Tomi on 25/5/2018 at 00:06
It's almost here! Yay! \:D/
To be honest, I'm not really that excited about it. I don't even know why. Perhaps it's because of politics (not that football should have anything to do with it), or the corruption scandal in FIFA, or maybe I'm just losing interest in modern football. Well, there are still three weeks left to build up some excitement, and I'm sure that when the first match kicks off, I can't take my eyes off it anymore. :)
The first stage groups are as follows. The best two teams of each group advance to the knockout stage.
I'm also listing my current predictions for each group here (the winner is listed first, and so on...), and my favourite* teams in the tournament are marked with red.
Group A: Russia - Uruguay - Egypt - Saudi Arabia
Group B: Portugal - Spain - Morocco - Iran
Group C: France - Australia - Peru - Denmark
Group D: Croatia - Argentina - Iceland - Nigeria <--- damnit, all my favourites in one group
Group E: Brazil - Switzerland - Serbia - Costa Rica
Group F: Germany - S.Korea- Sweden - Mexico
Group G: England - Belgium - Panama - Tunisia
Group H: Poland - Colombia - Japan - Senegal
I may explain some of my predictions later, or at least post some other random thoughts of mine. :p
* as always, teams may lose or gain the prestigious Tomi's Favourite status at any time during the tournament
Tomi on 25/5/2018 at 00:27
To help me get in the World Cup mood, here's my all-time favourite World Cup goal... Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria vs Spain) from 1998!
[video=youtube;YtTnQ6ZgAdc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtTnQ6ZgAdc[/video]
Oh the memories... For some strange reason me and my sister decided to be Nigeria fans that summer, but we were quite serious about it. :D Oliseh's goal may not be the most beautiful goal of all time (even though I love long-range shots like that), but I still remember how we went mad when the ball went in. For Nigeria the tournament ended in a big disappointment in the first knockout game soon afterwards, but I'll always remember that goal.
SubJeff on 25/5/2018 at 12:02
It's a bit silly this year. No Greece or Italy. (Italy!) but we have Australia.
But no Group of Death.
I always support Nigeria somewhat anyways. I used to live there.
Tomi on 25/5/2018 at 12:26
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Italy, but it's still strange and kinda sad that they're not in the tournament. No <s>Holland</s> Netherlands either. And no Finland! :o
If I had to choose the Group of Death for this year, I'd go for Group D(eath), closely followed by Group F.
Croatia and Argentina are always strong, Iceland aren't giants but they've already proven that their recent success isn't just a fluke, and Nigeria can occasionally surprise even though I don't have my hopes very high.
nickie on 25/5/2018 at 19:26
Well done, Tomi, thanks for the rundown. Shows how out of touch I am with the world, I hadn't even remembered it was on. With one thing and another, my interest is also flagging but maybe I'll become enthused once it all kicks off.
Medlar on 25/5/2018 at 20:02
Looking forward to the tournament, hoping England will do well. Will miss Italy :(
Hoping the predictions of Russian hooligans do not materialise!
Tomi on 14/6/2018 at 17:07
Aaand it has begun! :o
Russia 5-0 Saudi Arabia
Frustratingly one-sided, but an impressive display from Russia. Saudis were really bad though. Two nice goals from Cheryshev, top 10 material. Not bad for an opening match I suppose?
SD on 14/6/2018 at 20:39
It makes you wonder just how bad the Asian teams who didn't qualify must be.
Surprised that a player of Cheryshev's ability didn't start ahead of a bunch of guys I've never heard of, but he got on as an early sub and showed his class.
None of the sides in this group other than Uruguay are much cop, and it might be worth a bet on Suarez or Cavani for top goalscorer, they could fill their boots in three matches.
heywood on 14/6/2018 at 21:55
I'm not that excited this time either, and corruption has a lot to do with it. Just the other day I heard another World Cup ref was caught taking a bribe.
But I can't wait to see France vs. Australia on Sat and I wish I was back in Sydney to watch it with my old mates.
Tomi on 15/6/2018 at 13:58
Egypt 0-1 Uruguay
A deserved win for Uruguay. Egypt defended well but couldn't create even a single chance. Cavani was unlucky not to score. Suarez missed a few good chances, didn't bite anyone, and showed off his diving skills again. Not a very good match, but at least it got a bit better towards the end.