Last round

Wanna catch a flight together?

So we've been going at a speed of four games per day this past week and it's proved a lot for me to keep up with seeing them, never mind writing about them. But I will do a quick round-up together with my predictions for the last 16 round, as the most important reader of this blog is none of the 50 or so viewers, at least half of which I suspect are bots looking for keywords, but myself in 4 years' time. No disrespect to anyone, and I'm really grateful you're reading this, but come on, we both know there's better coverage out there. What we won't know, come Qatar 2022, is how I was feeling about these games 4 years ago.

Group A: Whatever Russia does, it feels dodgy. After playing amazing against Saudi Arabia and Egypt, they were totally outclassed by an Uruguay that was rather unconvincing against those same opponents. Saving money on the refs? Drugs ran out? No idea, but a 3-0 scoreline is not in line with what we've seen in the first two games. This is the kind of shit a computer would red-flag. Anyway, not much difference whether you play against Spain or Portugal in the next round, so there you go. In other news, the brilliant Mo Salah goes home without a point and beaten by a very poor Saudi team, leaving us to wonder what was Egypt doing at this World Cup in the first place.

Group B: In line with the whole round, Group B has also been, in many ways, a festival of incompetence. You would've thought Iran, needing to beat Portugal to qualify, would really give it a go. Not the case, and they were as lucky as their opponents were incompetent for getting a draw. Penaldo missing a penalty and Quaresma... did you know Quaresma is still playing? I would've thought he retired sometime at the beginning of the decade. Meanwhile Spain needed a last-minute equalizer against mighty Morocco. But hey-ho, last time they had such trouble with Morocco they wrote El Cid, so maybe some good literature will come out of it.

Group C: Oh, God, Australia! Beat Peru and hope for a favor from France,  this is how you do it! I was hoping there's more fight in the Aussies, there usually is, but when you're 2-0 down and your only idea is to bring 38yo Cahill in, you probably don't deserve to go through. Neither did Denmark, but France chose the path of 'just enough' to go through this otherwise very poor group.

Group D: How spectacular would've been for Argentina to go home! And out of the many ways in which to achieve this, exactly 0 materialized. Croatia minded their football, and Iceland's bravery was only enough for the first game, as their last two came to nothing, while the Super Eagles crashed in front of a rather lucky shot from Rojo. I'm really happy for Rojo, but I don't think Argentina deserved to go through after a meek display against Iceland and presenting the Croatian tornado with the strength of a damp cloth. Croatia to win the World Cup? They seem cocky enough.

Group E: Beating Brazil is always a tough call, but I feel like the Serbs got a bit too scared of the reputation more than anything else. Specially with this Brazilian team, that's got more flair than substance. Neymar is always up for a trick, but hardly ever in a mood to help the team. Could someone maybe tell him that the other 10 dudes in similar shirts are there to work with him? Serbia had a few good chances, but you are playing Brazil, and you do need a win, so it's gotta be the match of your life. This did not feel like the match of their lives, as convenient as excuse losing to Brazil might be. Switzerland goes through thanks to a lucky Shaqiri shot against Serbia and a half of anti-football against Brazil after the Zuber header. 

Group F: Oh, wow! Talk about the festival of incompetence! No idea what happened to Germany, but more than that, whatever happened to Mexico? Only saw Germany's first half against South Korea and none of the Sweden-Mexico game, but it feels like the results have been swapped somehow. So now we know: the Germans don't always win and certainly they won't win this tournament.

Group G: Hyped as a race to the bottom, in which allegedly both Belgium and England wanted to lose just so they won't play Brazil sometime in the tournament. Well, if you wanna win the goddamn thing you're gonna have to either play Brazil or some dudes that beat them. So that's irrelevant for everyone but the English media. Never mind how disrespectful to the game is starting a match you're not trying to win - why bother showing up then? As for cold calculations... would you rather play Colombia or Japan?

Group H: This was always bound to be an interesting, but the poor Polish display as well as Japan's miraculous win against Columbia made it unpredictable too. Hard to say who was the more deserving to qualify, harder still to say who should've won. Japan's display of 'whatever, we've got less yellow cards' was dreadful and earned them no sympathy from the neutrals, while Senegal's loss, what with the penalty cancelled (correctly) because of VAR and all, made me sad as it sealed a knock-out round without any African team, first time since 1982. Pele's prediction of an African team winning it by 2010 looks awkwardly out of place now, what with new colonialism attracting all African talent towards European teams. Yes, Boateng, including you.

