefully, things will work out and more goals will be scored as the tourney moves forward.