Now it's time for another World Cup, and I've seen a wide array of selections for who's going to hoist the trophy in Moscow on July 15. Will Messi finally get that major trophy or Neymar solidify his place among Brazilian footballing legends? Will Germany defend? Will Pretty Boy add a World Cup to the European title he "won" two years ago? Can an ultra-talented French team make up for World Cup disappointment at the last two editions? Can Spain overcome all its inner turmoil and get back to the top?
And what about the new guys? Iceland crashed the party. How far can the darlings of Euro 2016 go in their first World Cup? How will Costa Rica follow-up its quarterfinal showing in Brazil? Then there's Egypt and Peru returning to the World Cup for the first time in a while. And let's not forget the hosts. How much will Russia benefit from their home field advantage and incredibly weak group?
Group A: Uruguay, Russia-Leave it to FIFA to have the two worst teams in the tournament play each other in the opening game. There's absolutely no way in hell you're going to convince me the draw wasn't as rigged as the 2022 host election. Anyway, Uruguay is the big beneficiary here. They're by far the strongest squad in Group A and should advance pretty easily. I'm taking Russia over Egypt for the second spot for two reasons. 1) Russia will have the home field/crowd advantage and will likely get all the calls when they play each other. 2) Perhaps more importantly, there are questions about the health of Egypt's best player, Mo Salah, after he was injured in the Champions League Final. A healthy Salah is key if Egypt has any hope of advancing.
Group B: Spain, Portugal-Want an example of how stupid FIFA's World Rankings are? Here it is. Spain and Portugal ridiculously ending up in the same group at the World Cup. Making it worse, they play each other in the first game. That one will likely determine the group winner, since they're both going to beat Morocco and Iran pretty easily. Although, finishing second in this group wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, since that means avoiding Argentina in the quarterfinals. They should both win their Round of 16 matches against Group A teams.
Group C: France, Peru-This group is where things get interesting. Because I can see any number of things happening in one of the more competitive foursomes. France has made the finals of the last two World Cups in Europe, winning at home 20 years ago and losing to Italy in Berlin 12 years ago. And "Les Bleues," finalists at Euro 2016, are the strongest team here. I'm giving the second spot to Peru, which got that last South American spot over two-time defending Copa America champion Chile. It's their first World Cup since 1986, but they're ranked in the top 10 in the world for a reason. Denmark is very strong, though, and as long as the Socceroos have Tim Cahill, they'll be fun to watch. Australia even has a shot at pulling off a surprise. I don't think they have enough to advance, though.
Group D: Argentina, Croatia-Argentina and Nigeria will play their quadrennial World Cup meeting on June 26 in St. Petersburg. Incredibly, this is the third straight World Cup and the fourth time in five editions that they've ended up in the same group. This year they're joined by Croatia and everybody's favorites from Iceland. This Argentina team isn't nearly as good as the squad that should've won the title four years ago (or at least the Copa America). But, this is also Messi's last chance to fill that last void on his resume. Sports Illustrated doesn't think Argentina will even make it out of the group stage, which I think is a stretch. They'll win the group and be joined by one of the European teams.
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland-Brazil is getting a lot of support, which is kinda surprising to me. After that embarrassment at home in the semifinals four years ago, followed by an equally embarrassing group stage elimination at Copa America Centenario, they're out for a bit of redemption. And they did get that long-awaited Olympic gold in Rio, with that squad making up a bulk of this team. Don't forget this, too. Neymar's one of the best players in the world. Costa Rica had an incredible run in Brazil, but I'm not sure they'll repeat that this time. Can they get out of the group stage? Yes. But the Swiss are really good. Better than the Costa Ricans in fact.
Group F: Germany, Mexico-Why is nobody picking Germany? They're the defending champions, and they won the Confederations Cup last summer with their B team. In other words, they're loaded. How are they not the favorites? Especially in this group, they'll cruise. Mexico should get that other spot over Sweden and a South Korean squad that's among the weakest in the field.
Group G: England, Belgium-I don't get the obsession with Belgium. They're the most overrated team in the world! I thought that four years ago (even after they beat the U.S.), and I think that still. Yet they're No. 3 in FIFA's incredibly flawed world rankings. Yes, they've won like 15 in a row entering the World Cup, but I'm still not impressed. In fact, I think Belgium and all its Premier League guys end up finishing second behind all the Premier League guys on England. Either way, with Panama and Tunisia as their competition, they should both easily get out of the group.
Group H: Colombia, Poland-Your best chance on an African side advancing is probably Senegal. I don't want to say this group is weaker than Group A, but Poland never should've been seeded over Spain. And Colombia enjoyed that nice little run at the top for a few years, so you have two quality, if not great, sides at the top of Group H. And Senegal's probably the strongest African team, which puts really that top three on the same level. I'm not completely counting out Japan. I just think they've got some work to do if they're going to advance over three teams that are better than them.
So, here are my Round of 16 matchups: Uruguay-Portugal, France-Croatia, Brazil-Mexico, England-Poland, Spain-Russia, Argentina-Peru, Germany-Switzerland, Colombia-Belgium. In the quarters, I've got: Portugal-France, Brazil-England, Spain-Argentina and Germany-Belgium. My semifinals are France vs. Brazil and Spain vs. Germany, with Germany defeating Brazil in the final to become the first nation to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958-62.
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