Spectacular and unpredictable so far, this World Cup, highly enjoyable in unexpected ways, though lacking sometimes in that sort of willpower that makes up for lack of skill. See Costa Rica 2014, Ghana 2010, Turkey 2002 and so on. And because I got 11 out of the last 16 teams right, I'll try my hand at the quarter-finals predictions:

France - Argentina: Clear call for France. Argentina's been poor, while the French seem to still have the breaks on. About time they come off, the confidence and the skill are there.

Uruguay - Portugal: One of the toughest. I'll say Uruguay because, if nothing else, Portugal couldn't beat Iran while Los Celestes might be led by a guy needing help walking, but they can call on all 44 limbs on the pitch.

Spain - Russia: Hosts going through would not surprise me in the least. Tough one, but I'll risk a few quids on the underdodgies here. Sorry, I meant underdogs.

Croatia - Denmark: Not only do I think Croatia will fly through, I hope they'll smash Denmark to pieces. No sympathy for the Danes, as they deserved maybe one of the 5 points they got in the group stage.

Brazil - Mexico: Uhh... I'm feeling it for the underdogs, looks like. I mean, it's hard, but wouldn't it be nice?

Belgium - Japan: Yeah, they'll run around you, try to get into space, but so do mosquitoes. And Lukaku ain't having any of that mosquito shit.

Sweden - Switzerland: Swoosh! Whoever wins will wonder how they got thus far, specially with England lying in wait. I'm going for the Swiss, they actually have footballers in their team.

Colombia - England: Just joking, El Tigre is in need of a new contract, looks like. Bet you'll regret that weakened side against Belgium after you'll lose this one, eh, Gareth?

El tigre esta vivo

England - Panama 6-1 (Stones '8 '40, Kane pen '22 pen '45 '62, Lingard '36 - Baloy '78)
Japan - Senegal 2-2 (Inui '34, Honda '78 - Mane '11, Wague '71)
Poland  - Columbia 0-3 (Mina '40, Falcao'70, Cuadrado '75)

You wouldn't believe it going by the reputation, but I sometimes find it incredible how moody this country is. The victory against Panama yesterday was nothing short of a national celebration, with flags on display on cars and balconies, people smiling and cheering everywhere and England shirts proudly brandished across the land. Brexit? Pound dropping? The March on Westminster the day before? Pressure on the NHS? Fuck all that, we beat Panama! After the likely defeat against Belgium the regular program will resume. In truth, England did look like they were enjoying themselves and, poor quality opposition aside, they might really feel able to contend this year. Maybe because it looks more like a team and less like a collection of egos? Happy for Jesse, his goal will certainly be a 'goal of the tournament' contender, happy for Panama who did manage to get their first goal in the World Cup and, with a bit of luck, they might even get a point against Tunisia, if they manage to come up with something other than 'push everyone to the ground' as defensive tactics.

Group H is the most exciting of the World Cup, with Japan the big surprise. Senegal played better than against Poland, I thought, and they did seem to be the superior side, but not by a large enough margin as to win the game. Only saw the highlight of what looked to be a very good and disputed game, but the draw means that Japan, not Senegal, is now the favorite to qualify.

Because yes, I don't think Senegal will beat Columbia, specially after the good display the South Americans put in to batter Poland to pieces. Very disappointing performance from what's supposed to be something of a golden generation for Poland. Non-existent against Columbia, while a team boasting Jamie Rodriguez, Cuadrado and Falcao in their attacking line-up ran riot and might as well win the group despite losing the first game. Doesn't make much difference, the choice is between Belgium and England in the knock-out round, they only need to beat Senegal. Which is likely, but not easy. Let's see which Falcao turns up.

VAR Politics

Belgium - Tunisia 5-2 (Hazard pen '6 '51, Lukaku '16 '45, Batshuayi '90 - Bronn '18, Khazri '90+3)
South Korea - Mexico 1-2 (Son '90 - Vela pen '26, Hernandez '66)
Germany - Sweden 2-1 (Reus '48, Kroos '90 - Toivonen '32)

Look, we need to talk about these penalties. I've said before, there will still be errors as long as the human factor is involved and I don't really envision a game without a central referee, so I don't think there'll ever be a way that the game is completely error-free. But the truth of the matter is there seem to be LESS errors with VAR than without. This is a common and baffling oversight whenever it comes to computer and automation in any area: computers don't have to be perfect and can't be perfect; they just need to be better than humans at the particular job they're meant for, and more often than not they are. Yet we do insist to holding technology responsible for these absurdly high standards while we go on with our deeply flawed processes; this is not reason, it's just resistance to change.

