With less than a month to go until it begins. Who do you think will win it?

 

 

GROUP A:

Russia

Uruguay

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

 

GROUP B:

 

Portugal

Spain

Iran

Morocco

 

 

GROUP C

France

Peru

Denmark

Australia

 

GROUP D

Argentina

Croatia

Iceland

Nigeria

 

GROUP E

 

Brazil

Switzerland

Costa Rica

Serbia

 

GROUP F

 

Germany,

Mexico

Sweden

South Korea

 

GROUP G

 

Belgium

England,

Tunisia

Panama

 

GROUP H

 

Poland

Colombia

Senegal

Japan

UK Broadcasting Teams:

 

 

 

ITV Team

 

Presenters:

Mark Pougatch

Jacqui Oatley

 

Pundits:

Gary Neville

Ryan Giggs

Roy Keane

Ian Wright

Lee Dixon

Eniola Aluko

Patrice Evra

Henrik Larsson

Martin O'Neill

Slaven Bilic

Mark Clattenburg

 

Reporters

Gabriel Clarke

Seema Jaswal

 

Commentators

Clive Tyldesley

Sam Matterface

Jon Champion

Joe Speight

 

Co-commentators

Glenn Hoddle

Ally McCoist

Ian Dowie

 

 

BBC

 

TV

 

Gary Lineker, Dan Walker, Gabby Logan, Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Didier Drogba, Pablo Zabaleta, Jurgen Klinsmann, Phil Neville, Jermaine Jenas, Danny Murphy, Martin Keown, Alex Scott,

 

Commentary

 

Kevin Kilbane, Guy Mowbray, Mark Lawrenson, Steve Wilson, Jonathan Pearce, Steve Bower, Simon Brotherton, Vicki Sparks

 

Hopefully this will be a World Cup filled with lots of goals. It would be great to have a match like the recent Tottenham Vs Leicester match, especially if it happens in the knockout stage.

Team Deutschland!!! Hoping that the Bundesrepublik can do the double.

Brazil have the best squad on paper. Can't really see past them or Germany. The dark horse for me would be Peru.

I'm hoping for a few surprises in the group stage and hopefully a few giant-killings as well! Oh and us to not finish last in our group.

Brazil have the best squad on paper. Can't really see past them or Germany. The dark horse for me would be Peru.

They did in 2014 as well and had their ass handed to them by Germany so badly that the all Brazilians in the stadium, in Brazil, were cheering for Germany by part way through the second half!!

Germany vs Brazil round of 16. Calling it. (and then Germany will win the whole thing)

 

I'm still feeling like Belgium will go down to the semi-finals at the least if not facing Germany in the final. I flip-flop on my opinion of Argentina's ability all the time but they've surely got to be dangerous also.

 

Group B as the group of death, both Morocco and Iran are very good defensive teams, I wouldn't too surprised at all if Spain and/or Portugal came unstuck there, could be some interesting second-rounders making it through in A, F (well, the runner-up) and H at the least.

They did in 2014 as well and had their ass handed to them by Germany so badly that the all Brazilians in the stadium, in Brazil, were cheering for Germany by part way through the second half!!

 

True, but losing Neymar was a huge blow and I also think the team just crumbled without him. Plus it was a good squad but littered with a strange policy to select Brazillian based players. I think they're better now than they were in 2014, whereas I don't think this current German team is quite as good as it was 4 years ago.

 

Can't see Belgium doing that well, they have a talented squad but I have a feeling they will suffer a similar fate as the England golden generation of 2006. Lots of good players, but can never quite get the winning formula for a good team. Also don't rate Martinez.

Expect some more World Cup threads coming up.

 

Looking to do a thread for each group if that's all right.

 

 

Expect some more World Cup threads coming up.

 

Looking to do a thread for each group if that's all right.

 

Should do a thread for each group and then separate threads for the England games.

Apparently Joe Hart & Jack Wilshere are going to be left out of England's squad. I doubt Joe Hart will get another opportunity to play in a World Cup.

