World Cup!!

The World Cup is finally here. Let there be much rejoicing and clapping of hands among the people. Here are a few of my general predictions:

Champion - Brazil

Photo credit: fcbarcelona.com

This is honestly a pretty easy answer to me. Brazil's last loss on home soil in a competitive match was THIRTY NINE YEARS AGO. Thirty. Nine. As in almost four decades. As in 1975. As in Gerald Ford was the President. Oh and their last loss overall was in a meaningless friendly in 2002. Right after they had won the World Cup. The Seleção simply doesn't lose in Brazil and I don't expect that to change. They have an incredibly stacked squad with star power and a coach who has won it before. Neymar always shows up on the big stage and I expect him to do so again. Their demolition of Spain in the Confederations Cup final last year is something I can't get out of my mind. The only real challengers that I see in the field are Spain, Argentina, Germany, and...

Dark Horse - France

Don't let their performances in the World Cup and Euro fool you, they are coming together at the right time and have some great pieces to make a serious run. They've gotten rid of all the idiots in the squad (except Patrice Evra) and actually seem to have some team spirit. They are solid at every position on the field. They were also the beneficiary of an extremely favorable draw, being placed in a group with Switzerland, Ecuador, and Honduras. Look for Antoine Greizmann to have a "breakout" campaign in place of the injured Franck Ribery (I say "breakout" because he has been excellent for Real Sociedad the last two years).

Golden Boot - Neymar

I'm terrible at predicting individual performances but I know that Neymar is a bonafide superstar. He loves performing on the big stage and is never afraid of the moment. I believe he will live up to the expectations of wearing the number 10 shirt and lead his team to glory.

USA Finish: Round of 16

Photo credit: chicagotribune.com

I honestly believe that we are capable of coming out of our group. The team seems to be hitting a stride going into the tournament and I think MLS talent is a lot better than most people give it credit for. I see us beating Ghana, getting a result against Portugal, and probably losing to Germany. Klinsmann has a knack for getting results when we're not supposed to (at Italy, at Bosnia, at Russia, at Mexico, etc.) and the team has steadily improved as long as he's been in charge. I think we can make someone sweat in the round of 16 but I think our midfield lacks the quality of the elite teams to go any further, though I actually picked us to beat Belgium in the first knockout round hehe.

So there are my predictions for this World Cup. I'll leave you with my full bracket below. Go America.