I think VAR is good and it has been beneficial for this tournament; I think it will be used more and more and it will become the norm in the not too far future, but I also think it will change the game in ways we can't yet know. The first effect of VAR - penalties. There's a lot more of them around than have ever been in a World Cup. Good or bad? Well, if it's an infraction the appropriate penalty should be handed out. BUT! While running a red light is an offence, there's a difference between running a red light on an empty street at 2am and racing past a red light through a crowded junction at rush hour. Same goes for penalties and I know this might sound absurd now, but hear me out here: how about we change the rules so we have different value penalties? Like, penalties that are worth half a goal or something?

Because, come on! There's a difference between when a striker is clear on goal and is tackled and brought down from behind and when a defender can't pull his hand back on time. I believe both penalties yesterday are debatable: the foul on Hazard was clearly outside the box. I'm surprised the ref didn't want to use VAR for it and was so categorical about the penalty - I didn't think it was. Which is a shame, because Belgium would've won anyway, but with that penalty after 5 minutes their job was made too easy and while we still got to see a very entertaining football game, the scoreline might be a little unfair to Tunisia. The Mexican penalty was an obvious one, but still harsh on the poor South Korean defender, whose intention about touching the ball with his hand is debatable at most. I think no penalty for Sweden against Germany and I also think no penalty for Neymar when he fell in the box against Costa Rica. Same reason: there's enough contact to stop the attacker getting to the ball, but not enough contact to take him down. A player is allowed to use his body to obstruct an opponent from getting to the ball.

'It really is 24 inches long'

I'm very glad Lukaku scored another brace, putting him level with Ronaldo on 4 for the tournament now. This spells trouble for Iran, because the only team talk Fernando Santos needs now is to go to Ronaldo and whisper in his ear: 'Lukaku has as many goals as you do'. Very entertaining game, the Belgium one, albeit a bit harsh on the poor Tunisians. Always caught on the wrong foot in defence and thoroughly incapable of containing the Belgian threat. It was, however, funny to see Batshuayi struggle to score so much, and that chot over the bar from 6 yards will be replayed in bloopers compilations many years on now. Great to see Tunisia scored twice too, giving the game some semblance of competition, and also great to see Fellaini on the pitch for a bit. And superb scenes after the game with Lukaku consoling the poor Khazri. There's grace in winning, grace in losing, and class to have them on display.

South Korea was never going to trouble Mexico, but they gave it a go. As I said above, unlucky with the penalty, but it would have gone in sooner or later anyway. I think Chicharito got it wrong for his goal though: perfect opportunity for a one touch shot, risky to do the dribbling. He was lucky it worked out on this occasion, but it gave the defender an extra chance. The Koreans gave it their all but couldn't get near Mexico, which has been so far one of the best teams in the tournament. Moon tried a cheeky back-heel, which takes guts when you're on the brink of elimination from the World Cup, and Son missed a good chance before finally scoring to save face for his team. But that was it. Enjoy the game against Germany, try not to be completely humiliated, then go home.

The top billing in the group was worthy of the headline. Not sure what's happening to the Germans, but they're not feeling well. Sweden was poor in the first game and was nothing to write home about yesterday. Yet they troubled Loew and his boys beyond what was normal, scoring first, dominating the first half and having a claim to a penalty that, as mentioned earlier, I don't think it was. It took half time and the introduction of Mario Gomez to change anything. Granted, Gomez changed the dynamics of the game and made the equalizing goal within 3 minutes. From here on, Sweden knew what to expect, even if they didn't want to admit it. Credit to them, they held on up until almost the very end, and a draw would have put Germany in a spot of bother. But look at Toni Kroos' strike again: he saw the angle, he knew he needed and extra yard or so, he put the ball exactly where he wanted it then... that was not a shot, that was an execution. Great players show themselves in moments like this, but even so, to be so calm and so self-assured with so much hanging in the balance - it's almost otherworldly. That's why I wouldn't even think Kroos' goal have a shot for the goal of the tournament - the man did it with such cool composed calm that he looked like he was in training. That goal can only be appreciated when put in context.

