Les Bleus

2024 UEFA Euro: My Semifinals Predictions

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
After more than three weeks and 48 games, only four teams remain in contention.

If you thought the group play had a lot of crazy moments, the Round of 16 matches and quarterfinals have their share of shockers too. Where do I start? Starting with the quarterfinals, first came Switzerland surprising Italy 2-0. Any hopes of a comeback for Team Italy will have to be put on development. Just when England appeared to lose to Slovakia, a goal from Bellingham in the 90+5th minute saved them and the goal from Kane in the 91st minute kept them alive. Then what seemed to be a scoreless draw for Belgium vs. France became a winner for France thanks to Kolo Muani’s strike bouncing off Ventonghen’s knee. A scoreless Portugal-Slovenia game saw a penalty kick from Cristiano Ronaldo stopped.

Then came the quarterfinals. In the very first match, Spain vs. Germany, lots of shockers as an 89th-minute goal from Germany’s Wirtz prevented Spain from winning in regulation. Then a 119th minute goal from Spain’s Merino stopped any hope for a penalty kicks round for the hosts. What would be Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth Euro would become the first and only where he doesn’t score a goal. What would become yet another scoreless draw for Portugal, France beat them in penalties. England not only had the rare case of winning a game on penalty shootout in their match against Switzerland but they sank all five! To end it all, Netherlands arrived late but won it despite Turkey’s attempt for a big comeback.

Now that the first rounds of the knockout stage are done, it’s the semifinals. Three of the semifinalists have already won the Euro at least once before. The other was a finalist at the last Euro for their first time ever and missed winning its first Championship “by that much!” The quarterfinal winners from Friday’s games will play Tuesday’s match and the quarterfinal winners of Saturday’s matches will play Wednesday’s match. With that in mind, here’s my look at the two semifinals and my predictions:

SEMIFINAL #1: SPAIN vs. FRANCE

Head-To-Head Stuff: The two teams have squared off 36 times before. Spain have won 16 times, France has won 13 times and seven were draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis

SPAIN: La Furia Roja have won the Euro three times before. Here in Germany they came to this tournament in an unknown situation. They were out at the 2022 World Cup in the Round Of 16 but came back to win the UEFA Nations League this past year. Here in Germany, they appear to be the team that’s delivered best. Their group stage play was straight wins without even conceding a goal. Their Round Of 16 match against Georgia started with an own-goal but they made up for it by scoring four for themselves. They faced a tough challenge against Germany in the quarterfinal but hung in to win 2-1 in added extra time.

With five wins, eleven goals and two conceded, Spain looks to be in top form to win. It’s also something one should not rush into thinking. Even they can face stiff challenges from their highly-ranked opponents. Their win over Italy came on an own goal and was the only goal of the match. Their win over Germany was in added extra time. Even though France’s play has been lacklustre here in Germany, they should not underestimate them or they could be in trouble.

FRANCE: I honestly think Les Bleus are the luckiest team here at the Euro so far. Their first game was a 1-0 win over Austria due to an own-goal from Wober. Their game against the Netherlands was a scoreless draw and their game against Poland was a 1-1 draw. In the Round of 16, they again benefited from an own-goal as Kolo Muani’s strike bounced off Ventonghen’s knee. In their quarterfinal, their game against Portugal went scoreless but a perfect five-set of penalty kicks gave France the win.

It’s easy to label France’s success at this Euro as being “by fluke.” Two 1-0 wins won by an own-goal, having two of the six 0-0 draws of this Euro, only three goals for them and the only one that wasn’t an own-goal was a penalty by Mbappe against Poland. If France wants to win their third Euro ever, they will have to come alive in the semi because Spain will deliver a challenge where their luck could run out on Tuesday.

My Final Verdict: Will Spain continue its winning ways of play? Will France’s lucking out continue in the semis? I think Spain will take it 2-0. I have more faith that consistent play will pay off that night.

SEMIFINAL #2: THE NETHERLANDS vs. ENGLAND

Head-To-Head Stuff: They have met 22 times before including two Euro meetings; the last being in 1996 which England hosted. Past results are The Netherlands won seven games, England won six, and nine are draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis

THE NETHERLANDS: They’ve won one Euro before; back in 1988. No doubt they want to do it again. Oranje has the talent to do it again with the likes of Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay. They also have the play to achieve their second Euro. Their 3-0 win over Romania shows they know how to dominate. Their 2-1 win over Turkey in the quarterfinals also shows they know how to come from behind.

They’ve also shown some vulnerability during this tournament. That was evident in their scoreless draw to France and their 3-2 loss to Austria caused by an own-goal by Donyell Malen near the start. Even their win over Turkey was a concern as they only came alive in the last 25 minutes. If they want to win the semifinal, they can’t afford to give anything away. Especially if they’re playing England.

ENGLAND: They’re the team many love to hate. They boast the best combined football talent in the world but they have the habit of falling short in major tournaments. Nevertheless The Three Lions are able to pull the unexpected. In group play, their 1-0 win over Serbia was the only game in Group C that wasn’t a draw. That sole win of the group put them in first of Group C. What appeared looming to be a 1-0 loss to Slovakia in the Round Of 16 was ended thanks to a last-minute goal from Jude Bellingham and an almost -immediate goal from Harry Kane to win. Then their quarterfinal against Switzerland ended in a 1-1. Usually penalty kicks are England’s biggest weakness but they sank all five of their openers en route to the win.

No question England is talented. They have a lot of talent. They also have one of their best coaches in decades. Nevertheless as we’ve seen in play here, England can underplay. They often deliver short of what they’re capable of and we’ve seen it in the past as well as at this very Euro. Holding back and not arriving until the last few minutes of the game can cost them in the semifinals. Additionally, coach Gareth Southgate has received criticism for some of his coaching decisions. Decision here will affect if he continues on as team manager or if his eight-year stint ends here.

My Final Verdict: I know this will be a tight match with it being against two of the toughest European teams. I predict the game will end as a 1-1 draw and The Netherlands will win on penalty kicks.

And there you have it. Those are my thoughts on the two semifinals and my predictions for the winners of the games. Hard to believe the final is just a week away!

UEFA Euro 2024: Predictions For Knockout Rounds

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

The image above shows the flags of the sixteen nations still in the running. The whole point of those 36 games of group play is to reduce the field of 24 to the 16 most worthy of advancing. After that, each round is a knockout match to pare down the field to the two to square off for the Euro Cup. The group play was quite interesting. A hat trick wasn’t scored but a lot of brilliant goals. There were four 0-0 games. I hate 0-0 games! There were a lot of controversial referee calls. Also a lot of shockers from teams one wouldn’t consider a favorite but made it through. For all the teams, none of the teams had a case of losing all three games. One group was a case of only a single win and the rest draws to decide. Another group was a case all four teams had a win, a loss and a draw. It must have been tough to decide the finishing order, which they eventually did.

On Saturday the 29th starts the knockout rounds. After all that group play to narrow the 24 to 16, the upcoming Round Of 16 is just a single game for each team to narrow the field of 16 to 8. The layout for the Round of 16 doesn’t make the same clear sense as the Round of 16 in a 32-team World Cup, but this is how UEFA arranges it. I just hope the tournament ends up with the right two in the final. In the meantime, here are my predictions for each match. Matches are in chronological order and my prediction for the winner will be bolded:

ROUND OF 16

Switzerland (Group A 2nd.) vs. Italy (Group B 2nd.): Switzerland finished 2nd in Group A without a loss. It all started with a 3-1 win to Hungary, then 1-1 draws to both Scotland and Germany. Italy opened well against Albania 2-1, lost to Spain 1-0 thanks to an own-goal and drew 1-1 against Croatia in the stoppage time at the end. For this match, I predict Switzerland to win on penalty kicks. The last time Switzerland lost to Italy was 1993.

