Sportsnet’s panel of soccer writers, broadcasters and commentators offer their 2014 FIFA World Cup predictions.
James Sharman, Sportsnet
Final Four: Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Germany.
Winner: Brazil beats Argentina in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Neymar, Brazil.
Biggest surprise: Chile
Biggest flop: Belgium
Breakout star: Paul Pogba, France.
Group-stage match to watch: Spain vs. Chile.
Keep an eye on: England. Putting my fanboy hat on, I see a very young, dynamic England building towards Euro 2016 and Russia 2018. It is easy to criticize England, but this team is lacking the arrogance of previous editions; there really is a sense of freshness about the squad and in Raheem Sterling there is an English player that will become one of those athletes you are happy to pay to watch. England are underrated, yet it’s important to not get ahead of ourselves–a quarterfinal would be considered a very good performance, but at the same time failure to advance could not be construed as a disaster either. For the first time, maybe ever, I am not nervous ahead of the World Cup, as I am happy with the steps Roy Hodgson has decided to take. England will not be the biggest story, but after writing thousands of words regarding the real big stories, this one is for me.
Gerry Dobson, Sportsnet
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Belgium.
Winner: Brazil beats Spain in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Luis Suarez, Uruguay
Biggest surprise: Belgium
Biggest flop: Mexico
Breakout star: Raheem Sterling, England
Group-stage match to watch: Italy vs. England
Keep an eye on: The story to watch is the same story we’ve been watching for seven years now. That’s how long Brazil has had to get ready for this tournament and they won’t be. Yes, the games will all be played. But they’ll be played against the backdrop of riots, protests, outrageous price gouging, transportation disasters and logistical nightmares. Recent polls suggests between 60 and 70 percent of Brazilians do not want this World Cup. Health care, education, and decent transportation are all severely lacking in Brazil. We can only hope nobody gets killed during the next month and that the football takes centre stage. Although that is even a stretch given the suspect quality of play we see from time to time at the World’s largest sporting event.
Sid Seixeiro, Sportsnet 590 The FAN
Winner: Brazil beats Argentina in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Diego Costa, Spain
Biggest surprise: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Breakout star: Angel Di Maria, Argentina
Group-stage match to watch: Portugal vs. Germany
Keep an eye on: Spain. At some point their run will end. When is the question. History suggests there’s no way this team has another tournament win in them. But the roster reads as impressively as any in this tournament. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerrard Pique and Sergio Ramos are still at the top of their respective games. Add a potentially potent new striker in Diego Costa (health permitting) and this team could be on the verge of a staggering piece of history.
Greg Brady, Sportsnet 590 The FAN
Final Four: Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Belgium.
Winner: Portugal beats Belgium in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Fred, Brazil
Biggest surprise: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Biggest flop: France
Breakout star: Daniel Sturridge, England
Group-stage match to watch: Germany vs. Portugal
Keep an eye on: I’m excited for the tourney as a whole, but especially so to see how the African nations do. Since 1990, they’ve been knocking on the door, attempting to make a big breakthrough. Is this the year we finally have an African semi-finalist? Nigeria was so fun to watch in 1990, and Senegal, people forget, came so close to beating Turkey in the quarters in 2002. I think both Ivory Coast and Ghana will emerge from their groups, and their Round of 16 matches will be fascinating.
John Molinaro, Sportsnet.ca
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina.
Winner: Argentina beats Brazil in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Lionel Messi, Argentina
Biggest surprise: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Biggest flop: Mexico
Breakout star: Paul Pogba, France
Group-stage match to watch: Spain vs. Chile
Keep an eye on: Lionel Messi. The popular narrative suggesting he needs to win a World Cup in order to solidify his greatness is nonsense. Many of the game’s all-time greats never won it: Platini, Di Stefano, Puskas, Cruyff. But I get the feeling Messi himself feels he needs to lead his country to World Cup glory in order to be considered one of the best. He’s done it all in his career, and he’s been such an incredible joy to watch. It’d be great to see him add a World Cup to his impressive resume.
Programming alert: Watch all 64 games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup from Brazil live and on a tape-delayed basis on CBC and Sportsnet from June 12 to July 13. Consult the broadcast schedule.
Ethan Dean-Richards, Sportsnet.ca
Final Four: Brazil, France, Spain, Argentina.
Winner: Brazil beats Spain in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Lionel Messi, Argentina
Biggest surprise: France
Biggest flop: England
Breakout star: Neymar, Brazil
Group-stage match to watch: Germany vs. Portugal
Keep an eye on: How Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo do. They’re the three biggest stars at this World Cup because they’re the three players capable of winning games for their teams single-handedly, but with that comes serious amounts of expectation. Neymar has it the toughest, because he combines being the least developed of the three with having the most strain being put on him at his home World Cup. But Ronaldo has fitness worries and Messi has (relative) poor form. If any one of them can really turn it on, they could decide a pretty even competition in their team’s favour.