Now, much as I feel sorry for Larsson and Zlatan, I'm glad Germany, and not Sweden, will qualify from the group. The Swedes are simply undeserving. They will not beat Mexico, and Germany sure as hell will not lose to South Korea. But as it stands we're looking at a Brazil - Germany game in the last 16, and that's going to be really interesting.

Plot twists

Brazil - Costa Rica 2-0 (Coutinho '90, Neymar '90)
Nigeria - Iceland 2-0 (Musa '49 '75)
Serbia - Switzerland 1-2 (Mitrovic '5 - Xhaka '52, Shakiri '90)

Oh no, Iceland! The result today is discouraging for the smallest nation in the competition. They only needed to ride out this game without losing and they were in prime position to go through. Now everyone will be fancying their chances and despite Iceland having apparently the toughest game in the group, Croatia is as good as qualified. That doesn't necessary mean they'll step aside, but there's no hiding for Iceland: you have to go for a win. I haven't watched any of the game against Nigeria yet, but though I am looking forward to it. I imagine Iceland set out to defend for dear life and the Nigerian goals were individual achievements. Truth is, you can draw Argentina all you want, but there does come a time when you have to go after the game, when you have to attack and try and score goals. Despite their enthusiasm, Iceland might not be best equipped to do this.

Same goes for Costa Rica. They were just as poor as in the first game, setting up to keep bodies behind the ball at all times. Didn't work against Serbia and it wasn't going to work against Brazil. Well, it almost did. But almost is the key word here, with the pressure always intensifying as time runs out. It's not really an accident Brazil did score in the end, more often than not it happens. And the fact that they scored two goals in quick succession shows the fury and the pace at which they were attacking. Yes, Costa Rica did have the best chance of the first half, when Ruiz stretched Becker, but even a one goal advantage can be overturned if all you do afterwards is defend.

Neymar is right to be frustrated, he was fouled all over the place, but the ref was right not to grant a penalty when the two Costa Rican defenders ambushed him in the box in the 78th minute. There was contact, yes, even enough contact to cause him to fall, but it did look like the defender set his body to stop Neymar from advancing rather than to try and take him down. 

All's well that ends well, however, and Brazil are now in a good position to qualify. They still have to beat Serbia to win the group, and that's not going to be easy, but by the same token I have the feeling the Serbs won't go for the defensive outfit.

They did drop the ball massively today though. Scored after 4 minutes, brilliant textbook goal, completely in control of the first half, they must've spent half-time wondering who they'll meet in the knock-outs. Might as well be the flight attendants now, because sometimes football can be cruel like that. In the second half different teams came out of the dressing rooms, and the Swiss were all over the place, pushing and pushing. Xhaka's brilliant volley leveled the things up shortly after the interval and, heart-breaking as it might be to get a goal right at the death, it is the punishment for not planning contingency. It's a sticky one for the Serbs now, as they'll have to beat a Brazilian team in need of points to be sure of qualifying. They'll be heroes if they do, and it will be interesting to see if Brazil will be holding out for a draw that will see them through. The Swiss are now favorites to win the group, but we're in for a very interesting last round here.

The call of the Andes

Denmark - Australia 1-1 (Eriksen '7 - Jedinak pen '38)
France - Peru 1-0 (Mbappe '34)
Argentina Croatia 0-3 (Rebic '53, Modric '80, Rakitic '90)

Denmark is the perfect example of how one can qualify from a group without deserving it the least bit. To sit under the cover of that one second of inspiration from Eriksen and be thoroughly dominated by Australia is almost cheating. To not show any sort of determination of will to play anything resembling football is an insult to everyone watching and I hope the Danes will be ashamed of themselves, because that was appalling. With the point against Australia they are now in a more comfortable position than they ever deserved and it is a great, great shame the Aussies didn't manage to snatch the victory in the end, a victory they would have fully deserved and they worked for way more than their opponents.

Now, was that a penalty? I'm inclined to say yes, though I will admit an argument to the contrary can be made. Fact of the matter is, the rules of the game are not clear at all in regards to 'intention to touch the ball' and 'natural position of the hand'. My rule of thumb is, if the hand is away from the body, you're always in danger of conceding a handball, and players must surely know this. No idea what Poulsen intended, but sure as hell he didn't regret hitting the ball with his hand. Or wouldn't have, should the penalty not have been awarded. Poulsen is a good player and his goal against Peru might just see Denmark through, but he is also responsible for penalties in both their games so far. That is an indication of immaturity in the game, and my good opinion of him after watching only the second half against Peru has toned down a lot by now. 