Germany (Group A 1st.) vs. Denmark (Group C 2nd.): Being the host nation, Germany knew they had to deliver, and deliver well! They did just that opening the Euro with a 5-1 win over Scotland and a 2-0 win over Hungary. Their qualification guaranteed, they could afford to draw 1-1 against Switzerland. Denmark had the good fortune of drawing all three games in their group: 1-1 draws to Slovenia and England and ending with a scoreless draw to Serbia. For this game, I predict Germany to win because they’ve been better at delivering this tournament and making wins happen.

England (Group C 1st.) vs. Slovakia (Group D/E/F 3rd.) Group C was the group where five of the six games were draws. England delivered the only win: 1-0 against Serbia. With their scoreless draw to Slovenia and 1-1 draw to Denmark, that was enough to make them top Group C. Slovakia was in a group that was just as tight. All four Group E teams had a win, a draw and a loss. Slovakia’s win was to Belgium 1-0, their loss to Ukraine 2-1, and their draw to Romania 1-1. For this game I predict England. England has never lost to Slovakia in the six times they played. A single draw at Euro 2016 but never lost.

Spain (Group B 1st.) vs. Georgia (Group D/E/F 3rd.): Spain had it’s win of Group B guaranteed after the second game! They opened 3-1 against Croatia and did 2-1 against Italy. Their 1-0 win over Albania just was a bonus for straight wins. Georgia went from the surprise of qualifying to the surprise of this tournament. They lost their opener to Turkey 3-1, came back to draw against Czechia 1-1 and then win to Portugal 2-0. For this match, I predict Spain. The two have met head-to-head seven times and Spain only lost to Georgia once. Spain won the rest of the times..

France (Group D 2nd.) vs. Belgium (Group E 2nd.): A classic match! France finished second in Group D starting with a 1-0 win over Austria, the only Group F team to beat Austria, a scoreless draw to the Netherlands and a 1-1 draw to Poland. Belgium started their Group E play with a surprise 1-0 loss to Slovakia, then came back with a 2-0 win to Romania and ended with a scoreless draw to Ukraine. For this, I think this will go to a draw with France winning on penalty kicks.

Portugal (Group F 1st.) vs. Slovenia (Group A/B/C 3rd.): Portugal not only clinched qualification after their first two games, but they also clinched first place in Group F in the process! A 2-1 win over Czechia and a 3-0 win over Turkey is all it took. They could afford to lose to Georgia 2-0 and still top Group F! Slovenia was straight draws with 1-1 to Denmark, 1-1 to Serbia and ended with scoreless against Denmark. Despite the same goal differentials as Denmark, their extra yellow card caused them to finish third in the group. Portugal look on target but I think the game will go to Slovenia. Why? In the one time they ever met, a friendly just three months ago, Slovenia won 2-0.

Romania (Group E 1st.) vs. The Netherlands (Group A/C/D 3rd.): Romania began Group E with a 3-0 win over Ukraine, then endured a 2-0 loss to Belgium and ended it with a 1-1 draw to Slovakia. The Netherlands also had their own win, loss and draw in Group D. They began with a 2-1 win over Poland, a scoreless draw to France and a surprise 3-2 loss to Austria. The two have met 13 times and Netherlands have won nine times. I predict Netherlands to win again.

Austria (Group D 1st.) vs. Turkey (Group F 2nd.): Nobody expected Austria to go too far at Euro 2024. Even their 1-0 to France thanks to an own-goal didn’t help. Then came their 3-1 win over Poland and their 3-2 win over the Netherlands en route to topping Group D. Maybe Austria is a stronger team than we thought! Turkey began Euro 2024 with a 3-1 win over Georgia, endured a 3-0 loss to Portugal and came back to a 2-1 win over Czechia. The last time Austria and Turkey met was three months ago and Austria won 6-1. I expect Austria to win again.

QUARTERFINALS

Why do I predict quarterfinals before I even know who the quarterfinalists are? Do you know how tiring writing is? Anyways as in past years, I plan to take a short break and not publish my next Euro blog until just before the semifinals. With that in mind, I’ll go as if my predictions for the Round of 16 matches actually came true. So here are my thoughts:

Spain vs. Germany – They frequently meet and the results alternate: 26 previous meetings; 8 Spain wins; 9 Germany wins; 9 draws. I think this will be a tight match leading into a penalty kick round which Germany will win.

Slovenia vs. France – They’ve met three times in the past and France has won each time. Even though their last previous meeting was over 20 years ago, I don’t think much has changed. I expect France to win again.

Netherlands vs. Austria – It’s possible two teams that clashed in the Group stage could meet again this soon. If they do meet again, I anticipate a draw game with Netherlands to win on penalties.

England vs. Switzerland – They’ve met 27 times before but England has won nineteen times. I’m not expecting much to change this time so I think it will be a win for England again.

And there you have it. Those are predictions for the Round of 16 matches and my ‘estimates’ for the quarterfinals. All we have to do is wait for the games to play to see who really wins. In the meantime, you’ll get my next blog where I predict the semifinals.

UEFA Euro 2024: Group Stage With One Game To Go

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

How about that? All 24 teams have completed their second game, or Matchday 2. There’s only one last group game to play and that will finalize the Group Stage standings and determine the qualifiers for the knockout rounds.

This year, there is an interesting allotment of the types of teams playing, but there are certain types of teams here in Germany that have stood out the most. We have teams who appeared to have lost their greatness before now playing hard to get it back. We have teams demonstrating their known consistency. We have underdogs surprising fans with wins over big guns. We also have teams that had a “Golden Generation” for many years that looks like their luster is running out and the younger players haven’t been well-trained to keep their team’s prowess active.

Now there’s only one game remaining in the Group Stage. That’s commonly referred to as ‘Matchday 3.’ Three teams right now have already guaranteed qualification by winning their first two games. With more than two groups having at least one draw game, two wins are a guarantee for qualification at this stage. Two of those teams have also already guaranteed a first-place finish in their group because of their win over the team in second place. Here at Euro, head-to-head results supersede goal differentials which the World Cup uses to to be the top tie-breaker in group rankings. In addition, only one team is guaranteed elimination already. Right now, the fates of twenty teams are still unknown and they will all need Matchday 3 to decide everything.

With one game to go, here’s my look at the teams in each of the Euro 2024 groups and what they need to qualify. Teams that have already qualified will be bolded. Group titles will contain links to my original group blogs:

Group A:

Some could say Germany did it in the very opening game. That remains to be seen. What is a fact is Germany won both their opening games and the hosts have guaranteed themselves qualification to the knockout round! A 5-1 against Scotland in the opener and their 2-0 win over Hungary did it. Second in the standings is Switzerland with their 3-1 win over Hungary and a 1-1 draw against Scotland. Germany and Switzerland meet for their last game. Switzerland can guarantee qualification with a draw. Even if they lose, the are still assured a top-three finish and are in conformable standings to qualify, though it’s not guaranteed. Their play against Germany will decide it all.

Of the teams in Group A that have not won a match, Scotland is third with a 5-1 loss to Germany and a 1-1 draw to Switzerland. At the bottom is Hungary with a 3-1 loss to Switzerland and a 2-0 loss to Germany. Both teams will face each other Sunday. No doubt that in order to have qualifying chances for the knockout round, either team must win. Despite the advantage of a draw to Switzerland, a draw against Hungary will not be enough for Scotland to qualify with two draws and a big loss. Even if Hungary wins over Scotland, it’s game results and goal differentials that will decide if their among the four wildcard teams that advance.

Group B:

Spain did it! They opened with a 3-0 win over Croatia and a 1-0 win against Italy thanks to an own goal from Riccardo Calafiore. Their two wins guarantee them qualification no matter what happens in Game 3. Their win over Italy guarantees them first place in Group B! Although Italy’s qualification is not guaranteed, the Azzurri are second with their 2-1 win over Albania. A draw against Croatia is all they need to qualify.

