Since the group stage (https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/2018-fifa-…) thread was getting a bit messy, let's start over with a fresh one for the knock out rounds and final (updated as the matches progress)
Round of 16
Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal
France v Argentina --> France
Brazil v Mexico --> Mexico
Belgium v Japan --> Belgium
Spain v Russia --> Spain
Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia
Sweden v Switzerland --> Sweden
Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals
Portugal v France --> Portugal
Mexico v Belgium --> Belgium
Spain v Croatia --> Spain
Sweden vs England --> England
Semi Finals
Portugal v Belgium --> Belgium
Spain v England --> Spain
3rd Place
England vs Portugal --> Portugal
Final
Spain vs Belgium --> WINNER: Belgium
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Uruguay France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Uruguay v France --> France Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Spain Switzerland vs England --> England
Semi Finals France v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v England --> Spain
3rd Place England vs France --> France
Final Spain vs Belgium --> WINNER: Belgium
But I have doubts in the round of 16. Portugal vs Uruguay and France vs Argentina
The biggest question... Will Messi or Ronaldo finally perform well in the knockout stages?
Nope
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Portugal v France --> Portugal Brazil v Belgium --> Brazil Spain v Croatia --> Spain Switzerland vs England --> England
Semi Finals Portugal v Brazil --> Brazil Spain v England --> England
3rd Place Spain vs Portugal --> Spain
Final England vs Brazil --> WINNER: Brazil
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Uruguay France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Mexico (unlikely, but I really want to see it happen) Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Sweden Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Uruguay v France --> France Mexico v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Croatia Sweden vs England --> England
Semi Finals France v Belgium --> Belgium Croatia v England --> England
3rd Place France vs Croatia --> France
Final Belgium vs England --> WINNER: Belgium
Not much different than OP's, to be honest.
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Sweden Colombia v England --> Colombia
Quarter Finals Portugal v France --> Portugal Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Spain Sweden vs Colombia --> Sweden
Semi Finals Portugal v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Sweden --> Spain
3rd Place Sweden vs Portugal --> Portugal
Final Spain vs Belgium --> WINNER: Belgium
Croatia of course is the main team that can wreck my bracket. They can certainly beat Spain, and a Belgium v. Croatia final would be fantastic.
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Uruguay France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Sweden Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Uruguay v France --> France Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Spain Sweden v England --> England
Semi Finals France v Belgium --> France Spain v England --> Spain
3rd Place England vs Belgium--> Belgium
Final Spain vs France--> WINNER: France
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> Colombia
Quarter Finals Portugal v France --> France Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Croatia Switzerland v Colombia --> Colombia
Semi Finals Portugal v Belgium --> Belgium Croatia v Colombia --> Croatia
3rd Place Portugal v Colombia --> Portugal
Final Croatia v Belgium --> WINNER: Belgium
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> England (James is injured)
Quarter Finals Portugal v France --> Portugal Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Spain v Croatia --> Croatia Switzerland vs England --> Switzerland
Semi Finals Portugal v Belgium --> Belgium Croatia v Switzerland --> Croatia
3rd Place Portugal vs Switzerland --> Portugal Final Croatia vs Belgium --> WINNER: Belgium
Looks like we can at least all agree Belgium will win.
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Portugal France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Spain Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Sweden Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Portugal v France --> France Brazil v Belgium --> Brazil Spain v Croatia --> Spain Sweden vs England --> England
Semi Finals France v Brazil --> Brazil Spain v England --> Spain
3rd Place England vs France--> France
Final Spain vs Brazil --> WINNER: Spain
I got Belgium winning it as well. But Brazil looks solid as well they just don't have great leadership and they don't play as well together as they should.
The fact that most of us think Belgium will win gives me the feeling that they might bottle up at a crucial time like in the Euros against Ireland.
Same is true for Croatia. Team chokes frequently when times are promising.
I called it with the choking but, in the end, made it happen.
Two really fantastic matches today. Hate to see Portugal go down like that but both were thrilling. Mbappe is a real star.
