Monday, June 16, 2014

WC 2014: 16th June

Germany v/s Portugal. Much of the talk before the start of the tournament has been around the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo. He clearly is nursing an injury and will not be at the peak of his powers for the 3 games in the Group of Death. With or without Ronaldo playing, I think Germany will win this match. I rate the Germans the best European team and expect them to go far in this competition. They will certainly make it through this most-difficult group, and should bag the 3 points against Portugal.

Iran v/s Nigeria. I don't think this Nigerian team is anywhere as good as its national teams in the past and they have been beset with off-field issues regarding appearance fees with officials of their federation. Just like Cameroon. Hardly the best way to prepare, but the Nigerians should be fighting it out with Bosnia for the runner-up position in Group F. For this to happen, they need maximum points against Iran, the weakest team in the group. I don't think that the Iranians are a push-over by any means. They are coached by ex-Man Utd No. 2 Carlos Quieroz and if Nigeria fails to shine on the day, the Iranians could take their chances. This should be a tight game that Nigeria could edge by just.

Ghana v/s USA. Maybe the first draw of the tournament? I don't anticipate many goals in this encounter and like many of their past World Cup games, these 2 teams like the scores to stay close, so this could very well end up in a tied contest.

Win: Germany, Nigeria
Draw: Ghana/USA

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