For the two teams at the bottom, Albania and Croatia, they still have qualification chances with both having a loss and a draw but for both teams, they need nothing less than a win to qualify. That will be a nail biter especially because both teams will face a highly touted opponent on Matchday 3; Albania will face Spain and Croatia will face Italy. After that 2-2 draw, Albania has an advantage because they have less of a goal differential. Nevertheless it’s down to the wire for both teams in a must-win situation. I don’t call Group B the Group Of Death for nothing!

Group C:

Sometimes in group play, you can get some groups that are quite decisive in who are the biggest and best in the group. Other times, the play in the group will be hard to decipher who are the powers of the group. Group C is that group as it’s hard to tell who are the better teams. Four games have been played and three of them were 1-1 draws. The only game where a winner was declared was England’s 1-0 win over Serbia. That lone win puts England at the top of the group and with very comfortable chances to qualify. I’ve been calling Group B the “Group Of Death” because of the caliber of the teams but it looks like with the closeness of play at Euro 2024, Group C should be called the “Group Of Death.”

Actually right now, none of the teams have enough points to qualify, but none of the teams are out. All four are still eligible. Despite England having it best, both Slovenia and Denmark have it good with two tie games each. A win from either will solidify qualifying. At the very least, a draw could help either of them for a wildcard berth as three draws is three game points and even goal differentials. Serbia still has qualifying chances but being the one team in Group C to take a loss, they will need nothing less than a win to qualify. Two draws and a loss won’t cut it in the wildcard third-place runoff.

Group D:

Group D has a unique situation. None of the teams have guaranteed qualification and one team is out of contention. The three teams that still have chances will need Matchday 3 to decide anything and everything. Leading the group are the Netherlands and France with a win and a draw each. The Netherlands opened well with a 2-1 win over Poland while France won over Austria 1-0 thanks to an own-goal by Maximilian Wober. The two teams played each other on Friday but it ended a scoreless draw. If you ask me, there are a lot of big name teams that are not playing like they want it. A simple draw can guarantee qualification for either team.

Austria opened up with the hard luck of a 1-0 loss to France thanks to Wober’s own goal. When they faced Poland, it was a surprise 3-1 win for Austria. That win is crucial for Austria’s qualifying chances, but their match against the Netherlands will decide things. As for Poland, they’re out. They lost 2-1 to the Netherlands and 3-1 to Austria. Even if they win their game against France and Austria loses, Austria will still have the advantage for their win over Poland. The head-to-head factor.

Group E:

Sigh. That subject about the ‘Group Of Death’ again! Group E is another group worthy of being labeled the Group Of Death because of the play so far. Talk about tight play! All four teams of Group E are even. All four had a win and a loss. Teams most people thought would not be among contenders delivered surprise wins at the start and keep their qualifying chances healthy. I’m not sure if there are any specific head-to-head rules that explain the current rankings, but the goal differentials look to be what’s deciding the current rankings. Despite losing to Belgium 2-0, Romania leads thanks to their 3-0 win over Ukraine while Belgium takes second due to their 1-0 loss to Slovakia. Slovakia is third because of even goal differentials after their 2-1 loss to Ukraine and Ukraine is at the bottom as the one nation with negative goal differentials thanks to their 3-0 loss to Romania.

Any of the four can qualify. Thanks to all four having a win and a loss, none have guaranteed qualification and none are out and it will take Matchday 3 to decide everything. Slovakia will play Romania and Ukraine will play Belgium. If both games are draws, only then would the current standings factor in qualification. It will have to be a case of either both games having a winner and a loser or the case of one game having a winner and the other drawing in order to decide the qualifiers to the next round.

Group F:

There must be something about being a team from the Iberian Peninsula this year because Portugal not only qualified but like Spain, they too guaranteed top of their group! It took a 2-1 win over Czechia and a 3-0 win over Turkey to solidify it! Even if they lose to Georgia on Wednesday and Turkey wins, Portugal will still finish first because of their win over Turkey.

Despite the loss, Turkey is second in the group and has good chances to qualify. Turkey can still qualify if they draw, even if Georgia wins. For both Czechia and Georgia, both teams will need nothing less than a win to qualify. Their 1-1 draw against each other keeps them in contention but a win needs to happen for either to qualify. Especially for the third-place wildcard berths because the two third-place teams with the lowest game results will join the fourth-place teams from each group packing for home sooner than they hoped!

And there you have it! That’s my summary for the Euro 2024 groups with Matchday 3 being all that’s left for all 24 teams. It will be interesting to learn of the other thirteen that advance and the seven others that get an earlier-than-hoped return home!

UEFA Euro 2024 Preview Links

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

One of the crazy things over the past three years is watching a football tournament with decent time zones. For Qatar 2022, there were some games I had to wake up real early to see at a cafe for 7am! For the Women’s World Cup last year, they were in Australia and New Zealand so I had to be really lucky if I wanted to catch them at good times. I think the final was at 3am my time. I tried to wake up on time that Sunday but it didn’t work out.

For Euro 2024, the times of the games are better for me. The first nine days may have some games that start as early as 6am for me, but the rest of the games starting times are either 9am or noon my time. Just like previous years, I plan to see them in as many cafes as I can.

This blog is a fast reference to all the blogging I’ve done about the six Euro groups. The links are in the group titles and by them, I will list my predictions for teams I expect to qualify out of those groups:

Group A – Germany, Hungary and Switzerland the wildcard (WC)

Group B – Spain, Croatia and Italy the WC

Group C – England and Denmark

Group D – France, Netherlands and Poland the WC

Group E – Belgium and Ukraine

Group F – Portugal, Czechia and Turkey the WC

UEFA Euro 2024: Group D Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

I’ll admit some of my talk outside the team talk in my last blog was pretty boring. For this blog, I will try something new. After my focus on the teams, I will give a focus on the ten venues that will be used to contest the games of this Euro. To save space and time, I will just talk about the venues with ‘fast facts.’

Anyways to start my blog off, here now is my look at the teams of Group D. Crazy thing is two teams in Group D played each other in the same qualifying group! Crazy that they meet again here! Who does these draws?:

– Poland (28): Poland is a team with a good reputation. The Orly or Biało-czerwon have finished third at two World Cups and weer Olympic champions in 1972. At Euro 2016, they made it to the quarterfinals for the first time. One of the problems with Poland is that the current team is big on talent but has a reputation of underperforming at big tournaments. They ended in the group stage at the last Euro and at the last two World Cups, they were out in group play in 2018 and out in the Round Of 16 in 2022.

Since World Cup 2022, the team has dropped Fernando Santos as coach and has gone back to a coach from their own nation: Michal Probierz. Robert Lewandowski, the most capped Polish player ever, is back, but Lewandowski can’t do it alone. The team has a lot of young talent 25 and under, but they also have some other established veterans like midfielders Kamil Grosicki and Piotr Zielinski and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. In play since the World Cup, they’ve had wins to Germany, Ukraine, Estonia, Turkey and Latvia. They’ve had a win and a loss to Albania and two cases of a draw and a loss to Moldova and Czechia. Here in Germany, it’s a chance to write another chapter for the Polish team.

-Netherlands (7): The Oranje are considered to be the best team in the world to never have won a World Cup. At the Euro, they won in 1988 and have finished third four times. Since 2020, they’ve been underperforming. Euro 2020 saw them lose their Round of 16 match to Czechia 2-0, and after winning all three of their group play games! The last World Cup saw them lose to eventual champions Argentina on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. Even losses in their recent play are quite telling.