Jerrad Peters, Sportsnet.ca
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina.
Winner: Italy beats Germany in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Neymar, Brazil
Biggest surprise: Algeria
Biggest flop: Ivory Coast
Breakout star: Marco Verratti, Italy
Group-stage match to watch: Netherlands vs. Chile
Keep an eye on: For me, the subtext to this World Cup will be the inevitable, street-level protests. They’re going to happen, but like we saw during the Confederations Cup they could actually consolidate the public behind the Brazilian team. Or—and this is a distinct possibility if Brazil plays poorly—the public could end up turning on the World Cup as a whole. It is, as they say in Brazil “oito ou oitenta,” eight or eighty. It’s one extreme or the other.
Jamie Doyle, Sportsnet Magazine
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina
Winner: Brazil beats Argentina in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Fred, Brazil
Biggest surprise: Croatia
Biggest flop: The Netherlands
Breakout star: Jack Wilshere, England
Group-stage match to watch: Uruguay vs. England
Keep an eye on: Fear for Brazil if the team disappoints. I don’t think Brazil will disappoint, but if they crash and burn the country may just, well, crash and burn. What a shame that would be, first and foremost that conditions in Brazil have driven so many people to that point. But in a narrower sense it would be sad to have this grand celebration of the beautiful game marred by violence. If there’s a silver lining to such an outcome, though, it’s the possibility of breaking the back of the regime at FIFA. Part of the grievance Brazilians have with the World Cup is the huge price tag and the massive (alleged) corruption that come hand-in-hand with the tournament. It’s FIFA at its worst—forcing countries to change laws, bullying governments to forgo untold millions in rightfully owed taxes and, so the allegations run, pocketing stacks of unclean money. They’re there for fortune, not football. If the most soccer-mad country on Earth loudly rejects FIFA’s showpiece event because (in part) of FIFA itself, just maybe that can finally force real, meaningful change at the world’s least-convincing nonprofit organization.
Thomas Dobby, Sportsnet
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina.
Winner: Germany beats Argentina in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Neymar, Brazil
Biggest surprise: Switzerland
Biggest flop: Uruguay
Breakout star: Josip Drmic, Switzerland
Group-stage match to watch: Italy vs. England
Keep an eye on: When the World Cup isn’t in Brazil, it is win or bust for the hosts. But when it is on home soil, like it was in 1950, and now in 2014, it is win or face the consequences. Seeing how Brazil can deal with the pressure is the most interesting story for me. Yes, they won the Confederations cup last year, but this is a completely different animal. The team have come together again under Scolari. Neymar is primed and ready to take over the World. But the weight of a nation, with the passion of the Brazilian fans, could be too much to handle for this group. I’m not sure if they have the horses to do it, and failure, would again, leave a nation in tears.
Thomas Michalakos, Sportsnet.ca
Final Four: Italy, Portugal, England, Argentina
Winner: Argentina beats Portugal in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Sergio Aguero, Argentina
Biggest surprise: Switzerland
Biggest flop: Uruguay
Breakout star: Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland
Group-stage match to watch: England vs. Italy
Keep an eye on: Call them the hipsters choice, Belgium have been branded dark horse favourites even before they officially clinched qualification. The collection of talent at manager Marc Wilmots’ fingertips is alarming to put it mildly. However, I’m not buying into the hype. It’s been 12 years since the Belgians qualified for the World Cup. Thus, not one player has a single minute of experience in a major international tournament. Call me crazy for not agreeing with the greater majority who are backing Belgium to make waves in Brazil, but this so called golden generation is nowhere near ready to take on the world’s elite teams. The bar has been set too high, and Belgium won’t be able to handle the pressure and heavy burden of living up to unrealistic expectations.
Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 590 The FAN
Final Four: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina
Winner: Brazil beats Argentina in the final.
Tournament top scorer: Fred, Brazil
Biggest surprise: Chile
Biggest flop: Spain
Breakout star: Eduardo Vargas, Chile
Group-stage match to watch: Spain vs. The Netherlands
Keep an eye on: England. For the first time that I can remember, England are being played up as underdogs, so much so that they aren’t even a contender at this tournament. It will be interesting to see how the squad responds to having less pressure. England are, to an extent, underrated. The question lies in Roy Hodgson’s willingness to count on the youthful talents of Luke Shaw, Raheem Sterling and others. It’s one thing to bring them on the trip; playing them and trusting in them, well, that’s an entirely different story. In my eyes, the youngsters are needed if England are to have any kind of success in Brazil.