Australia might fare a lot better if Jedinak would at least try and smile every now and then. Too tense, mate, too tense. Beating Peru is still a big ask, even with the South Americans out of the competition, but I hope they can pull it off while Denmark gets a battering from France. I really, really feel for the Blanquirrojas, they deserved to qualify and it would be a real shame for their supporters to go home without a point, even though in this instance is for the greater good.

But that missed penalty proved their undoing and, unfortunate as it might be that your fate as a team hinges on such a brief moment, it's been known to happen and the Peruvian players along with the whole country that provided them a huge support so far are now learning a painful lesson about the cold-blooded pragmatism needed to go forward in a World Cup.

To be fair, they never looked like beating France, but they gave a good account of themselves. The French, meanwhile, won their first two games and are poised to win the group. Small margins, but there's something to be said about preservation of energy as well when you knew Argentina might lie in wait in the first knock-out round.

Now, about that...

One of only two players to have missed a penalty in this World Cup so far has to beat Nigeria and hope for the best from the other games to see quarter-final football. Of course, he can't do it by himself. He can't seem to do anything by himself, save for maybe sabotage the tactics of his entire team by always asking for the ball, then losing it. Truth to be said, the Croatians didn't give him too many chances to see the ball, so he lost a lot less than against Iceland.

Delightful, absolutely delightful the way Croatia just brushed past Argentina. Modric and co look a very strong proposition, and won't say no to repeating the semi-final worthy performance of 1998 when they eliminated Romania in the last 16, the bastards. Just as long as they don't meet France in the first knock-out game, though it will take some huge upsets for that to happen at this stage.

Both Croatia and Argentina showed a very strong, manly, almost brutal football at times, but it was all pleasant to the eye, it showed they're really going for it and not there just for a trip on the Federation's expense, like the Danes. The lesson to be learned for Argentina is be more disciplined and don't make silly errors, Caballero! And for the love of God, drop Messi from the team.

Just enough

Uruguay - Saudi Arabia 1-0 (Suarez '23)
Portugal - Morocco 1-0 (Ronaldo '4)
Iran - Spain 0-1 (Costa '54)

Business as usual in the seventh day of the World Cup, with all the favorites winning their games by the single goal, and with situations in the groups starting to become clear, so that Group A, for instance, doesn't even need the last game, what with Russia and Uruguay - already qualified - playing each other, and Egypt and Saudi Arabia bowing out regardless of the outcome of their game. One might wonder, with Egypt likely to win that game, just how important will be for Salah's team to go home with a win, even if that win will only count for statistics. My reckoning - not very.

Suarez broke the ice for this tournament with a very opportunistic goal which reminded me of van Nistelrooy. Now, despite him being a dick on a number of occasion and despite him playing for Liverpool and Barcelona, I am rather ambivalent towards Suarez. First off, he was unfairly demonized when he punched his way towards the headlines in the QF against Ghana in 2010. Many commentators saw his last resort handball in 90th minute as cheating, I saw it as taking one for the team, and show me the footballer who wouldn't have done the same to put his country in a WC semifinal. His numbers for Ajax were also impressive, what with those amazing 35 goals in 33 games in the 2009/10 season of Eredivisie. But then of course I don't condone cannibalism, specially when it's a repeat offense, nor do I condone playing for Liverpool or Barcelona. I do like Uruguay so much, however, that I can even cheer for Suarez when he scores for his country. 

The same cannot be said about Diego Costa. Once a prick, always a prick, and he proved it once again by over-celebrating a goal to which he had a rather small contribution against Iran. After riding their luck for the whole game against Morocco, which they won despite being second best, the Persians were given a taste of their own medicine, a very worthy performance against Spain coming to nowt. I do like Iran, mostly for Carlos Queiroz, and deep down I hope they can pull a miracle against Portugal and go through. It's a tall order though, as Portugal looks like the best team in the group and Ronaldo is in the mood for football, no doubt eyeing the golden boot of the tournament at the very least.