Since the 2022 World Cup, they’ve dropped Louis Van Gaal as coach and are now back to being headed by Ronald Koeman who has played in two World Cups and was a key part of Oranje’s win of Euro 1988! The team’s stars include defender Daley Blind, midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and forward Memphis Depay. Since World Cup 2022, they’ve had wins against Scotland, Greece, Canada and Ireland. They’ve also had losses to France, Croatia, Germany and Italy. Anything can happen at Euro. Germany offers the stage for a possible second win.

-Austria (25): There was a time The Burschen were one of the top teams in the world. They made the semifinals of World Cup 1934. World Cup 1954 saw them finish third. They last qualified for a World Cup in 1998. Austria only competed in their first Euro in 2008 when they hosted. Since then, they’ve worked to come back as a stronger team. At the last Euro, they made it to the Round of 16 for the first time ever.

Austria is coached by Germany’s Ralf Rangnick who was hired in April 2022. The team members mostly play in clubs with Germany’s Bundesliga or Austria’s own Bundesliga. Star players include goalkeeper Heinz Lindner, midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and forward Marko Amautovic, who is Austria’s most capped player. Since World Cup 2022 ended, they’ve had wins to Turkey, Slovakia, Sweden, Estonia and Serbia. They’ve also had a draw to Switzerland and a draw and a loss to Belgium. Anything can happen this month in June and Austria has the opportunity to prove themselves again.

-France (2): One thing about the lats ten years has been about the rebounding of Les Bleus. Sure, they’ve won the Euro before in 1984 and 2000, but their excitement these last ten years have ben remarkable. Finalists in Euro 2016 which they hosted, World Cup winners in 2018 and World Cup finalists in 2022. Their play in the final of the 2022 World Cup should be admired since many members were recovering from food poisoning.

The team is coached by Didier Deschamps, a former player for the 1998 World Cup winning team, who has coached since Euro 2012. His coaching has a lot to do with France regaining their form as the best in the world. Star players include defender Benjamin Pavard, midfielder N’Golo Kante and forwards Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe. Since the World Cup final, they’ve had wins over Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. They’ve also endured a win and a draw to Greece, a draw to Canada, and losses to Germany. It’s very possible France could win their third Euro here in 2024. It’s all about the team being all together.

My Predictions: That’s often it. Four great teams, but they will have to be ranked in the end. I think the qualifiers here will be France and The Netherlands with Poland being the wildcard qualifier.

VENUES OF EURO 2024

It should be no surprise that Germany should have the venues to host a twenty-four nation major football tournament on its own. A nation who Bundesliga could be a challenge to the Premier League can do it. Germany has ten venues. They range in age from a few years old to 101 years old! Of course some of the older venues have had renovations, even one completely demolished to rebuild, but they still stand strong. Four are in the North Rhine-Westphalia region (with very little travel time between them), one is in the former East Germany and one hosted an Olympic Games. For this Euro, all of them will have group play games and at least one knockout match as well. For most of them, their Euro capacity is smaller than their respective team’s game capacity because standing areas are not allowed in the Euro.

This focus here is a brief focus. My focus is only giving a brief telling of the venues and its main facts like which city, year first completed, capacity and tenant team. I’ll be starting with venues that will only go as far as the Round Of 16 progressing to venues playing additional knockout matches to the Grand Venue which is to hold the final for the cup:

Venues Up To Round Of 16

  • Cologne Stadium: City – Cologne (Koln)
    Year Opened: 1923
    Euro Capacity: 46,922
    Current Tenant: Viktoria Koln
  • Leipzig Stadium: City – Leipzig
    Year Opened: 2004
    Euro Capacity: 46,635
    Current Tenant: RB Leipzig
  • Frankfurt Arena: City – Frankfurt
    Year Opened: 1925
    Euro Capacity: 48,057
    Current Tenant: Eintracht Frankfurt
  • Arena AufSchalke: City – Gelsenkirchen
    Year Opened: 2001
    Euro Capacity: 49,471
    Current Tenant: FC Schalke 04

Venues For Further Matches

  • Dusseldorf Arena: City – Dusseldorf
    Year Opened: 2004
    Euro Capacity: 46,264
    Current Tenant: Fortuna Dusseldorf
  • Volksparkstadion: City – Hamburg
    Year Opened: 1953
    Euro Capacity: 50,215
    Current Tenant: Hamburger SV
  • Stuttgart Arena: City – Stuttgart
    Year Opened: 1933
    Euro Capacity: 50,998
    Current Tenant: V1B Stuttgart
  • Westfalenstadion: City – Dortmund
    Year Opened: 1974
    Euro Capacity: 61,524
    Current Tenant: Borussia Dortmund
  • Fussball Arena Munchen: City – Munich (Munchen)
    Year Opened: 2005
    Euro Capacity: 66,026
    Current Tenant: Bayern Munich

GRAND VENUE

  • Olympiastadion Berlin: City – Berlin
    Year Opened: 1936
    Capacity: 70,023
    Current Tenant: Hertha BSC

And there you go. This is my look at the teams of Group D as well as a look at the ten venues for Germany 2024. Only two more groups left to review.

WORK CITED:

WIKIPEDIA: UEFA Euro 2024. Wikipedia.com. 2024. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2024>

World Cup 2022: My Prediction For The Final, And Third-Place Playoff Too

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I always say about the World Cup after month of play, there’s only one nation still smiling in the end! It’s been unusual to see World Cup matches as winter has been approaching. The time zones didn’t help too much. Nevertheless I made every opportunity to enjoy games at cafes and other viewing places. I also had my share of entertainment with the 442oons videos.

It’s crazy that World Cup 2022 already felt like a circus. I think every World Cup becomes a bit of a circus. Throughout this World Cup, talks of endless corruption, the corruption of the nation of Qatar, questions about matches being fixed or some referees having prejudices. Possibly one of the best things about the match for the Cup is not just to reward the winner, but the fact that all this will end. I remember before the start of one World Cup final, I thought to myself that all the craziness is over. What happened, happened. What didn’t happen, didn’t happen. And now all that should matter is who will win the Cup.

Onto the World Cup finals, it’s interesting that the two teams playing have a few notable things in common. Both have won the World Cup twice before. In both cases, their first World Cup win was when they were host nation. Both played in the very first World Cup in 1930, and one of the teams was even a finalist. Both teams have a striker who has amassed a total of five goals this World Cup, and both teams lost a group stage match here in Qatar. Without further ado, here are my reviews of the last two matches of World Cup 2022:

THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF REVIEW:

The third-place match will take place on Saturday December 17th in Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan: a suburb of Doha. One team is looking to make this its third Top 3 finish. The other is looking to make it their first Top 3 result ever. Both teams didn’t get a defeat until their semifinal match. Both teams are also the same two Group F teams that rivaled each other in their first group play match. This is the second consecutive World Cup in which the bronze-medal match is between two group play rivals!

Past Head-To-Head Results:

Croatia and Morocco have met only twice before. Besides the scoreless group play match here in Qatar, the only other time was back in 1996. That too ended in a draw. The score was 2-2.

CROATIA

They’ve only existed as an independent nation since 1991 and they’ve gotten as far as the World Cup semifinal or further a total of three times. It’s no wonder why I call Croatia “The little nation that can.” Since their independence, they’ve qualified for the World Cup six times out of seven attempts. Three of those times they’ve made it to the semifinals or further. The first was in 1998:their very first World Cup. Last World Cup, they made it to the final. Sometimes you wonder what’s the secret to The Blazers? Me, I can’t answer. One thing I have to say is that Croatia is one team low on arrogance, big on play!

Croatia has been getting a lot of attention for the overall play of Luka Modric, the scoring of Ivan Perisic, and the eye-catching fashion of Ivana Knoll! At the last World Cup, Croatia was known for great play as well as good luck. They opened with three wins in group play and then followed with penalty kicks in both their Round of 16 match and quarterfinal. Their semifinal was a win against England, but France ended their dream in the final 4-2.