Mbappe might just be the next Zidane. Just 19 yo and still made the biggest difference.
He's a completely different player than Zidane....
Cavs I says hi, mutha fucka
I had posted the round of 16 in the other thread so I'll copy-paste
France over Argentina Uruguay over Portugal Spain over Russia Croatia over Denmark Brazil over Mexico Belgium over Japan Switzerland over Sweden England over Colombia
Quarter Uruguay over France (if Cavani is in good shape) Brazil over Belgium Spain over Croatia England over Switzerland
Semis Uruguay over Brazil (again if Cavani/Suarez play) Spain over England
3rd place Brazil over England
Final Uruguay over Spain
Edit: Cavani is out and so is Uruguay probably and unfortunately.
I'm gonna go with France vs Brazil and Croatia vs England for the semis.
Brazil champ against England.
France is so strong this year. I would love to see a France - England final.
Spain v Russia... I did not see that coming!
The f**** just happened !
Fack, my pool...
Spain sucked in group stages and, like Argentina, shouldn't have advanced, and just like Argentina they are done. Can't say I'm surprised, home field advantage is real in the WC. I'm loving this WC (other than Nigeria not taking numerous opportunities to beat Argentina, as they should've). France is my favorite but after that I'm going Belgium, Brazil, England.
I'll react like someone who lost elections recently: WTF THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN MY PREDICTION WAS RIGHT RUSSIA HACKED REALITY
Great goal keeping by both Keepers. What a match. Hard luck Denmark but great game.
Bit late but still: Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Uruguay France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Russia Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> England
Quarter Finals Uruguay v France --> France Brazil v Belgium --> Belgium Russia v Croatia --> Croatia Switzerland vs England --> England
Semi Finals France v Belgium --> France Croatia v England --> Croatia
3rd Place England vs Belgium --> Belgium
Final Croatia vs Croatia --> WINNER: France
"Final Croatia vs Croatia --> WINNER: France"
Looool some witchcraft here
Not really a fan of England, I think Croatia can win against them if they do well (ie better than today), and France has one of the strongest team in the tournament, they showed it yesterday.
ahahahah yep, made a mistake and I do not want to change my post as I have just done 1 wrong prediction so far.
^^^ someone get this guy a job as a fortune teller
Just wait for France to win and yup been pretty accurate!
Nice job, now any chance you got some spare lotto numbers?
Round of 16 Uruguay v Portugal --> Uruguay France v Argentina --> France Brazil v Mexico --> Brazil Belgium v Japan --> Belgium Spain v Russia --> Russia Croatia v Denmark --> Croatia Sweden v Switzerland --> Switzerland Colombia v England --> Colombia (if James is fit)
Quarter Finals Uruguay v France --> Uruguay (if Cavani is fit) Brazil v Belgium --> Brazil Russia v Croatia --> Russia Switzerland vs Colombia --> Colombia
Semi Finals Uruguay v Brazil --> Brazil Russia v Colombia --> Colombia
3rd Place Russia vs Uruguay --> Uruguay
Final Brazil vs Colombia --> WINNER: Brazil
Not convinced by any of the trendy picks so far. (Croatia & Belgium) Croatia won a group with a Nigeria that couldn't string 3 passes together in the final third in game 1, outclassed an embarrassing Argentina with no midfield and defense who just barely got through qualifying, and Iceland who lack quality overall. They were garbage in today's game from a mental and technical perspective. I'm expecting the game against Russia to be much more balanced than most people think.
I don't subscribe to the belief that "football is coming home", so I'm not even going to address England. Belgium are just set to disappoint once again despite their quality. They are just a bunch of flat track bullies with a shit coach who has no right coaching a time of that caliber. The Fullback/Wingback positions will also be a major issue against a Brazil that has Neymar/Willian/Costa.
