The World Cup qualifiers are finally finished – or at least close enough to being finished that the draw was able to be made. Friday the World Cup draw took place and now we’ve already got winners and losers picked. Countries are picking how far they should make it. And finally, we know almost nothing more than what we did a few weeks ago.
Let’s be clear here, I don’t pretend to be a soccer expert – but I bet on it enough to have an idea who is good and who isn’t. I couldn’t name more than one player on any team – and that includes the United States. The point is, I’m not a huge soccer fan, but I love to bet on the sport. Just remember that when you’re looking at this preview.
Group A
Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Who gets through here – not Qatar. That’s all I know for sure. I don’t think the Netherlands have been that good lately. Senegal is on a roll – they won the Cup of Nations earlier this year. Ecuador is doing pretty well too – actually holding their own in South America. Likely it’ll be Netherlands making it through and Senegal – gotta go with the hot team. My Picks: Netherlands, Senegal
Group B
England, Iran, United States, UEFA team
Two clear cut teams above the rest of them – England and the United States. Iran, made it through a large, but weak Asian tournament. The UEFA teams that might make it are making a good story, but aren’t at the level of England and the United States. The wild card on this is the history for the two favorites – they tend to disappoint so it’ll still be worth a watch. My Picks: England, United States
Group C
Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Poland
Argentina is the only clear cut winner here. Mexico and Poland and are hot and cold so it depends which team shows up. Saudi Arabia dominated the Asian Qualifiers, but again, that’s not saying much. The fight for the number two spot here will be fun to see. My picks: Argentina, Poland
Group D
France, Denmark, Tunisia, AFC–CONMEBOL
France is the clear favorite here, lots of history making it deep into international tournaments. Denmark had a good showing in the UEFA tournament last summer. They’ll likely make it through. Tunisia didn’t dominate in Africa and that’s needed to be a favorable team in the World Cup. Who’s coming from the AFC–CONMEBOL is yet to be determined, but they’ll likely be a step below Denmark and wrap up for 3rd. My Picks: France, Denmark
Group E
Spain, Germany, Japan, CONCACAF–OFC
Spain isn’t quite what they were a decade ago, but they’re still one of the top two in this group clearly, Germany being the other. Japan and Costa Rica or New Zealand are going to be at the bottom of the group. Not much to say beyond that. My picks: Spain and Germany.
Group F
Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Morocco
Belgium is the favorite in this group – especially since they’re a top 5 team in the world. But the second spot will be fun to see. Canada overachieved in the qualifiers and Croatia is always a danger. I don’t know anything about Morocco – so I’ve got them finishing at the bottom of the group. My picks: Belgium, Canada
Group G
Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Brazil should win this group easily. But it’s anyone’s guess who gets the second spot. Cameroon is the most successful African Nation of all time, Serbia was a bit of a surprise qualifier, and Switzerland is solid but nothing to write home about. My Picks: Brazil, Switzerland
Group H
Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Portugal, after nearly missing on qualifying, gets a good draw and is instantly the favorite here. I think Uruguay is likely the second best team and then South Korea and Ghana are left on the outside. My Picks: Portugal, Uruguay
Like I said, it’s way too early to predict anything in the World Cup – there’s still 6 months to go until festivities kick off in Qatar. So because of that, I’ll put off any other predictions beyond this. It’ll be weird having it in the fall/winter but still should be a good tournament regardless.