At thins World Cup, the Croatian team has changed, but it’s also kept some similarities. In group play, they had two scoreless draws and a 4-1 win over Canada. In their Round of 16 match and their quarterfinal, history repeated itself and they bagged wins on penalty kicks. It was in their semifinal against Argentina where their luck finally ran out.

Croatia has shown a lot with their play from midfielder Luka Modric and from striker Ivan Perisic. Worthy of credit to the team’s success is goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. He’s one of the younger goaltenders of the tournament at 27, but he has done an excellent job in keeping Croatia alive, having only allowed in three goals before their match with Argentina. They could just be the team that has what it takes to clinch another Top 3 finish.

MOROCCO

It happens every World Cup. There’s always one team that has modest expectations before the competition but ends up going further than expected. Last World Cup, it was a case where Croatia and Belgium achieved their best-ever results. This year, it’s a case where Morocco is the “Cinderella story” of Qatar 2022. Nevertheless it’s wrong to dismiss Morocco’s success as a complete “Cinderella story.”

Morocco has to be one of the top African nations to adopt a football culture. They competed in their first World Cup in 1970. When they returned in 1986, they became the first African team in World Cup history to advance past the opening round. Returning to that success or taking it further has been a struggle. They qualified for the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, but went out in the group stage. Despite claiming a second-place in the African Cup of Nations in 2004, they had to wait until 2018 for their return to a World Cup. Even then, they were ousted with a draw and two losses.

When they arrived in Qatar, nobody knew what to expect of the Atlas Lions, but they delivered. They started with a scoreless draw against Croatia and then delivered a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium. A 2-1 win over Canada placed them at the top of Group F. Their Round of 16 match against Spain went goalless, but penalty kicks were the trick as they sunk three while Spain couldn’t sink one! The quarterfinals paved the way for a 1-0 win over Portugal. Their win made history as they became the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup semifinals. It was France that ended their quest for the Cup at 2-0.

Having Morocco in the semifinals was a big boost for African teams. Especially since none of the African teams of 2018 qualified for the knockout round. It’s hard to pinpoint how Morocco became so successful this tournament. I made the claim it could be since they’re a Sahara nation, they have better knowledge of how to play in a desert climate. Recently I’ve credited it to manager Walid Reguagui. Since he was hired four months ago, their semifinal loss to France is Morocco’s first loss since he was hired. Maybe that’s the secret. Others give credit to the great defensive play and the goalkeeping of Yassine Bounou. Bounou has only conceded three goals and a penalty kick this Cup. Whatever the situation, they had what they needed and they could just do it again on Saturday.

My Final Verdict: This is hard to tell. Both teams have played well. Both have been able to deliver when they needed to. Croatia has scored six while Morocco has scored five. Croatia however has conceded a total of six goals while Morocco has conceded a total of three. Both teams have a star player that may be absent. From Croatia, Mario Mandzukic because of his red card while assistant coach. From Morocco, Romain Saiss because of an injury sustained in the tournament. I think it will be a tight game but I expect Croatia to win 1-0 in added extra time.

THE FINAL

Can you believe it? After 28 days and 63 matches, there will be only one match left! This is the moment for a team to claim to their nation the world’s biggest bragging right! The final will be held in Lusail Stadium. One team aims to be the first South American team to win the World Cup in 20 years. The other team aims to be the first team in 60 years to successfully defend the World Cup.

Past Head-To-Head Results: France and Argentina have dueled each other a total of twelve times. Argentina have won six times including during the 1978 World Cup. France have won three times. Their last match was in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 where France won 4-3.

ARGENTINA:

La Albiceleste knows about World Cup finals. This is Argentina’s sixth time to the World Cup final. Only three other nations have achieved six of more appearances. Argentina was even a finalist in the very first World Cup in 1930. Getting back to the finals was a real struggle. They didn’t return to the finals until 1978, which they hosted and won. Then in the 1980’s emerged a great player by the name of Diego Maradona. He helped captain Argentina to their second win in 1986. He retuned in 1990 to try and make it two in a row, but the team lost to Germany 1-0. From 1990 onwards, it was a struggle for the team to get back to the final. Early in this century, a young player named Lionel Messi was dazzling the world with his club play. Whenever the World Cup happened, he and the team would fall short. Then in 2014, they made the finals for the first time in 24 years. Unfortunately like in 1990, they lost to Germany 1-0.

Trying to get back to the finals has not been easy. In 2018, they had a disastrous run. They finished second in their group with a win, a draw and a loss, and then went out in the Round of 16. After the 2018, they hired Lionel Scaloni, who played for Argentina at the 2006 World Cup, as their new manager. Since his hiring the Argentine team has shown a lot of positive changes. Its most notable change was when they won the 2021 Copa America..

Here at the World Cup, Argentina got off to a rough start. The 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia isn’t the first shocking opener Argentina’s delivered at the World Cup, but they knew they had to get themselves in order if they wanted to advance well. They succeeded with 2-0 wins over Poland and Mexico. In their Round Of 16 match against Australia, they dominated play as they won 2-1. In their quarterfinal against the Netherlands, they endured a game marred with frequent carding from a referee to a 2-2 draw. Penalty kicks kept them alive. In their semifinal match against Croatia, they dominated to win 3-0.

Throughout this World Cup, people have been constantly talking about “This is Messi’s last chance.” or “This will finally be Messi’s” No kidding there’s a lot of attention on Messi. In fact winning the Cup will make the difference between Messi being remembered as The Best Ever or The Best Never. Nevertheless we should remember the success of Argentina isn’t just Messi. There’s also the goaltending of Emiliano Martinez and young player Julian Alvarez rising to the occasion. Argentina has the right mix of youth and experience for the team and it just might pay off in winning the Cup on Sunday.

FRANCE:

Success for Les Bleus has been like a yo-yo. Like Argentina, France has been there at the very start back in 1930. They themselves would have difficulty establishing themselves as a football power. Even when they hosted in 1938, the team was out in the quarterfinals. It wasn’t until 1958 that they finished in the Top 3 for the first time. During the 60’s and 70’s, it was a case of either failing to qualify or out in group play. It was in the 1980’s when France saw a spark of improvement. Led by Michel Platini, the team finished fourth in 1982 and third in 1986. Just after, they followed with two failures to qualify. Then in 1998, France hosted and the team performed brilliantly en route to winning their first-ever World Cup.

It hasn’t been easy for France to return. At the 2002 World Cup, they were out in the group stage without even scoring a single goal. In 2006, they were runner-up to Italy. In 2010, the team revolted against the coaches and their federation and they went out in the group stage. Then in 2014, there emerged a new French team coached by 1998 player Didier Deschamps. The team featured a lot of young promising talents and they finished in the quarterfinals. That was just the warm-up as they’d go on to make the finals of Euro 2016 and win France’s second World Cup in 2018. Staying on top wouldn’t be easy. France was reminded of that when they bowed out of Euro 2020 in the Round of 16.

France was often reminded of the alleged curse of the defending champion. At the beginning of 2022, it was still in question how France would do after they endured three losses in Nations League play. Any questions France were given, they were answered in Qatar. They won their first two games of group play 4-1 against Australia and 2-1 against Denmark.The win against Denmark was a boost as they lost to them earlier this year. The 1-0 loss to Tunisia didn’t set their confidence back much, if any. After group play, it’s been nothing but wins for France as the won their Round of 16 match against Poland 3-1, their quarterfinal match against England 2-1 and their semifinal against Morocco 2-0.