Apparently Joe Hart & Jack Wilshere are going to be left out of England's squad. I doubt Joe Hart will get another opportunity to play in a World Cup.

 

Bertrand apparently also misses out. But Jake Livermore makes it.

Apparently Joe Hart & Jack Wilshere are going to be left out of England's squad. I doubt Joe Hart will get another opportunity to play in a World Cup.

 

And quite rightly so too (ironically Wilshere was still a far better shout this time than he was at the Euros). Good to see Southgate showing some balls, although I'll refrain anymore judgement until the final squad is revealed.

 

Livermore? :manson: well I take that back then.

My predictions:

 

A: Uruguay, Egypt

B: Spain, Morocco

C: France, Denmark

D: Nigeria, Croatia (yes, Argentina out R1... can see them flopping big time)

E: Brazil, Serbia

F: Germany, Mexico

G: England, Belgium (I'm getting Euro 2012 vibes from this team)

H: Senegal, Poland (hardest group to predict)

 

QFS: Uruguay France, Spain Nigeria, Brazil England, Germany Belgium

SF: France Brazil, Spain Belgium

F: France Spain

 

Spain to win.

 

 

England's World Cup Squad

 

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley).

 

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Manchester United).

 

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).

 

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).

 

Standby: Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jake Livermore (West Brom), James Tarkowski (Burnley).

Pretty strange that Cahill got a call-up last minute. While Welbeck will get the stick, I think you could make an argument for Rashford not going either due to playing time Problem is we lack pace and strikers, so I can see why Welbeck especially has been chosen.

Welbeck is one of the very few players who seems to actually perform better in an England shirt than for his club, very much like Peter Crouch was back in the day so not too bad an inclusion I guess.

 

I really think Shelvey should have been given a shot. Also it me or is that squad rather imbalanced? Why SO many defenders?

Welbeck is one of the very few players who seems to actually perform better in an England shirt than for his club, very much like Peter Crouch was back in the day so not too bad an inclusion I guess.

 

I really think Shelvey should have been given a shot. Also it me or is that squad rather imbalanced? Why SO many defenders?

 

It does look slightly imbalanced, but I suppose I put that down to the 3-5-2 we will likely adopt.

 

It's a massive shame both Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain are not fit/ injured. Shelvey has been in great form in 2018, I guess the idea is that Delph will be a midfielder.

Pretty strange that Cahill got a call-up last minute. While Welbeck will get the stick, I think you could make an argument for Rashford not going either due to playing time Problem is we lack pace and strikers, so I can see why Welbeck especially has been chosen.

 

From the last few games, I think Cahill has taken Gomez's place and he wouldn't be back in if he were fit.

 

Welbeck has always played really well for England.

 

Am a massive fan of this squad and continue to be hugely impressed by Southgate. The way he's dropped underachieving players from previous squads so quickly and easily - Rooney, Walcott, Smalling, Wilshere - and now Hart too. I understand why it looks a bit daft for him to have played him so often, but Butland spent most of last season injured and Pickford only started playing regularly part of the way through last season. The keepers in his first squad were Hart, Forster and Heaton. Realistically I don't think Heaton was ever going to be no.1, especially as he'd only been back in the PL for about half a dozen games, and Forster has always been in squads because there's no one else. Hart was first choice by default and never really did enough wrong for England following that.

 

Southgate is a massive fan of versatile players so no surprise to see the likes of Welbeck, Young, Delph and Alexander-Arnold included ahead of others which aren't.

 

I sort of get the Shelvey fuss, but seems like far more than performances and form are taken into account, not trustworthy and not the greatest influence on a squad who seem like a really close-knit group of players. I also think a player like him would be utterly useless against teams that'll have less possession and not sure he's disciplined enough against better teams.

 

Lallana is the one player I would like to have seen in the squad, but he's completed one 90 minutes all season so no complaints.

Edited May 16, 20187 yr by RabbitFurCoat