Brazil, you say? They know how to play football over there, don't they? But it's a long way for one so middle aged as I to travel.

So instead, I shall slouch into my leather armchair and view the tournament from this side of the Atlantic. I shall try and watch every game and will definitely make wildly inaccurate predictions too.

I do solemnly vow to give you a real sense of what it's like to not be at the World Cup. This is the blog where all the colour and atmosphere and passion of watching the world's greatest sporting tournament on a wall mounted widescreen really comes to life.

Friday, 27 June 2014

I predicted better than I predicted I'd predict. World Cup Round Of 16 Predictions.

Always a fierce critic of my own dubious predicting talents, I've not done bad this time around.
Here's the Round of 16 I predicted back in May.

BRAZIL v CHILE
SPAIN v CAMEROON
COLOMBIA v URUGUAY
ITALY v IVORY COAST
FRANCE v NIGERIA
ARGENTINA v ECUADOR
GERMANY v SOUTH KOREA
BELGIUM v USA

 And here's the actual Round of 16, with the teams I'd predicted would get here in caps:

BRAZIL v CHILE
Holland v Mexico
COLOMBIA v URUGUAY
Costa Rica v Greece
FRANCE v NIGERIA
ARGENTINA v Switzerland
GERMANY v Algeria
BELGIUM v USA

The mathematical geniuses among you will see I got 10 out of 16 right, with 4 out of 8 fixtures exactly right. Not bad, even if I do say so myself.

Who'd have thunk that Costa Rica, Greece and Algeria would make it? Holland and Mexico always had a chance, and I guess I underestimated Switzerland, ranked 6th in the world by FIFA.