Much like group D, picking a team to join the favourites of the group in the second round looks exceptionally tricky with Brazil joined in the section by solid European outfits Serbia and Switzerland as well as Costa Rica who surprised most with their fantastic run to the quarterfinals in 2014. Group E
Brazil comes into the tournament in fine form, winning 17 of their last 21 with just 1 loss suffered at the hands of Argentina in a friendly 12 months ago and with so much attacking talent in their squad, I fully expect the Brazilians to win the group without much fuss at all. With the likes of Neymar, Coutinho, Douglas Costa and Roberto Firmino in the attacking positions, the Brazilians will have every chance of going deep into this competition. Still, Brazil has certainly not forgotten, or necessarily forgiven the events of Belo Horizonte in 2014 and whether the Brazilians can handle the pressure this time around remains to be seen. I am tipping the samba stars to go as far as final but much depends on the fitness of Neymar who has been absent since February following his broken foot. Should the PSG forward return in time and inform, anything is possible for a team that is certainly loaded with buckets of individual talent as well as an increasingly resolute defence. Indeed, Brazil have only conceded 4 goals in their last 19 fixtures with clean sheets in 15 of those. The omission of David Luiz, who had only played twice in the last 2 years for his country, requires little explanation. Beyond the Brazilians, all 3 teams will feel they have every chance to qualify but I’m siding with the European teams ahead of the Costa Ricans who have not looked too impressive in recent friendly defeats. The Central American side have lost 6 of their last 8 matches and only won 2 of their last 10 and given the respective forms of Serbia and especially Switzerland (1 loss in 17 ), I expect those two sides to battle it out for the 2nd qualifying position behind Brazil. Given their impressive form, the Swiss are the bookies favourites to join the Brazilians in the second phase but an opening fixture against Brazil could leave them chasing the Serbs who they then face in their 2nd and potentially decisive fixture. The Serbs performed well to qualify ahead of Wales and the Republic of Ireland and while they don’t have the big tournament experience of the Swiss, I do expect them to win their first game against Costa Rica. If they do that, then a positive result against the Swiss would leave them with every chance of progression to the 2nd round. Still, the Swiss were excellent in qualification and looked pretty threatening in their recent friendly draw in Spain. I expect another strong performance from Vladimir Petkovic’s side even if they might have hoped for an easier match to get their tournament off and running. Ultimately, I can’t split either side with great conviction, although I do feel the Swiss, with their greater level of experience should just squeak through but even still, I prefer to take Brazil to win the group at short odds as part of a bigger acca as well as Costa Rica to finish bottom of the section @4/6 odds on. Best Bets Brazil to win the group @2/7 - 4 stars Costa Rica to finish bottom @4/6 - 3 stars Qualifiers Brazil and Switzerland @11/10 - 2 stars Group F Germany comes into this World Cup in distinctly unGerman form with the reigning champions winning only 1 of their last 6 friendly matches and failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 5. Still, the Germans sailed through qualifying with 10 wins from 10 while their overall record of 16 wins and 3 draws prior to their recent blip would indicate this is a side that should perform when it really matters. Under Lowe, Germany are always at the business end of major finals and I expect another semi-final or better for Europe’s most successful footballing nation. The Germans have actually reached the semis or better in 8 of the last 10 World Cups and 6 of the last 7 European Championships. While the odds of something similar aren’t huge at just 1/1, that really is a sensational record and can’t be ignored. As champions, we should expect another strong performance despite some that flaky form of late. While they might not have it all their own way, I do expect Germany to emerge as group winners with Sweden my favourites to join Joachim Lowe’s side in the last 16 ahead of Mexico and South Korea with neither of those sides really threatening to make a significant impact ahead of the competition. Mexico hasn’t been in the best of shapes over the last 12 months, scoring just 1 goal in their last 4 friendlies while defeats to Jamaica and Honduras did no go down well with a passionate support who will expect their nation to make the last 16 once more. Sweden will represent Mexico’s biggest threat to qualification and I expect their meeting in the final round of fixtures to prove crucial in deciding who joins the Germans in the last 16 with both sides likely to take 3 points from a South Korean side that have struggled recently as well, losing 4 of their last 6 friendlies. While the Swedes no longer possess the luxury skills and goals of the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic following his retirement in 2016, they achieved a fine win over Italy via the playoffs and should not be underestimated in this group. A German group win seems pretty likely @⅓ odds while I do expect the Koreans to struggle and finish bottom of the section @4/6 odds on. Beyond that, I’m going for another European side to make it through to the last 16 in the shape of the Swedes. Best Bets Germany to win the group @1/3 - 3.5 stars Germany and Sweden to qualify @6/4 - 2.5 stars Germany to reach semi-finals @1/1 - 2.5 stars South Korea to finish bottom of the group @ 8/11 - 3 Stars Comments are closed.
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