Okay, so just before the World Cup kicked off, we at HITC Sevens did a predictions video, as well as another on the 7 teams we felt were most likely to win it.
In a World Cup where Germany finished bottom of their group and England won a penalty shoot-out, most predictions were out the window early doors, but we’re still going to look back at what we were expecting pre-tournament.
Here are our reflections on our 7 World Cup predictions
7. Brazil to Win
Okay, we’re off to a strong start… We made Brazil narrowly our favourites to win the World Cup, and I had them down to top their group, before wins against Mexico, Belgium and Uruguay to reach the final. They did the first half right, but were beaten by a very impressive Belgian side in the quarter-finals. In our defence, we weren’t the only ones, and I’m sure it’ll get better from here on in…
6. Germany to Reach the Final
Germany’s head coach Joachim Loew talks to media at Frankfurt international airport on June 28, 2018, after flying back from Moscow following the German national football team’s defeat in…
Oh, s***. Right, well, if we’re being honest, Germany didn’t quite reach the final. Or the semi-final. Or the qua… Okay, they finished bottom of their group. In what was Germany’s worst World Cup performance since 1938, they were undoubtedly the most disappointing team at the finals. Ironically, most of the comments disagreeing with this prediction did so because they thought Germany would win the entire thing.
5. Uruguay Dark Horses
Alright, I’ll stand by this prediction. The real dark horses of the 2018 World Cup were, of course, Croatia given that they reached the final, probably followed by England who made the semis. I took a fair amount of stick for saying Uruguay would beat Portugal in the Round of 16. Uruguay did indeed top their group before beating Portugal 2-1, but were beaten 2-0 by France in the quarter-finals. In their defence, Uruguay were without Edinson Cavani for that game, which virtually resigned them to defeat, and Muslera throwing the ball in his own net didn’t help either.
4. England Reach Quarter-Finals
TOPSHOT – England’s coach Gareth Southgate (L) talks to England’s forward Harry Kane after losing their Russia 2018 World Cup play-off for third place football match between Belgium and…
Well, this was seen as an optimistic prediction at the time, but England ended up exceeding most expectations. I did a video on reasons to be positive about England pre-tournament, and despite some attempts to deride the country’s achievements due to their relatively kind draw to reach the semis, they still deserve much credit. England went one stage further than I thought, as I was expecting a quarter-final defeat to Germany or Brazil. In the end, it was Sweden, and England won comfortably before that extra-time defeat to Croatia in the semi-finals. Not bad considering we had plenty of ‘out in the groups’ comments, and even more ‘they’ll lose to Colombia or Poland’ ones.
3. Antoine Griezmann for the Golden Boot
Well, wrong again, but Griezmann didn’t do bad. In fact, he was the joint second highest scorer, trailing only Harry Kane – albeit the Tottenham forward was two clear of anyone else. Griezmann scored three penalties, including one in the final, with his only goal from open play being the strike Fernando Muslera threw in his own net. Anyway, Griezmann was certainly a decent shout than, given that Muller, Jesus, Werner and Lewandowski didn’t score a single goal at the finals between them.
2. Mbappe for Best Young Player
Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates at the final whistle at the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.
It might seem obvious with hindsight, but not everyone agreed with Kylian Mbappe as my suggestion for Best Young Player. There were actually more suggestions for Gabriel Jesus winning the award, with the likes of Marcos Asensio, Ousmane Dembele and Timo Werner all also being suggested. Mbappe ended up as the joint second highest scorer with four goals, and he was particularly impressive in France’s Round of 16 win over Argentina, and their final success against Croatia. That goals tally combined with his pace, directness and the way in which he frightened the life out of defenders ensured that there was only one candidate for the Best Young Player award by the tournaments end.
1. Neymar for the Golden Ball
Wrong again! So we predicted Neymar to win the Golden Ball, and in the end he had a pretty mediocre tournament making more headlines for his antics than his ability. In fairness, no-one suggested Luka Modric for the top prize, not that that’s particularly surprising. More surprising, perhaps, is the fact that no-one suggested any of the eventual top three, namely; Luka Modric, Eden Hazard and Antoine Griezmann. And if we’re honest, some of the suggestions make Neymar look like a decent shout with hindsight, such as Muller, Kroos and Manuel Neuer. Neymar did at least record one goal and one assist.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
