WORLD CUP 2018: Matchday Three Predictions for Groups E and F
Plus, a recap of Groups C and D
Boy, was I off on Group C yesterday. France did just enough to win the group. French fans were frustrated with their punchless attack, but keep in mind that some of the better players didn’t play. Also, Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel – whose dad, Peter Schmeichel, was one of the all-time great goalkeepers[1] – had an outstanding game. In the other game, Australia – whom I picked to win – looked disheveled and downright terrible again Peru, losing 2-0. Peru could have won this by four goals or more. They were MUCH better than Australia. This was Peru’s first victory in a World Cup match since before I was born.
Group D had two OUTSTANDING games. Argentina must have read my article and been angered, because they looked like a different team than they did in their first two games.[2] Messi’s early goal was a thing of beauty. Nigeria looked great. It’s too bad that only two teams from this group could advance, because Nigeria deserved to move on as well. They are crying foul against Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakır, claiming that he cheated them out of free kicks and a penalty. Although some of his calls were inconsistent, he got it right when he denied Nigeria the penalty. That ball went off of the Argentine defender’s head and then ricocheted off of his arm. It was NOT deliberately handled. Nigeria missed some golden opportunities to win. Great win for Argentina. Croatia’s last-minute heroics against Iceland were a fitting conclusion to an outstanding game between teams who are quite familiar with one another.[3] They will face a solid Denmark team in the Round of 16, entering the knockout phase as one of the dark horse candidates to reach the final.
(Note: I must suspend my writing to give a guitar lesson. I promise that I will finish my predictions before watching any games.)
(Continuing…)
Group E: Costa Rican keeper Keylor Navas looked like he was going to shut Brazil out, making one tremendous save after another.[4] They also fouled the heck out of Neymar, but not to the extent that the Swiss did. It looked as if Brazil would be held to another draw, which would draw tremendous heat from the Brazilian media, but then Philippe Coutinho and Neymar scored dramatic stoppage time goals that sent their fans into a frenzy. Now Brazil looks like themselves again. Will Serbia employ the strategy used by Switzerland and Costa Rica of fouling the daylights out of Neymar? My guess is yes. However, Brazil is too good for that scheme to fully work – they should win this game.
Now for Switzerland – HOW GOOD WAS GRANIT XHAKA’S BEAUTY FROM 25 YARDS??????? I threw my hands up in amazement. I thought this would also be a tie – but the beautiful counter-attack that led to Xherdan Shaqiri’s fabulous breakaway goal. I see them beating Costa Rica. Which team wins the group will depend on the score. I see Brazil winning 2-1 and Switzerland winning 2-0, which would make the tiebreaker go to fair play points. Currently, Switzerland has four yellows and Brazil has three, giving Brazil the edge. Something tells me that Brazil will get more yellows as a result of antagonistic tactics from Serbia, giving Switzerland the group victory and Brazil the runner-up position.[5]
Group F: Mexico made it look easy against South Korea. The Germany-Sweden game left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Why? Sweden was denied a deserved penalty early in the game, and then they blew chance after chance after chance. Germany is like a dragon that consistently regenerates. You HAVE to finish them off when you get the chance, or they will make you pay. Having said that, Toni Kroos’ goal was one of the greatest that I have ever seen. If you haven’t seen it yet, find it. It might make you spontaneously burst into song.
These final two matches should be outstanding. South Korea will not want to go home without any points. I see them playing their hearts out against Germany, but it won’t be enough. They seem to have found their rhythm. I see a 2-1 German victory. Sweden will take out their frustrations on Mexico and win 3-2.
I am excited for today’s games. Tune in to see how wrong accurate my predictions are, and then leave any mocking complimentary comments below.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 8:52 am MST
[1] He played for Manchester United for nine years, including their treble year of 1998-99. He also made 121 appearances for Denmark. His nickname was The Great Dane.
[2] (Laughter) Yeah, right. They’re professionals with tremendous talent who did NOT want to go home early.
[3] Admission: I had the game showing on my iPad while watching the Nigeria-Argentina match on the TV. I didn’t actually SEE much of it, but I heard it. I only looked down when the announcer’s voice raised in volume.
[4] There’s a reason Real Madrid is paying him so well.
[5] Was that a bold prediction or me being crazy?
