FIFA World Cup 2018 - Some Bold Predictions!

Team to go all the way: Germany

Image Source: https://twitter.com/DFB_Team/media

A bold prediction again!
Let's go through what it all looks like this time round.

First, a brief background:
The FIFA World Cup 2018 will be hosted by Russia and some top teams have been eliminated during the qualifiers to the World Cup - namely Italy, Netherlands, USA & Chile.

Last World Cup winners: Germany - 2014
Last Euro Cup winners: Portugal - 2016


So who all are in the race this time round?
Familiar names, but this time round many of them look fearsome.


The 8 teams that can make it to the Quarter Finals are:


1. Germany
Stregth: Bench as good as 1st team of many minnows!
Weakness: Young team
Watch out for: Werner, Muller, Kroos, Ozil, Hummels, Neuer (and nearly everyone!)

Key:
a. Extremely astute coach who can bring the best out of players, even the youth!
b. Strength in depth

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

2. England
Strength: Young team - no psychological barriers of the past
Weakness:
a. Lack of depth & defence, and
b. Defensive mid-field not as great as the top teams
Watch out for: Kane, Alli, Sterling, Rashford

Key:
Creative attack complemented with the lethal Harry Kane

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation,
 Note: England usually prefer to play with 3 defenders under Southgate, the current coach):

3. Brazil
Strength: Strong attack
Weakness: Weak links left in defence with the absence of Dani Alves and David Luiz (both through injury)
Watch out for: Neymar, Coutinho, Jesus, Thiago Silva, Casemiro, Firmino

Key:
The brazilian flair in attack, led by Neymar

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

4. Belgium
Strength: Amazing midfield & attack
Weakness: Pressure handling on the big stages - Lack of manager's experience at the top stage (Martinez has won only the FA Cup as a mojor trophy in his coaching career)
Watch out for: Eden Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Courtois

Key:
This Belgium side is labelled the Golden Generation, and rightly so! An attack that would be envied by the topmost teams

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

5. Portugal
Strength: Freshly crowned the European Champions in 2016 - a psychological advantage
Weakness: Rely on their defensive game and closing out teams to progress.
Watch out for: Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Pepe

Key:
a. Santos, their manager has the tactical nous to make the best of the existing talent & turn the group into a strong team.
b. Cristiano Ronaldo has been phenominal in the World Cup qualifiers, scoring 15 Goals in 9 games and further assisting 3 goals. Such a form, on the back of helping his club claim a successive 3rd Champions League, could be decisive.

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

6. France
Strength: Enviable lineup with a strong bench too for attack
Weakness: High expectations on young shoulders
Watch out for: Mbappe, Pogba, Griezmann, Lemar, Dembele, Lloris

Key:
If Deschamps can harness the individual potential into the team, then this team can go far with its Exceptional talent

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

7. Argentina
Strength: Lethal attack - So good that they could afford to leave out the joint top scorer of Serie A (Italy's top league)!
Weakness: Mediocre midfield and defence
Watch out for: Messi, Dybala, Higuain, Aguero, D'Maria, Mascherano

Key:
a. If this Argentine team wants to go far, they will have to ensure they do not ship in many goals
b. The lethal attack needs to bind together, which has most often underperformed and failed to get the best of their star Messi

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

8.Spain
Strength: Creative and Sharp attack - Strong defence
Weakness: As always, binding of the team, mainly coming from the top two teams of La Liga who play in pretty different ways
Watch out for: Iniesta, David Silva, Diego Costa, Isco, Ramos, Pique, De Gea

Key:
Creative attacking talent & a solid defense. If the team can band well together making the most of their talents, then they sure can go far

Predicted starting line-up (not necessarily the same formation):

Wih all the top teams boasting of super star attacks, the battles will mainly be won in the midfield.


So taking a closer look at the midfield, the 4 teams that can make it to the Semi Finals are:
Germany, Brazil, Belgium & France


From here, it gets close and the teams that can make it to the Finals are: Brazil and Germany, indeed the ones with the strength in depth to reach the last mile.


And eventually, this time too, do not be surprised if Germany lift the World Cup!


Golden Boot Winner: Timo Werner

Image Source: https://twitter.com/DFB_Team/media

Reasons:
a. Smart in one-on-one situations and in front of Goal (including tight angles)
b. Comfortable when man marked
c. Looping headers
d. Pace and movement - whizzes past defenders and splits open defenses
e. Deft first touch
f. Assists - Splitting & selfless, both!


Enjoy!

UEFA Euro 2016 - Some Bold Predictions!