The success of the French team has proven this “Curse of The World Cup Winner” is a myth. Mind you it was uncertain at first. And now they appear poised to repeat as World Cup champions. Only twice before has the reigning World Cup champion successfully defended its title: Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962. The World Cup team had a lot of notable players from 2018 like Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti left off and Karim Benzema benched because of injury. Nevertheless the team has delivered excellently with the striking of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud and the goaltending of Hugo Lloris. They’ve shown they won’t give up their World Cup title easily.

My Final Verdict: A lot to think about. Argentina’s group play loss came in the opener. France’s came after they were guaranteed qualification. Argentina has scored twelve goals while France has scored thirteen. Argentina has conceded five goals and so has France. This will be an extremely tight match. I think this is a match where it would go to a 1-1 draw and Argentina winning on penalty kicks. I’m sure it will be that tight!

And there you have it. My review and predictions for the third-place match and the World Cup final. This will definitely be one World Cup we will never forget.

World Cup 2022: Semifinals Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

The funny thing about this World Cup tournament is that with FIFA’s app, I’ve been making predictions for each game’s final score. Only three have I got the score absolutely bang on. Of course there are many I wrongly predicted would win. It’s interesting how this whole World Cup is a big circus both inside the field and outside the field. Not just the play but the politics, disputes and even brawls. In short, this World Cup is completely unpredictable. I find it weird because I’ve been quite good at making predictions on this blog and it’s come at mixed results. I successfully predicted all the Round of 16 winners, but I only got one quarterfinal winner right.

What can I say about this Cup’s semifinal teams. Before I talk about them, it’s interesting many teams that delivered some of the biggest wins in the Round of 16 lost their quarterfinal match! As for the semifinalists, two are from Group F. Two are from different groups. Only one team has won their knockout matches without even needing added extra time. While one team qualified with nothing but matches that went to penalty kicks. Two teams are renowned for their goal scorers, while the two others owe most of their credit to their goalkeepers. Two are finalists from the last World Cup. Two have won the World Cup in the past. One has made it to the semis for the first time ever. Two teams have lost one group play game while the two Group F teams have not had a defeat. This is only the second World Cup where the semifinal teams come from three different continents.

Without further ado, here is the look at the four teams that qualified for the two semifinals and my prediction for each one:

SEMIFINAL #1: ARGENTINA vs. CROATIA

Head-To-Head Stuff: Croatia and Argentina have played each other five times in the past; two of those games in the World Cup. Croatia has won twice and Argentina have won twice. For World Cup play, their first meeting was in 1998 group play. Argentina won 1-0. The second was group play of the last World Cup. Croatia won 3-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

ARGENTINA

For almost fifteen years when you think of Argentina, one name comes to mind: Lionel Messi. No doubt about it Messi has shone over the sport like no other player. Despite his accolades in club play, he has consistently been denied major international prizes like the Copa America and the World Cup. A common reminder that one player does not make the whole team. Argentina has a lot of talented players, but it’s always been a struggle to get them all together and win one of the biggest tournaments. They qualified for the final of the 2014 World Cup, but lost to Germany. In the two years after that, they qualified for the final of the Copa America both years and lost finals on penalty kicks. The failure of falling 4-3 to eventual champions France in the 2018 Round Of 16 added further insult to the injury.

Since the pandemic, Argentina has shown a change of play. Last year they won the Copa America and it became Messi’s first major international trophy ever. On to World Cup action, Argentina had the misfortune of losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. La Albiceleste knew they needed nothing but wins to qualify and they delivered with 2-0 wins in both games. They topped Group C and were one of five teams to top a group in Qatar with two wins and a loss. They won their Round Of 16 match against Australia 2-1 and won their quarterfinal against the Netherlands on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw and a load of yellow cards. One highlight of the match was Lionel Messi scored the tenth World Cup goal of his career.

CROATIA

Croatia should be seen as the little team that can. They’re a nation of under 5 million that competed in six World Cups since their debut in 1998. They’ve made the Top 4 for the third time this very tournament! Returning back to the World Cup semifinals wasn’t easy. Shortly after play resumed after the pandemic, Croatia endured a lot of UEFA Nations League losses. They only made it as far as the Round Of 16 at Euro 2020, and they even struggled to resume winning during World Cup qualifying.

Things made a big improvement after their early Euro exit. Since then, they’ve only lost a single Nations League match and more than made up for things in World Cup qualification. In their play here in Qatar, the group stage was a case where they had scoreless draws against Morocco and Belgium and a 4-1 win over Canada. That big win was what they needed to qualify second in Group F. In their Round of 16 match against Japan, they drew 1-1 but won on penalty kicks. Their quarterfinal against Brazil also ended in 1-1 and again penalty kicks gave them the win. Top play has come from striker Ivan Perisic, midfielder Luka Modric and goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

My Final Verdict: This is hard to judge. Sure, Croatia won against Argentina in 2018 group play, but both teams were different teams in 2018. Back then Croatia won all three of their group stage games while Argentina had a win, a draw and a loss. Looking at the World Cup 2022 stats, Argentina has scored a total of nine goals while Croatia has only scored six. Croatia however have only conceded three goals while Argentina has conceded five. Croatia has never lost here in Qatar while Argentina had their shock loss to Saudi Arabia. On top of it, Argentina have picked up a lot of yellow cards from their card-crazy quarterfinal against the Netherlands and they might not want to risk their best players. Looking at all the facts, I have to say I predict Argentina to win 1-0 in added extra time.

SEMIFINAL #2: FRANCE vs. MOROCCO

Head-To-Head Stuff: France and Morocco have faced off against each other 11 times in the past, but never played each other at the World Cup before. Morocco’s only win came in 1963. France won seven times.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

FRANCE

Many of you remember my story of France’s long road of recovery from their embarrassing collapse in 2010 to winning theWorld Cup in 2018. It’s one thing to get to the top but it’s another to stay on top. After the World Cup win, France was still very skillful for the rest of 2018 and 2019, winning eleven of their sixteen games and only losing two. Things changed after the pandemic. They still managed to win many games but they showed sings of weakness. Especially during Euro 2020 when they topped their group with a win and two draws, but went out to Switzerland in the Round of 16 on a penalty shootout. 2022 also showed weakness in France as they lost three Nations League games including one match to Croatia: their opponent in the 2018 World Cup final. Many were suspecting France would become yet another casualty of the ‘curse of the defending World Cup champion.’

Here in Qatar, France had a lot to prove and they proved it. They were the first team to qualify for the knockout stage after a 4-1 win over Australia and a 2-1 win over Denmark. With that, they could afford to lose 1-0 to Tunisia and still top Group D. In their Round of 16 match against Poland, they won in convincing fashion 3-1. In their quarterfinal against England, the game was a controversial one with France winning 2-1. In addition, Kylian Mbappe is the World Cup 2022 scoring leader with five goals.

MOROCCO

Morocco is a team that deserves more respect than you know. Although they’re not the first African nation to compete in the World Cup, they’re the first team to qualify via a direct African berth back in 1970. They didn’t qualify again until 1986 and when they competed, they became the first African nation to qualify past the preliminary group stage. Their Round of 16 finish from 1986 would remain Morocco’s best result ever for a long time. They would return to the World Cup in 1994, 1998 and 2018, but would go out in group play. Over the next four years, Morocco would continue to have frustrations with team play and their coaches. French coach Herve Renard who coached the 2018 World Cup team would resign after the team’s Round of 16 exit at the 2019 African Cup of Nations. Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic would step in his place right after. Morocco’s ouster in the quarterfinals of the 2021 African Cup of Nations and Vahid’s fallout with star player Hakim Ziyech would cause him to be fired in August 2022. More than three months before the World Cup!