The primadonna of Funchal scored a great goal, his fourth of the tournament, to put the game against Morocco to bed early. The Maghrebians seemed to have decent spells in the game, but unlike in their first game, the 90 minutes against Portugal were a struggle that the Moroccans, however much sympathy I might have for them, were ill prepared for. They never looked like getting anything out of the game despite their numerous calls for non existent penalties. 

Group B might still be an interesting one if Iran pulls the aforementioned miracle. That would send Portugal home, which is both unlikely and unfair, as if there is a team that doesn't deserve to qualify, that is Spain. The former world champions, despite bringing another superstar team to the World Cup seem to have reverted to their pre-2010 state of also-rans. Their are not playing to their players' potential and it's only the sense of entitlement and a few lucky streaks from individual players (mostly Costa and Isco) that qualified them after two games in which they only won one and deserved neither. I would prefer them being pitted out against Russia rather than Uruguay, as luck - natural or man-made* - is more likely to even out there.

* by 'man' I mean FIFA. I know I said I'm taking a shine to Russia, but that doesn't mean I'm forgetting who we're talking about.

Polska nie walczy

Columbia - Japan 1-2 (Quintero '39 - Kagawa pen '6, Osako '73)
Poland Senegal 1-2  (Krychowiak '86 - Cionek og '37, Niang '60)
Russia - Egypt 3-1 (Fathi og '47, Cheryshev '59, Dzyuba '62 - Salah pen '73)

Oh wow, who saw that coming? With the underdogs winning in both games, Group H is turning out to be one of the most interesting ones.

Columbia was really unlucky to start the game with a huge handicap, being one goal and one man down after 4 minutes. I find it hard to blame poor Sanchez, his hand did stop a goal, though in hindsight his team would have been better off one goal down but playing 11 v 11. Even with 10 men, Columbia did great and was the better team, which makes it really unfair for them to have lost. But they do seem to be the best team in the group, and there's still time to make amends. Japan rode their luck a little bit and that never holds too long, so even with the win I don't really see them qualifying.

Poland was really poor and a real disappointment. Boasting the best generation in 40 years and some of the big stars in Europe, the Poles were unable to control the game or create any chances of note until it was too late. The second Senegalese goal was a very weird one, and should not have counted, what with Niang being off the pitch with the ball still in play. The fourth ref should have kept him on the side until the ball was out of play, though even so, Poland has very little reason to complain. There is of course a difference between a point and no points, but sometimes you have to put in the work to get anything from the game. Senegal was the most practical team and they deserved to win, though the manner it happen is indeed a shame. But the odd blunder is always meant to happen at the World Cup, and good teams shouldn't let that stop them. Hell, even England didn't let a few refereeing mistakes stop them! You want to prove your worth, Poland? Just beat Colombia.

Right, so a week ago I was very vocal against what I thought would be the Russian methods. But actually, an hour into their second game, Cherchesov's boys flipped a switch within me. Russia has actually played good football. They were by far the better team against Egypt, and they are worthy of the praise heaped upon them. They still have the toughest game in the group coming up, against Uruguay but, if Los Celestes beat the Saudis today, as they're expected to, both teams will be happy to squeeze out a boring uncomplicated draw in the last game. Or Russia could win for their public, you won't hear the Uruguayans complaining. They'll get either Spain or Portugal, so it's really not that big a difference between finishing first or second in Group A.

And with the first round of games gone, it's time to reassess my predictions from before the start of the tournament:

- got Group A bang on in terms of outcome, not really in terms of style though. Still, yes on Group A;

- yeah, easy one. Bar a huge blunder from Spain against Iran, it'll be Spain and Portugal, doesn't matter in which order;

- funnily enough, got Group C right too, although I take back the praise for Denmark. They were lucky to have won against Peru and if they go through it will be undeserved;

- everyone is still discounting Iceland, and I was hoping Nigeria would put on some sort of display. But now everything's still in the air in that group. Nigeria will probably go home, but they still have potential to cause trouble to the other teams. Croatia was actually really lucky to have played the first game against them. They'll be warned about Iceland now;

- my hopes for Costa Rica have come to naught. I'm saying Brazil and Serbia now, even after the Swiss' miraculous getaway with a point from Neymar & co;

- not as straightforward as I though in Group F, but it's still Germany and Mexico. In reverse order;

- bang on about Belgium and England, but it's an easy one, really;

- ha! Group H. Tricky, isn't it? I'm calling it for Columbia and Senegal.