It’s just a year for the biggest thing in footballing history. A World Cup comes once every four years, and it is the ultimate stage where football is played. It is also the only stage where being a legend doesn’t guarantee a victory. All of it depends on the team.
But the good news is, the overall situation of the team can be seen, observed and understood from club football! So making a prediction is a matter of observation and calculation. Who is the best bet to take it home?
I would vote for Germany. I have always maintained that last world cup should have been Germany’s; they worked really hard for it and totally deserved it. But this year, the rise of the Germans is so powerful, it is ringing alarm bells in the world! German teams defeated both the best teams in the world i.e Barcelona and Real Madrid. At least Real Madrid put up a fight; they have the best goalkeeper and Ronaldo wasn’t injured. Barcelona gave in too easily.
Trending
But the match showed us the power and brilliance of the Germans. They are the probable favourites to win it the coming year. They have youth, they have skill, they have talent in enormous proportions. Understood some Germans also have names tough to pronounce, but whats in a name? The Germans have a strong defence, a sharp attack, a considerable midfield (the best after Spain and Italy) and their goalkeeper is one of the best. All in all, they are the best bet to win the Cup.
Other probable teams are, as usual, Spain. That is if they improve their Tiki Taka, or get rid of it and bring in something new. The Tiki Taka has become predictable and is being exploited.
After Spain is Italy, because they have a strong all round team and Italian defending is considered the best. Although, given the current situation, I would say the best defence is now German. But the Italians are surely second.
After Italy, I would probably go with Brazil. The team sounds very good on paper, and if Neymar lives up to his ‘Next Pele‘ hype, he should win it. But I have my doubts, because from what I saw in the Olympics, Neymar didn’t live up to the ‘Next Pele’ nametag. They have a good team, although I have my doubts. If Ronaldinho performs, however, I think we can kiss the rest of the teams goodbye and just hand over the cup to Brazil. No need for the humiliation they are bound to suffer at the hands of the God.
Alongside Brazil, I would go for Argentina. They have the ‘Next Maradonna’ in their team. Messi has lived up to the name save winning the world cup. Maradonna took the weight of the whole team on his shoulders and won the world cup; almost single-handed. If Messi can do that, brilliant. Bear in mind, Messi has also won the Olympic Gold, so (on paper at the very least) he is capable of captaincy and international performance. Lets hope he shows it on field, not on paper.
After that I would go with Portugal, only because I quite admire Ronaldo. It would be nice to see him win. But this is highly unlikely, because even though Ronaldo is a brilliant player, I dont think he can withstand the onslaught of teams like Germany. But I hope he at least makes it to the Semi finals.
For England I have little hope. England always, always mess up in the World Cup!
Netherlands do have a fair chance, but I doubt they can do so well now. Four years is a long time, and I have not seen any Dutch players playing in Dutch teams so I can’t say how good they are. I give them the benefit of the doubt.
So that’s it. I am favouring Germany as an international team for their style. And it seems likely they will win it.