Placed in Halilhodzic’s place was Walid Reguagui. Reguagui would be the first Moroccan since 2016 to coach the team. Things looked promising as Morocco won two for their friendlies before the World Cup and tied the third. Here in the World Cup, it’s nothing but up. Morocco opened with a scoreless draw against Croatia, but would go on to a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium and a 2-1 win over Canada. In their Round Of 16 match, they would have to go against Spain: one of their Group B rivals from World Cup 2018. The match went scoreless, but Morocco won the penalty kick match 3-0. Their win made them the fourth African team to play in the World Cup quarterfinals. In their quarterfinal, they were up against Portugal: another Group B rival from 2018! The goal from Youssuf En-Nesyri was fluky, but it was enough for Morocco to win 1-0. The win made Morocco the first African team to qualify for a World Cup semifinal!

My Final Verdict: This is tough to call. Morocco hasn’t lost a World Cup game yet while France had a surprise loss to Tunisia. France has scored a total of eleven goals compared to the five Morocco has scored. However, Morocco has only conceded one goal in World Cup play while France has conceded one goal per game. You can thank Montreal-born Yassine Bonnou for that record. Also worth keeping in mind Morocco will play one man down thanks to a double-yellow card on Walid Cheddira during their match against Portugal. I’d predict the win to France 2-0.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the two semifinals. It should make for some interesting play. This whole World Cup has been a case of surprises and upsets so expect the unexpected here too.

World Cup 2022 Preview Links

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

And just like that, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway. It is so weird to be talking about the World Cup right around the time I’m doing my Christmas shopping. I’m so used to watching World Cup games in hot weather. You find it odd, too?

So far only four games have been played. All teams from Groups A and B have completed their first matches. This tells quite a bit in terms of how things might go, but it doesn’t tell everything. I know I’ve been delivering previews to each of the World Cup groups. This is just simply a post with hyperlinks to all my group analyses. I will also post the two countries from each group I think will qualify for the knockout round. Also even though the teams Groups A and B have already played their first games, my original predictions still stand. So here are the links:

Group A: Netherlands and Senegal

Group B: England and the United States

Group C: Argentina and Mexico

Group D: France and Denmark

Group E: Spain and Germany

Group F: Belgium and Croatia

Group G: Brazil and Serbia

Group H: Portugal and Uruguay

For the record, I’m not listing my predictions as who will finish first and second. I’m listing in group order. Anyways best of luck to all teams and let’s enjoy the show, despite the odd time differences!

World Cup 2022 Preview: Group D

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Group D is one of three groups in World Cup 2022 that has all four teams that were present in the previous World Cup. Twenty-four nations that competed at the World Cup 2018 are making a return appearance here in Qatar. Surprisingly, three of the teams in Group D were part of Group C in Russia 2018! In Group D, we have the defending champion from 2018, one who made it to the Round of 16, and two group stagers!

Some may guess that the two advancers from Group D will end up being the two European teams, especially since they’re both in FIFA’s Top 10 right now, but don’t be so fast to dismiss. Here’s my rundown of Group D:

-France (4): At the last World Cup, France did it! They won their second World Cup just 20 years after their first. And with a coach that was a player for the 1998 team! However France hasn’t been completely on top since. Back at Euro 2020, they only made it to the Round of 16. Also as I’ve pointed out before, being defending World Cup champion has put them in a spot of bad luck that has happened to defending champions this century.

Didier Deschamps has been their coach since 2012. Although the World Cup team has not been declared yet, half of the team that played in the 2018 World Cup have played for the national team in recent matches. The team plays in various leagues throughout Europe with most playing for France’s Ligue 1. They’ve recently acquired wins against Austria, South Africa and the Ivory Coast. They’ve had notable draws against Croatia and Austria, and they’ve endured notable losses to Denmark and Croatia in Nations Cup play. 2022 gives an opportunity for France to prove that the bad luck of being defending champion may just all be a myth.

-Australia (38): It seems like the magic of the Socceroos we witnessed back in 2006 was a memory. They’ve been able to qualify for every World Cup since after switching from the OFC to the AFC, but it appears to have worked against them. They may have qualified for each World Cup since, but they’ve ended in the group stage each time with their last win being in 2010. Even after switching to the AFC, they’ve won the Asian Cup in 2015, but lost in the quarterfinals in 2019.

Since the 2018 World Cup, they’ve adopted a predominantly Australian coaching staff with Graham Arnold leading. The team consists of six A-League players and the rest playing mainly for European clubs; most in Scotland. Their recent wins have all been against Asian teams. They’ve had draws against China and Peru, as well as a win and a loss to Saudi Arabia and Japan. They come with low expectations in Qatar, but football is a domain where even the least-favored can excel if the seize the moment.

-Denmark (10): De Rød-Hvide have often seen as a team who have their greatest moment waiting for them. However their greatest World Cup moment still seems to be a bit of a wait. They’ve made the semifinals of four Euros and won in 1992. However they’ve only qualified for five previous World Cups and their best finish is the quarterfinals in 1998.

The team has a predominantly Danish coaching staff with Kasper Hjulmand as head coach. Despite the cardiac arrest during their first Euro 2020, Christian Eriksen is still playing pro-football as part of Manchester United and he’s on the Danish team. The most capped player is Simon Kjaer who plays for AC Milan. In recent play, they’ve had wins against Austria, France and Serbia, but they’ve had recent losses to the Netherlands and Croatia. The Danish team could just arrive in Qatar as their best team yet. They’ll just have this coming month’s time to prove it.

-Tunisia (30): Tunisia is one of many African teams waiting for their big moment at the World Cup. They’ve played in five previous World Cups and always gone home after the group stage. Recently the team accomplished making it to the final of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, hosted in Qatar. They also won the Kirin Cup this year.

The team’s coaching staff is completely Tunisian with Jalel Kadri becoming head coach this year. The team’s players play for a mix of clubs in Europe and Arabic nations. In recent play, they’ve had notable wins against Chile and Japan, draws against Mali and Botswana, and notable losses to Brazil and Algeria. Whatever you do, don’t rule out Tunisia for 2022. Plus they could have an advantage since they are familiar with playing in desert climate.

My Prediction: It’s always the case. After a group review, predictions for the qualifiers are expected. I am going to join more of the common predictions and say France and Denmark. However I think Tunisia is the team that can most pull a surprise.

And there you go! That’s my prediction for World Cup Group D. Hard to believe I’m half-done! Hard to believe the World Cup starts in ten days! Better start doing my pub-planning fast!

World Cup 2018: My Prediction For The Final, And Third-Place Playoff Too

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Final

I know most of my picks for the Group Stage panned out while some didn’t. I know I was very good at predicting the Round Of 16 and QuarterFinals but was off a bit. Also I know I got both SemiFinals wrong. Nevertheless I’m not worried. If the BBC’s Mark ‘Lawro’ Lawrenson can have a 52% success rate and still keep his job, I’m pretty comfortable right now.

Anyways the last two big matches will be contested this weekend. Here are my reviews of the two big matches:

The 3rd-Place Match for the bronze medal will be contested Saturday the 14th in Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. The Final for the Cup will take place at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF REVIEW:

The 3rd-Place Match for the bronze medal will be contested Saturday the 14th in Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. Often you wonder who normally wins the 3rd-Place Match? The team who most feels they have one last thing to prove? Or the team that’s the least disheartened? Whatever the situation, it should make for an interesting match. Especially since both teams met in the Group Stage in Group G. Here’s my review of both teams.

Past Head-To-Head Results: England and Belgium have squared off 22 times before. England won 15 times and Belgium won only three times including here in Russia 1-0 in group play. They drew four times in the past. As for World Cup play, their other two games were a 1990 Round-of-16 win for England and a 4-4 draw in 1954.

BelgiumBelgium: The Red Devils should be admired. They are a collection of marvelously talented players in their own right coming together to give Belgium one of their best World Cup performances ever, if not the best. They proved to be a top challenger for the final, but the goal from France’s Unmiti in the 51st minute ended their World Cup dreams. Nevertheless the Belgian team here have the chance to give Belgium it’s best-ever World Cup finish. Belgium’s best finish ever was 4th in 1986. Here’s the chance for them to win a 3rd-place match. An excellent chance to revive the #RedTogether spirit.

