2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group H)

Group H

Poland (10)

Senegal (28)

Colombia (16)

Japan (60)

              Group H, the last group of the 2018 World Cup. To clarify, the letters have no correlation with the strength of the teams that make up a group. Teams are picked on random based on which pot they were assigned to. Yet, this group is fitting to be drawn into Group H. This isn’t to say there isn’t world class quality players, but the group has no traditional powerhouse team. Poland, Senegal, Colombia, and Japan are the four national teams that make up group H. Japan has been the most consistent, this will be their six consecutive world cup appearance. Poland will be the historically more experienced team as this will be their 8^th world cup appearance. To use those fun facts as a perspective, Japan is the team that will most likely finish last in the group while Poland is the highest ranked team according to FIFA rankings. Yet, the best performance of any of the four teams belongs to Senegal and Colombia. Senegal in their first world cup appearance reached the quarterfinal stage in 2002. 2018 in Russia will be Senegal’s second world cup appearance. Colombia were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the host in 2014.

              The amazing aspect of this is that this group will have two teams that will reach the round of 16. I am aware that each group will have two teams reaching the latter stage, that’s how it works, but my excitement is two national teams that are not house hold names will make the round of 16! That being said my predictions for this group have shifted from day to day. Colombia will finish 1^st while second will be Senegal. Poland has a great striker in Robert Lewandowski and can finish in second, but I am going with the unpredictability of Senegal over the predictable Poland. The top 3 teams can all interchange which is why I keep switching on which teams will advance. Japan is the only team I can clearly see not making it out of the group. This is a Japanese national team that isn’t as strong as their predecessors and from the players that I have been able to keep up with have not played well, often, or are sidelined with an injury. But, I could be wrong and I actually enjoy those moments.

              I will stick to these two national teams. Colombia and Senegal.  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group G)

Group G

Belgium (3)

Panama (55)

Tunisia (14)

England (13)

              I have been discussing teams based on the order in which the national team was drawn. Hence the order is not alphabetical or based on FIFA world rankings, but in the order in which the teams were plucked from the designated pots into the groups. I will break away from my short tradition on this group. Why? England, that’s why. For those who read or more likely discuss sports with me in person understand that I see England a bit different then most of my anglophone speaking people. To some, especially supporters of The Three Lions, will see me as having ill will or some sort of hostility towards the English. I can assure them and to one and all that I have no such feelings. I study history of sports and my emphasis and main focus is football (soccer). From what I gathered I don’t see England as elite or a world class footballing national team. Are they good? Yes. Excellent and memorable players? Definitely. But, to place them in the same historical category as Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, and Argentina is a stretch too far for even the most bias supporter. I see them closer to Uruguay. For those who are upset or disagree with that statement by all means lets discuss it. Chances are I already know who and why, but that will be for another time and I prefer in person discussions.

              The reason for the clarification on my English stance will come to fruition in my closing statements. Moving on. Belgium is national team that at the moment has players to win a World Cup. Whether they can or can’t will be based on how they perform in Russia this summer. A “golden generation” is what Belgium has and if they fall short of a semi-final it will be seen as a failure.

              This will be Panama’s first World Cup appearance. Well-earned and deserved. Unfortunately, I don’t see Los Canaieros playing a fourth game. Tunisia won their two most recent friendlies with a score of 1-0 for both games. They were against Iran and Costa Rica, both world cup qualified teams. As impressive as that may seem I don’t see the Tunisians beating the English or Belgium for the first and second spot to advance to the knockout stage.

              Now who will win group G? England! I predict England finishes first and the lack of experience from the Belgium national side will cause them to slip up and finish behind their former EU partner. I am a fan of Gareth Southgate, the English national team’s coach, and think he is did an excellent job managing England during the world cup qualification stage. I mean this sincerely, I am rooting for England to win the World Cup as my underdog team.   

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group F)

Group F

Germany (1)

Mexico (15)

Sweden (23)

South Korea (61)

                Unlike the past groups, group F is one that I have a personal investment in. Mexico is the birthplace of my parents and where I get my food, traditions, and language. Most of the time I have temporary bias when I support a team or player. At times I enjoy watching Spain then get tired of them and watch Brazil and the same goes with club teams. I enjoy watching football in general. But, Mexico is different. It is a personal bias. Fans will understand when I speak of my team it is with passion and emotion. However, as I went through academia and studied sports I learned how to separate myself momentarily to critique the teams I support in a more honest manner.