I know Brazil hasn't looked that great either, but they have improved gradually and are the most balanced team in the tournament. The tournament has been good to teams that are pragmatic and solid thus far. (Sweden, Denmark, Uruguay, Switzerland) I think Brazil has shown they are solid enough at the back (a significant problem that they had last time around) but also have more than enough quality to get goals.
Belgium might just nick it through Fellaini, the goat!
I'm so sick of Neymar's bullshit dives and faking injuries. Someone just snap his legs already so he really has something to moan about.
Yeah totally agree. He was acting like his leg broke off.
They have today proved they are full of character. Both Belgium and Japan.
Feel bad for Japan.
Amazing performance from both teams. Would’ve liked to see Japan win it but Belgium’s come from behind was spectacular.
Best match in the WC for me so far.
Quarter Final Uruguay vs France (France wins) Russia vs Croatia (Croatia wins) Belgium vs Brasil (Belgium wins) England vs Sweden (England wins)
Semi Final England vs Croatia (Croatia wins) France vs Belgium (France wins)
3rd place England vs Belgium (England wins)
Final Croatia vs France (Croatia Wins)
My man
my dude, this is the same exact bracket i have at work, except i had colombia beating england. got a good feeling about this croatia side
Knew it
well done
Legend
I'll give you a cookie if you are right, but aren't you celebrating a bit early?
Told you not to celebrate too early. Good job anyway.
and on a side note, fuck France and I wish your prediction had been 100% correct
Christ there's a lotta Belgium love here.
Here's my Finals Pick (since all of you Spain lovers choked hard...): Brazil vs. England
Winner: Brazil chokes like everyone else in this tournament. God save the Queen.
France looks so good rn
My Croatia vs Belgium dream is still alive. Looking forward to Friday.
Footballs coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming!!
I'm tempted to trade my left nut in to see France shut you guys up on Sunday.
Semi Final England vs Croatia (Croatia wins) France vs Belgium (Belgium wins)
3rd place England vs France (England wins)
Final Croatia vs Belgium (Croatia Wins)
Going through this thread again no one expected Russia to beat Spain, They played pretty good against Croatia, but they got unlucky a few times.
Spain sucked, didn't expect it but certainly not surprised.
Semi Final England vs Croatia (England) France vs Belgium (France)
3rd place Belgium vs Croatia (Belgium)
Final France vs England (France)
France was my pick to win this tourney before it began and nothing I've seen has tempted me to change that pick. They can win in every way: counterattack, posession, defensive game, with set pieces etc. They have a top 5-10 player in their position at every level of the field: Lloris (T-10), Varane (T-10), Kante (T-5), Pogba (T-5), Griezmann (T-5), with Mbappe set to challenge for the Ballon in the next few years.
Mbappe will definitely be interesting to watch as he grows. He has nearly endless potential, especially since he's only 19. If he continues to play at the level he has demonstrated himself capable of, he's definitely one of the top contenders for the Ballon d'Or.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch France at all. Have they really looked that dominant? They tied 0-0 with Denmark (acknowledge Croatia only beat them in PKs) and had to score 4 goals to beat Argentina, who Croatia beat 3-0. Everything I hear seems like they'll be heavily favored on Sunday though, and I realize the transitive property doesn't work that well in sports. And I guess, to be fair, they've had a much more difficult road to get to the final.
The reality is defense wins championships and they have been the best D in the tourney. The Argentina game is an abberation, although they are fully capable of winning games 4-3. Like I said, they can win every type of game which is why they should be favored.
Sad to see a Final decided in such circumstances. I never believed Croatia would get this far even when I saw their path. But today they were unfortunate. France scores the opener from a freekick that they were awarded from a blatant dive then go on to receive a dubious penalty. (Wenger, Roy Keane, Howard Webb and many more echoed the same sentiment that the penalty should not have been given because it was not definite that it was intentional)
The game was truly lost in the first half. 7 shots to France's 1 (the penalty) and 61% possession. I just wish they were able to take their chances to get the equalizer during that period because it was always just a case of game management and adjustments for France come 2H.
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