Friday 4 July 2014

World Cup Observations 18: Quarterfinal predictions and semi-finalist hopefuls



Courtesy of Wikipedia, as per usual
Brazil v Colombia
  • Many betting agencies and pundits are still putting Brazil ahead over Colombia, by a substantial margin. The contest should be a lot closer than that though.
  • I want a Colombia upset, and perhaps that is tainting my view of this matchup
  • Even if they haven't been impressive, I will say though that Brazil have demonstrated that they can scrape victories, even if one was a penalty shootout and the other a dubious refereeing decision. 
  • However, I would back a Colombia win, 2-1. Rodriguez needs to fire though and Colombia just have to play their natural game and not panic or be match-frightened against the hosts. Otherwise, they will lose.


France v Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_statistics#Overall_results


  • Germany and France look roughly neck and neck in terms of the statistics, especially goals scored; however Germany look the leakier of the two.
  • Interestingly, as a sidenote, Greece was found much further down on the table, with only 3 goals scored. Just think about it. They were even below Australia on goals scored, yet made it to the Round of 16 (in fact, they only scored 2 goals to get to the Round of 16)
  • I will stick with Germany, the consistent semi-finalist - though I do realise I am taking a risk given their flu problem.
  • Germany win 3-2.


Netherlands v Costa Rica
  • The only quarterfinal that looks like a "definite" result, if there is such a thing
  • Netherlands to win 2-1
  • Don't mind either winning


Argentina v Belgium
  • Argentina have repeatedly demonstrated that they enjoy scraping victories, especially with the aid of Lionel Messi. Why shouldn't this continue despite Belgium's attacking flair and individual brilliance?
  • Argentina to win 2-1

Timing Your Form

One common theme in sport is the notion that champion teams 'warm up to the occasion', meaning that, whilst many do not play well in the opening stages of a competition (such as the World Cup), they time their form to perfection and improve their gameplay based on the opponents they face. When I talk about that, I have Brazil and Argentina specifically in mind.

However, I would really like to see BOTH a Colombia and Belgium upset. Here's to that relatively unlikely possibility.

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