Illustration by TayebMEZAHDIA on Pixabay.
Since the World Cup has started, I’ll chime in a little late with my predictions. If it doesn’t show, I’ll warn you already that I have no experience in predictions and am just talking out my ass…
France – Australia
Australia will be completely overpowered by the offensive weaponry of France, and not even Mile Jedinaks amazing beard can do anything about it! Mbappé and Griezmann will have a field day.
Spectacular event: Griezmann will score on a bicycle kick
Man-of-the-match: Paul Pogba
Result: 4 - 1
Argentina – Iceland
Iceland will put up a heroic fight and surprise the Argentines. The South Americans will once again have trouble getting everyone going, but Messi will save them once again. Team Iceland will however make it obvious that they’re not merely satisfied by qualifying to the tournament and they will put in a herculean effort. We will probably also see a return of the Icelandic haka thingy; this may puzzle some casual fans since Iceland is not usually known as a Polynesian island.
Spectacular event: Messi dribbles through half the field and tabs it in
Man-of-the-match: Messi
Result: 2 - 1
Peru – Denmark
An early freekick goal will lead Denmark to complacency and allow the Peruvians to equalize. However, this will wake up the Danes and they will get ahead again. In the last minutes of the game, the Peruvians will send everything, which will make them vulnerable to a Danish counter which will finish them off. The fans will be utterly confused, as both groups are clad in a mixture of red and white…
Spectacular event: The first goal of the match is a beautiful free kick by Christian Eriksen
Man-of-the-match: Christian Eriksen
Result: 1 - 3
Croatia – Nigeria
An offensively dominated match will see the Croatians running away with a narrow victory. The Nigerians will be in the game all the way and a spectacular display from Victor Moses will see him score two goals. However, the raw offensive power of the Croatians will be too much for the Nigerians in the end. Also, the Nigerians will sport a lot less exciting haircuts than they did in 1998. This will not please the fans though the new Eagle jerseys will make up for some of it…
Spectacular event: Luka Modric will make a long pass to Peresic, who then delivers a perfect cross for Mandzukic
Man-of-the-match: The Nigerian World Cup jersey
Result: 3 - 2