Monday, July 09, 2018

World Cup 2018 - Semi Final Predictions

So it has come down to this. After 32 nations, only 4 remain. These 4 teams each have two games left. They will each will play the semi final, and then depending on the result will either play the meaningless third fourth match, or the all important once-in-a-lifetime final.

You can take a look at my quarter final predictions. I correctly managed to predict three out of the four semi finalists. So here are the semi-final lineups.

Belgium vs France
My pick: France

Everyone is talking about Belgium finally fulfilling their promise and being the favourites. Me? I am still not convinced. Brazil had a high number of chances against them and that result could have easily been 5-2 win for Brazil rather than a 2-1 loss. Belgium is weak in the back and France just oozes quality. Sure, Argentina scored 3 against them but no other team has come close. France has just gotten better as the tournament has progressed and I think they will defeat Belgium.

England vs Croatia
My pick: England

What is different about this England team? Not only are they a young team, but compared to previously star studded English teams this bunch seems to actually enjoy the world cup and each other, playing with fun without pressure. We all thought Sweden would give them a tough game but they bossed that game. Sweden hardly ventured out to score, and when they did, they found a resilient goalie in the English nets. When has that happened? What England lacks as opposed to France is quality. They have one or two good players but nowhere the quality of France or Belgium.

Croatia is a good team but their focus is their midfield - which is amazing. They are also a resilient team that somehow has found a way to win. Whenever they went behind they quickly equalized. This is actually a tough game to call. I am going to give it to England just because I am supporting them, so I want to watch the game and cheer on both my team and my blog!

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