I know all of you are clambering for my thoughts on the conference realignments but that's a big issue and I'm five days late in my World Cup predictions.
First, let's talk about the new balls. Many of the players and coaches are complaining about the way they are flying... but since they've had months to prepare with them, they are just whining. I will say this, the combination of the ball and the altitude in South Africa is definitely affecting the flight of the ball.
Who am I cheering for? The USA, of course. But as all American soccer fans must do, I am aligning with other countries in anticipation. Typically, you SHOULD cheer for a country in which you have family heritage. So, with my heritage being 1/4 Czech, 1/4 English 1/8 German, 1/8 Scottish, 1/8 Welsh, and 1/8 Irish, I have few options. The Czech, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish teams did not make it... and rooting for England and Germany is like cheering for the Cowboys and Lakers. I've decided to put my support behind the African teams. It's finally on their continent, and they deserve some recognition for the style of play.
So here is how my predictions go for the group stage (teams advancing in italics):
Group A: France, Mexico, Uruguay, South Africa
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Slovenia, Algeria
Group D: Germany, Ghana, Serbia, Australia
Group E: Netherlands, Cameroon, Japan, Denmark
Group F: Italy, Slovakia, Paraguay, New Zealand
Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal, North Korea
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Honduras
The knock-out stage:
Round of 16: Nigeria over France, Mexico over Argentina, Ghana over England, Germany over USA, Netherlands over Slovakia, Cameroon over Italy, Brazil over Switzerland, Spain over Ivory Coast.
Quarterfinals: Nigeria over Ghana, Germany over Mexico, Brazil over Netherlands, Spain over Cameroon.
Semi-Finals: Brazil over Nigeria, Germany over Spain.
Final: Germany over Brazil
So far, the only hits this prediction have taken are the two ties in Group A and Cameroon losing to Japan.
As for my match-by-match predictions, I'm 6-4. The picks are result based. Meaning I could have predicted a tie or a win for either side. So the 4 misses are from the ties I didn't predict in Group A and the "upsets" by South Korea and Japan over Greece and Cameroon. (Yes, I predicted a tie between USA and England)