They have the advantage since they met England in group play and won 1-0. They can do it again. However they did show vulnerability in their game against Japan when they trailed 2-0 with 25 minutes to go. They did do an excellent job of coming back to win. However their luck ran out when they faced France. Their top players are still in excellent form in this ‘marathon’ of a competition, but they have to function together if they want to win this.

England fixedEngland: They came in 2018 with a new team and a new determination based on past humiliations. They came with a fairly young coach with experience playing in a World Cup. They came from the various teams of the Premier League with a lot of established talents and a lot of young rising talents. They came with the hope of winning England’s first World Cup since 1966. They delivered one of their best group stage showings in years. They delivered England’s first-ever win of a World Cup game on penalties after losing the previous three. They came with their fans chanting It’s Coming Home (in reference to the Euro 1996 theme song). Then it ended in the semifinal against Croatia. They began strong with a goal from Kieran Trippier in the 5th minute. However they were losing it after Ivan Perisic equalized in the 68th minute. It was Mandzukic in the 108th minute that took the match for Croatia and brought an end to the #ItsComingHome phenomenon.

However the 3rd-Place Match can give England one last thing to prove. This is only England’s third time to the Top 4 of the World Cup. The team has done an excellent job of putting their Premier League differences aside and play as one unified team. Gareth Southgate has done an excellent job of coaching and has successfully help Team England overcome many past adversaries and many weaknesses the team had for a long time. That gives England an advantage leading into the match. However England hasn’t fully overcome their habit of choking at big events. Sure their finish here will be their biggest since 1990, but they can blow it if the team don’t come together and deliver the same play they delivered over this past month. This was no ordinary Three Lions here in Russia 2018. This was a new Team England that had a lot to prove and did prove a lot.

My Final Verdict: I know Belgium beat England in the group stage, but this is a new match. The game will go to the team that has the best team tactics and functions as one. I’ll say it will be Belgium winning 2-0.

THE FINAL

Whos Next
Which team will be next?

I know for my review, you will see me repeating a lot of what I wrote for my SemiFinal review. There’s a purpose. Because all they went through will be coming to this moment. Making it to the final is no easy journey. It’s also not just about having a great team of assembled talent. It’s about having your team together, it’s about them delivering each and every time, it’s the ability to protect from racked up injuries to players, it’s the ability to endure mentally… basically it’s a month-long marathon. A game of survivor.

The World Cup has all these games to basically narrow it down to the very two to play in the Final to decide the Cup.  Of the two teams that made it, one made it to the Final twice before and won 20 years ago, while the other is playing in the Final for the first time ever. So without further ado, my review of the World Cup Final:

Past Head-To-Head Results: Croatia and France have played each other five times in the past. Both teams drew twice. France has won the other three games, including the 1998 World Cup semifinal 2-1.

FranceFrance: France is a nation whose football greatness really only started to take off in the early 1980’s. It was in Mexico 1986 that France got its first-ever Top 3 finish. They would fail to qualify for the next two World Cups, but would host in 1998 and would go on to win. Some say France’s team of 1998 was the best World Cup team since Brazil in 1970.

They’ve had a lot of ups and downs since. In 2002, they suffered the ‘curse of the defending champion‘ and not only failed to advance past the group stage, but failed to even score a single goal. They would come back in 2006 and appeared to be on their way to a second World Cup, but Zidane’s head-butt to an Italian player and subsequent red card in extra time in the Final marked the end of their chances right there. Then the disastrous 2010 which I talked about in my Semifinal write-up.

However it was the 2014 World Cup that showed a ray of hope for the French team. They were out in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Germany, but the team showed a big improvement and promise for the future with young players like Pogba and Griezmann. France played host to Euro 2016. There they delivered the best showing of all teams en route to the Final for the Cup. Unfortunately they lost to Portugal 1-0 in added extra time.

Here in Russia, Les Bleus has delivered the best showing of all teams.  They may have had the only 0-0 game of the World Cup so far, but all their other games were wins including all their knockout games, and all in regulation time. The #FiersDetreBleus phenomenon has taken them this far. France appears to have the best chances with players like Pogba, Griezmann, Giroud, Payet, young gun Mbappe and their goaltender Hugo Lloris who claims the loss at Euro 2016 really changed him. They look like the team that best has what it takes to win. However they could easily just let it go the same way they did in Euro 2016. If you remember their Round-Of-16 game against Argentina, they conceded three goals. They’re lucky they scored four to win. They all have to be together as a unified unit ready to play hard if they want to win the biggest match of their lives.

CROATIA footballCroatia:

“Everybody cheers for David. Nobody cheers for Goliath.”

-Wilt Chamberlain

Croatia comes to the World Cup final as the underdogs. They also come as the first country with a population of under 5 million to qualify for a World Cup final since Uruguay back in 1950. They come as the biggest underdog story in decades. Already the hashtags of #Vatreni , #FlamingPride and #BudiPonosan have been big hits. However it was very hard and with a lot of heartache. It started with a 3rd-place finish in their first World Cup back in 1998. It was finally a chance for Croatian football to define their identity now that they were free from Yugoslavia. However it was a struggle since. The next four World Cups were cases of a failure to qualify in 2010 and out in the Group Stage the other three times. After the 2010 World Cup failure, Croatian football was about to make a comeback. They may have been out in the Group Stage in 2014, but there was promise shown by players like Ivan Perisic, Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic.

Croatian football unfortunately was also given a big black eye in the last few years thanks to the irreverence of certain fans. Certain Croatian fans were known to shout racist slurs, wear Nazi symbols, and cause violent incidents during matches. The most noticeable was during the Euro 2016 match against the Czech Republic where flares were thrown onto the field. The Federation HNS and the National Team paid the biggest price by facing sanctions and fines from both FIFA and UEFA including having to play ‘closed’ matches. However after Euro 2016, Croatia has made strides to get tougher with fan behavior.

Here in Russia, The Blazers, or Vatreni, were brilliant in group play as they won all three of their games. Their biggest luck came in the Round of 16 against Denmark and the QuarterFinals against hosts Russia as they drew 1-1 and 2-2 respectively, only to win both in the penalty shoot outs. Then came their semifinal against England. The game went into 1-1 in regulation only for Mandzukic to deliver the game-winner in added extra time. There have been calls from many for Croatia to be disqualified since that match, but the alleged controversies have been proven false.

And to think Yugoslavia never qualified for a World Cup final ever in its existence! Croatia comes with the least star-studded team here in this stage of the World Cup. The key to Croatia’s success is for players like Modric, Perisic, Rakitic, Lovren, Mandzukic and Danijel Subasic to play as one functioning team. Many can easily dismiss Croatia’s success because of luck in the knockout rounds, but truly it is the team unity of the players that have got them this far. Croatia however has shown weakness of their own. The fact that they won two of their knockout matches in penalty shootouts shows they can come short on delivery. Whatever they’ve been holding back or just not delivering on in past games, it won’t work against a team like France. Croatia has a strong midfiled, but France’s midfield has proven more this Cup. Croatia’s team will have to play a lot harder if they want to win the Cup. If they do win the Cup, they will do it through their first-ever victory over France, at the very least.

My Final Verdict: Both teams have been performing well and with a great sense of team unity, but I have to pick France to win 3-1. It’s not just in terms of past performance, but also because of the brilliance of the players individually as well. Plus the fact the referee for the match will be an Argentinean won’t help Croatia too much.

And there you go. My look at the teams playing for both the match for the bronze medal and the Final to win the World Cup. Let’s sit back and watch history be crowned.