                Germany are not only clear favorites to win the group, but they are perceived to be favorites to lift the world cup again. The German national side has quality all around and what makes their dominance frightening or admirable is that plenty of their younger players are already playing significant amount of minutes in big clubs around Europe. The issue German coach, Joachim Low, will have is who will have to leave out of his 23-man roster for the 2018 World Cup. That being said, Germany is beatable. Die Mannschaft lost to Brazil in a friendly 1-0. One could state that a friendly isn’t always the best method to judge a team which can be the case. Germany did lose when it mattered. They lost to France by a score of 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Euros. This isn’t to diminish the German national team in anyway. They are favorites to win the World Cup and justifiably so. I would just shed light to those that are not aware that the mighty can fall.

                Mexico is a team that if you want to make a safe bet on getting out of the group stage you will definitely earn that money back. The issue with Mexico is that after the group stage one could double their gambling earnings by betting against Mexico winning their round of 16 match. Since the 1994 World Cup Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16. That is six, SIX times! In Mexico there are talks of superstition and a curse of the fifth game. However, even though I love the stories I do not who heartedly believe in them. Mexico is a talented national team where players have the speed and technical ability to match anyone of the favorites, yet they do lack tactical discipline to beat the favorites. Mexico will finish second in the group which means they will face the winners of group E in the round of 16. Chances are that BRAZIL will win group E. So, is it really a curse or just bad luck? Why not just finish first?

                Sweden in certain newspapers are perceived as finishing 2^nd in the group. Which is not unrealistic, the games still have to be played, but I don’t see Sweden making much of a run this summer in Russia. They did beat Italy in a play-off to earn a spot at the World Cup. But, that was an Italian side that was tactically handicap due to their coach and a national team that has not been playing up to its name for the past decade. Sweden has a chance to finish second, but to me that chance is very minimal. The Swedes play compact, pragmatic, and disciplined football. I don’t think they have the talent upfront to beat even the likes of Mexico.

                South Korea is a team I wish was a lot better than they currently are. I want to cheer for them simply because of Son Heung-min. He is the winger/forward who plays for Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier league. I enjoy watching Son play, but his supporting cast doesn’t have the quality to make a serious run to finish second in the group.   

  

                For group F Germany are the clear favorites to finish first with Mexico in second.  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group E)

Group E

Brazil (2)

Switzerland (6)

Costa Rica (25)

Serbia (35)

                Brazil headlines Group E in this summer’s World Cup. Brazil comfortably finished first in the CONMEBOL qualification with a 10-point lead over their closes rivals, Uruguay, who finished second. The 2014 World Cup was hosted in Brazil that ended in a manner that most Brazilians wish didn’t happen. There were protest on the streets by the Brazilian people who preferred improvement in social services than FIFA’s white elephant gift. Adding to the devastation Brazil went on to infamously lose 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals. I am pretty sure as the tournament looms closer none of the Brazilians need a reminder of their painful exit from the previous world cup. Brazil are favorites to come out as the winners of group E given that they are an improved team and that their competition isn’t up to par with the selecao. Not only are they favorites to come out first in their group Brazil is also -as in most, if not every world cup-  favorites to win the tournament.

                Brazil’s most difficult hurdle to get through will be Switzerland. I don’t necessarily believe Switzerland is the currently the 6^th best team in the world, but they provide a different challenge to the Brazilian national team. Switzerland has players such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Stepham Lichtsteiner, and Ricardo Rodriguez that play in big clubs or in Shaqiri’s case a league with a high-quality level. Switzerland isn’t the most exciting national team to watch, but they have been consistent qualifying for their fourth consecutive world cup. Which is impressive given that the UEFA qualifications can come down to a bit of luck for smaller nations based on which of the more traditional powerhouse teams are in the group. In Switzerland’s case it was Portugal. Both teams finished with 27 points, but Portugal finished first due to tiebreaker rules. Switzerland can maneuver their way into finishing second and reaching the round of 16.

                Costa Rica were a breath of fresh air last world cup. Los Ticos finished 1^st in a group that was made up of 3 previous world cup winners; England, Uruguay, and Italy were the three teams that made up the “Group of death.”  Costa Rica reached the quarter-finals in Brazil only to be eliminated by the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. Could Costa Rica perform a repeat of their miracle run? Of course, but it is less likely. If Costa Rica manages to get second place they will play the winner of group F, which will most likely be Germany. The Costa Rican side has more experience coming in as most players will return from the 2014 squad, yet from what I seen there are plenty of players that haven’t had a good campaign this season to reinforce them as legitimate giant slayers.

                Serbia finished first in their world cup qualification group. I wouldn’t put to much emphasis on the first place due to the strength of the group. As I mentioned before the UEFA qualifications could be brutal or giving to smaller footballing nations. In Serbia’s case it was a gift. Their group consisted of Republic of Ireland -who finished 2^nd- Wales, Austria, Georgia, and Moldova. Georgia and Moldova had a combination of zero wins. This shouldn’t be a knock on the Serbian national team. They were drawn in a group and they did what they planned out to do which was qualify for the World Cup in Russia. In the analyzing aspect it is difficult to say Serbia will come out as first or second without saying it simply to be as giving as Serbia’s UEFA qualification group.

                Brazil will finish first and second will be Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica!  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group D)

Group D

Argentina (4)

Iceland (22)

Croatia (18)

Nigeria (47)

Argentina will have plenty of spectating eyes on them and it won’t be due to how well La Albiceleste play their football. Lionel Messi will be the main reason why most of the world will be watching the Argentinean national team. Argentina had a difficult time during the world cup qualifications. Messi scored a hat-trick to secure Argentina’s spot in Russia 2018. The national team hasn’t played well at all, with the quality of players this Argentinean side has there should be no difficulty against most national teams even without Messi. Yet, that is far from the case. At times players that perform excellent for their respective clubs are somehow weakened by the kryptonite that is woven in their national team’s jersey. Argentina lost to Spain in an embarrassing fashion. 6-1. A goal shy on matching Brazil’s 7-1 to Germany in 2014. Messi did not dress up for the match. He spotted in the stands overseeing what he will most likely have to work with in the summer and no psychic or fortune teller is needed to read what was going on in Messi’s head. Argentina are an awful side. I wish I could say there is a positive to this side, but the only thing I can think of is that Messi is on the team.

Argentina are a traditional safe pick to win the group, but if they perform the way they have during the qualifications and friendlies they will not make it out of this group. Nigeria, for some reason will face Argentina for the 3^rd consecutive time at the world cup, will have a better chance on advancing to the knockout stages than Messi’s national team. How? I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on friendlies, but that is what I will go off on. Nigeria beat Argentina 4-2 overcoming a 2-goal deficit. To be fair, Argentina has beaten Nigeria in their last two meetings at the World Cup. Nigeria is a national side that has great players that can come together and play well can definitely make it out of this group. A side with a mix of experience and youth can finish second whether it be behind or ahead the Argentinean Messi led side.

Croatia and Iceland both finished first in their qualifying groups to earn an automatic bid for the World Cup. Unfortunately, that is the only similarities I see between the two sides. Iceland will be making their first appearance at the World Cup and is worth celebrating. However, I don’t see them repeating a run at the world cup similar to their Euro run in France. Croatia is a national team that has a talented midfield led by Luka Modric. I think Croatia has the capability to finish first in group D.

Of all the groups so far, I can see Group D as the most intriguing one to keep an eye on. As mentioned earlier Argentina on paper should be the winner of this group, but the way they have been playing I can see the serious possibility of Croatia and Nigeria advancing to the knockout stage.

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group C)

Group C

France (7)

Australia (40)

Peru (11)

Denmark (12)

                France is a team that is loaded with talented players, from the starting eleven to those sitting on the bench. Not only is the French national team gifted with depth, but the age of most of the players is 26 and younger. This can be analyzed as a team that is built for the future. However, the world cup is played in 2018 and no national team can loan itself success by borrowing from the future. France leads Group C heading into Russia this summer as favorites to win the group and even make a deep run in the tournament. Les bleus were runners-up in the Euros and would enjoy reaching the final in the summer for another opportunity to win an international trophy.

                Australia is the lowest ranked on FIFA’s ranking system of the teams in group C. The Socceroos have qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup which is an achievement in itself since before qualifying for Germany in 2006 the Australian national team had a 30-year absence. I don’t see the socceroos causing too much trouble for any of the other teams and will most likely be eliminated once the group stage is over.

                Peru and Denmark are close and not just in the FIFA rankings. The two national teams will participate in their fifth world cup in their respective history. I think the two national teams are ranked slightly higher than they merit based on their quality of play. However, they are close in quality which is somewhat indicated by the rankings. How Peru and Denmark perform against Australia will be a key factor in which team will advance to the knockout phase of the tournament. Any slip up against the Australian team will open up a huge opportunity for the other. 

France is an easy pick to finish first, but who will finish in second is a bit more difficult to state with historically assured confidence. I will side with Peru to advance simply because I was memorized by the fans in the stadium who passionately cheered on their national team during the qualification and after it was set that La Blanquirroja would be in Russia in this summer. Denmark has not lost in their last 11 matches winning 6 of them and drawing with the likes of Germany and Chile. They have quality players and can finish 2^nd. My tiebreaker was my emotional attachment to Peru after watching the two national teams play their playoff matches to qualify for the World Cup. I admit that’s not the usual manner in which I attempt to analyze football, but as the world cup nears the emotions are starting to quickly ascend.  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group B)

Group B

Portugal (4) FIFA Rankings

Spain (8)

Morocco (42)

Iran (36)

The 2018 FIFA men’s world cup is approaching and the world will soon have their sights on Russia this summer. This year FIFA decided to take a different route in determining how the teams would be placed in the allocated four pots in which the teams are randomly picked to form the eight groups for the initial phase of the tournament. The premise behind FIFA’s decision was to make it more balanced, where a group couldn’t have three teams that were all in the top 10 FIFA rankings. Spain was not rank as high and as a result were drawn in a group with the European Champions.

Portugal may be the higher ranked team in Group B, but I see it as Spain’s to lose. La Furia Roja have not lost a match since March 2017 and their two most recent friendlies they tied Germany and beat Argentina 6-1. Spain is going through a bit of a transition under their head coach, Julen Lopetegui. Lopetegui has introduced younger players into an aging squad in a manner that has not disrupted the team’s success that some teams face during a similar process. Alvaro Morata isn’t playing well at Chelsea and Diego Costa only has 3 goals since he became available to play for Athletico Madrid in January. Yet, that won’t bother the coach or fans as Rodrigo from Valencia and Iago Aspas have been in excellent form this year for their clubs and played in the last two friendlies.

Portugal are the European champions, but I am still a skeptic on the quality of the team. Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire at the moment scoring goal after goal, but that is not what I mean when I discuss the quality of the Portuguese national team. They are European champions and that can’t be disputed, but the manner in which they won it can be. I don’t see a team replicating what Portugal did at the Euro’s and winning the world cup. The lack of quality as a team is due to the age of the defensive back line. Bruno Alves is (36) years old, Rolando (32), Jose Fonte (34), Luis Neto (29) and if Pepe gets called he is 35. Those are Portugal’s current centerbacks. In their last two friendlies Portugal narrowly defeated Egypt with two 90 minute goals from Ronaldo and lost to a Netherland’s team that failed to qualify for the world cup.

Morocco has qualified for the 2018 world cup after a twenty-year absence. Morocco hasn’t lost since June 10 2017 and has a variety of players playing all across Europe. Their captain, Medhi Benatia, most recently known for bringing down Lucas Vasquez in the 90^th minute to award a penalty to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, anchors the Moroccan defense. When Portugal and Morocco face each other in their group stage match I can only see Ronaldo getting the best of Benatia.

Iran is a team that is well organized and has been steadily getting better. They are a team that plays well and can match their opponent’s tempo. In their last world cup appearance in 2014 the Iranians finished last in their group. However, it did take Lionel Messi to produce a bit of magic and score a magnificent goal to give Argentina a 1-0 win.

On paper it is easy to dismiss Iran and Morocco, but I would say that Portugal and Spain should not over look these two national teams. All four teams in group B finished as winners in their respective qualifying groups to make it to Russia. I will still take Spain to win the group, but Portugal might have problems if they don’t take 3 points from Iran and Morocco as I don’t see them defeating Spain.  

FIFA

FIFA-

"That one person who is rich and we all know did some sketchy shit to make that money, but gives back to your favorite charity."

              The 2018 FIFA men’s World Cup will be hosted by Russia this summer. The opening game will be on June 14 and run through the final on July 15. FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is the sports governing body that, along with the host nation, prepares and runs the football tournament. The games won’t begin until June, however, there is plenty of excitement prior towards the commencement of the World Cup. The topic that will be discussed isn’t necessarily as exciting as the beautiful game but does play a dramatic part in the footballing world.

              FIFA.  FIFA controls and manages the organization of tournaments and everything that comes along with it such as negotiating with sponsors, awarding television rights, rules and laws that surround the game, but do not control the actual Laws of the game.  That reponsiblilty falls under the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which is composed of the English FA, the Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and Northern Ireland’s FA. However, FIFA has 50% of the votes (4) when it comes to the 8-person panel.

              That is why FIFA is a vital part and will most likely never go away. Not without a fight at least. There is a significant amount of money that is involved in the soccer organizing operation that it’s insane. FIFA has a negative connotation to some in the footballing community mainly due to allegations of corruption, money laundry, and being complicit to human rights violations to host nations that are using foreign labor to complete the construction of stadiums.

              Don’t let that last sentence stray you off course. I am not here to bash FIFA, I’ll leave that to the funnier and more qualified comedians such as John Oliver. I am here to attempt to explain how FIFA is structured so as the World Cup nears and comedians, sports news outlets, and even regular news outlets will make some sort of report on the scandals associated with FIFA, the reader will have a slightly better understanding on the topic.

              The President. The President of FIFA is the normally the most recognizable person in the sport governing body. The current president, Gianni Infantino, was elected after his predecessor, Joseph Blatter, was removed due to corruption allegations. The FIFA president is a representative role where whoever holds the position must advance the Council’s agenda in strategic manner that also represents the policies and values. The president has no vote in congress, but has one ordinary vote on the Council. In short, the president represents FIFA where ever he goes in order to further their agenda.

              The Council. The 37 members (1 President, 8 Vice Presidents, and 28 other members) on the Council have significantly more authority in progressing FIFA’s agenda and authority. A few of the aspects under control of the Council is the awarding of commercial contracts, football development grants, the operational costs of FIFA and other business-finance related matters. The Council appoints a general secretariat to manage and execute the business-finance matters. As one would expect the general secretariat is overseen and answers to the authority of the Council. The Council also approves the budget and assigns committees and holds the elections for the head of those committees to be voted by the congress. Remember the IFAB mentioned earlier? The Council is involved in that as well. They pick three members along with the President to represent FIFA at the IFAB and how representatives will vote in the IFAB. To summarize, the Council runs FIFA, they don’t control all aspects, but if anything is going to be done it will have to go through the Council.

FIFA Congress.  Meets ordinarily every year and/or when summoned by the Council. Each soccer federation is represented in FIFA congress unless it is not present, therefore can’t vote, or suspended due to a violation against FIFA regulation and policy. The FIFA congress gets to vote for the next president, approval of the budget and which nation will host the next world cup. To compare, FIFA congress is like the students in an elementary classroom who raise their hands to vote and the Council is the teacher who provides the students on what they will vote for.

Clearly, I didn’t go as in-depth as most fans of policy making would enjoy, however, my intention wasn’t to explain the influence of the confederations have over the soccer federations in their region that results in block voting. My intentions were to familiarize, mostly Americans, how FIFA is structured not how it works. Full transparency, I don’t know 100% how FIFA works, and I research, follow, and attempt to understand what they do for quite some time now. The real excitement will be on the fields in Russia this summer, but keep an eye and watch for the drama that FIFA brings along with them.

Send in the Reinforcements (2018 World Cup)

FIFA International News for World Cup 2018

The FIFA men’s World cup is around the corner and Russia will host the 2018 tournament. That isn’t news to most who follow the beautiful game. What is news is that FIFA approved rule changes that will be in effect this summer. VAR, Video Assistant Referee, which is the most controversial of the new rules, is one of them. There are a few managers and sports pundits who despise the introduction of VAR into the game, stating that it will ruin the game for the fans by slowing down the continuity and speed of the game. Depending who one might ask of whether VAR is a good or bad idea, or whether one likes it or not will definitely vary, but no matter how one feels about it VAR will be in use this summer.

The other two rules that most likely went under the radar due to the emphasis on VAR on most soccer shows is the introduction of teams having a fourth substitute available if the game goes into extra time. The second rule is the ability to transfer data to the technical area for coaching purposes. I will go out on a limb and state that the latter rule is more of a formality because I am certain coaching staff were already receiving information.

However, the rule that I think will shape the world cup is the fourth available substitute. This will allow for coaches to plan for a tactical shift in extra time by putting in a fresh new player. Whether the coach decides to put in a more attacking minded or defensive minded player, the fans will benefit almost as much as the two teams playing in extra time. The fans will be able to see the thought process of their national team’s coach based on the player they put in and which player they take out and potentially eliminating the occasional dreadful 30 minutes of play where both teams are depleted and exhausted waiting for the final whistle to finish the match via a penalty shootout.

Now the coach doesn’t have to decide whether to save their last substitute for extra time or put in the 3^rd and final substitute in during regular time to win it before the match even goes into extra time. This will allow the coaches to implement their plan and allocate all 3 substitutes during the 90 minutes of the match. This new rule will not eliminate the games between an international power house versus a national side content on making the tournament more exciting, but it is a rule that should have been adopted sooner as I see it only benefits the game in a positive manner.

Of the three rules that will be in effect this summer in Russia, VAR will most likely take the headlines and be in the majority of the talking points, but I can see the additional substitute in extra time being a decisive factor as the tournament reaches the knockout stages.

Get set, ready, Draw!

   Today was the FIFA world cup draw which set up the 32 teams that will be participating in next summer in one of, if not thee, most spectacular sporting event in the world. The draw took place in Moscow so that meant for us in the west coast the draw occurred during the morning. As a sports fan and an even bigger soccer (football) fan, I was filled with excitement sprinkled with a tad bit of suspense. The tad bit of suspense is credited to the fact that Spain were in Pot 2 which meant that a team from Pot 1 was going to be grouped with La furia roja. Portugal were the lucky ones that were placed into the group stage with Spain. Morocco and Iran are the other two teams that make up group B in next year's world cup. The excitement comes from a variety of reasons. The draw is a reminder that the world cup is fast approaching, yet summer of 2018 can't arrive fast enough for some of us. The unison feeling that the world participated in watching or at least keeping tabs on the groups that were being formed by chance is enjoyable. Fans around the globe were tensed on what kind of group their national team will be placed in while coaches were in attendance to start calculating on how they plan on taking their team to the knockout stages now that they know who their opponents will be.

   Overall the groups are heavily favorable towards the teams from Pot 1 who are the highest ranked teams by FIFA with the exception of Russia who are the host of the tournament. Generally speaking this world cup draw felt similar to a UEFA champions league draw. The group stages are set for where the bigger teams get a bit of favoritism. This time around FIFA decided to split teams in o\pots based on rankings instead of geographical/confederation locations which is maybe why this draw has no group that stands out as the "Group of Death." The reason why I compare this world cup draw to the champions league is that on paper most people of any background can look at the groups and pick the two teams they believe will go through onto the next round. I am aware that these teams don't play each other on a yearly basis and that money doesn't have that much of an effect on results, but it just makes one question when FIFA introduce the 48 team world cup in 2026 how creative are they going to be in deciding on a format that delivers on the excitement that can parallel the millions of fans world wide. 

    Below is a list of groups and teams that will make up those groups next summer. The number next to each team is their FIFA ranking. I highlighted the two teams in each group with the best FIFA rankings. These are not the teams that I think will advanced out of the group stage. I personally think Senegal and Nigeria are legitimate contenders to make it to the knockout stages. What my attempt here is that in general most people would agree that the highlighted teams will advance to the next round, now some may deny and disagree with the rankings which is reasonable. However, if those same people were to place a bet on which teams reach the knockout stages their picks would align similar to the highlighted chart below. Which is the reason behind why I state that this draw feels similar to a champions league draw. One can pretty much automatically pick the top two teams that they can say will advance out of the group stage. Yet, this is the world cup and anything can happen! I hold that dearly, there will be surprises and I can predict with confidence that the world cup will be amazing, filled with joy, euphoria, and heartbreaks. The whole world will be watching. 

• Group A: Russia (65), Uruguay (17), Egypt (30), Saudi Arabia (63)
• Group B: Portugal (3), Spain (8), Iran (34), Morocco (48)
• Group C: France (7), Peru (10), Denmark (19), Australia (43)
• Group D: Argentina (4), Croatia (18), Iceland (21), Nigeria (41)
• Group E: Brazil (2), Switzerland (11), Costa Rica (22), Serbia (38)
• Group F: Germany (1), Mexico (16), Sweden (25), South Korea (62)
• Group G: Belgium (5), England (12), Tunisia (28), Panama (49)
• Group H: Poland (6), Colombia (13), Senegal (32), Japan (44)

   Don't take that as a notion that I am not excited for the world cup. Oh boy, bloody hell, even with the United States not participating in next summer's tournament I am as stoked as ever! I currently don't share the same sentiment as Taylor Twellman does about feeling disgusted on the failure of the men's team. Maybe due to that I am a bigger soccer (football) fan than I am a US soccer fan. Or it could be that I see the state of soccer as it is in this country and don't pretend that the quality of play has become any better simply because more buildings and facilities have been built. However, that is a debate for another time, for today is a day to celebrate! a day for soccer (football) fans all over the world to come together and begin the possibility game while self fulling oneself with hope on how their national team can pull of the grandest quest in sports.