The Euro 2016, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organized by UEFA, is here and it time to make some bold predictions again.

Team to go all the way: England

It has long been storied how England are the consistent under performers for a long time now.
This means, even though people agree they have a strong team this time, no one is explicitly willing to bet on them!

But it's time to go bold!

A crisp analysis of what makes them stand out this time round:

   A line up that matches something Germany were able to put up in 2014 for the Brazil World Cup: A bench as strong as the first team!
England may have had star players every time they marched into a championship, but hardly have they ever managed to build a team that has a world class substitute for each and every position, literally!

   Take a look at this post -Englands Best Starting XI- to know how strong is their bench in comparison to their starting 11!
   So strong it would put the starting 11 of some top teams to shame!

   This factor in itself can be the single biggest factor to get them what they've been waiting for the last 50 years - a major international trophy!
The collective strength of a teams always stands out, be it in sports or businesses!

    But that by no means is to belittle any individual in the Star studded English team going into the Euros this year.


   Lets take a look at the strong individuals in each position:

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart - The now long standing English keeper is Man City's no.1 and ranks amongst the top keepers in the world

Full backs: In Walker and Clyne, the English team have players who can not only cut out star wingers of the opposition team, they can also create havoc with their range of crossing!

Central defense: John Stones is currently one of the most sought after defenders by the topmost clubs in the world, and Smalling has been the bed rock of a rather shaky Manchester United team in the recent seasons.

Defensive midfield: Eric Dier has shown he can not only win games by cutting out threats but also scoring an occasional important match winner - definitely an important cog in the wheel of the trophy challenging Spurs team. If he & the likes of Wilshere, Henderson and Drinkwater can maintain their top form, the likes of Spain and Germany, known for their creative midfielders, may have a difficult time playing their strengths!

Attacking midfield: Dele Alli has single handedly changed games for Spurs and the suprises that he can spring up with can leave even the hardest of defences dumbstruck in awe! (You may want to google his wonder goal in 2015-16 to know what I mean!
And now with Rooney adopting superbly into an attacking midfield role the partnership between Sterling, Wazza and Alli is definitely one of the most fearsome ccurrently in th world.

Strike Force: Kane and Vardy, enough said!

But did I not mention they have a strong bench too?
To measure it up in short - try to make two teams out of the final 23 squad and you can easily make two strong teams!

Also, it is noteworthy that England bring the youngest squad to the Euro 2016!
The blend of youth in Kane, Rashford, Alli, Rose, etc. and the blend of experience in Rooney, Milner, Hart and Cahill makes this team sharp, unpredictable and at the same time strong!


The strengths of each individual and an even stronger team make the perfect recipe, but aren't there enough challengers?

Yes, there are. Germany, France, Belgium and Spain have envious teams too.

So then why England over them?

The answer varies from team to team.
Lets take a look:

Germany:

A great team, but with the mix of ageing stars like Lahm, Shweinsteiger & Gomez and the relatively unproven crop of youngsters like Can, Weigl, Kimmich and Sane, the team has lesser balance than they did in 2014!

France:

With the advantage of being the host nation, France have a real chance. But some positions, like the defense and wings, are not covered as well as other top teams, and this could show up as they progress in the competition!

Belgium:

Belgium have enough star power in most positions, which makes them serious contenders. The likes Curtoiss, Vertonghen, Witsel, Hazard, De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are currently the one of best in their class. But it seems the relative lack of seasoned players may prove the difference in big games for the relatively effervescent youth!

Spain:

With proven winners like Iniesta, Fabregas, Ramos, Pique and De Gea to name a few, they have a strong line up too. But finding the right mix, especially for some positions like the striker and wingers has proven difficult for Del Bosque in the run up to Euros. So if they cannot find it now, they risk even progressing too well!

Amidst all the talk of the teams and star players, what about the coaches?

All the above top teams and some others too have brilliant coachs - Joachim Low, Vincent Del Bosque and Antonio Conte have proven that they can cook up a special recipe at the big stage. Roy Hodgson of England does not seem to fit into that club and poses the most significant risk to England.



But then the smart money still remains on England!

So, do not be surprised to read on July 11th if the news papers are emblazoned with headings like - England lift the trophy, Or, England are Champions of Europe!

If not Euro 2016, World Cup 2018 can surely come to England! They need to keep up the tempo.
Relive World Cup 1966!

England's Best starting XI

England's chances of winning a trophy

Euro 2016: Medium

World Cup 2018: High

This can probably be the best XI in the world: