You already know the situation. You enter the office sweepstake, maybe you hoped to win a little money. Maybe you wanted a little World Cup banter with your otherwise boring colleagues, maybe you’re Welsh and were desperately searching for anything that could make the tournament interesting to you.
We’ve all been there, you pay your money, you draw your team out of a hat, you’re instantly met with disappointment as you know that your money is already as good as gone. “Bollocks, what a waste of time”. A little piece of paper that says Iran gets binned, never to be seen again.
Here’s a little breakdown of who’s going to win you that much sought after £32 and who will make you swear blind that you’ll never be so foolhardy with your hard earned pound coin again. Organised by what your intrigued colleagues will say as they crowd round and watch you pick your team.
“Aww you jammy b**tard”
There are always going to be those big teams who just know are always going to be there or thereabouts. One prime example of this is the Germans. Their form pre-tournament just seems to be an irrelevance. Even if they’ve barely qualified by the skin of their teeth, it doesn’t matter. They just have a knack of doing well and winning big games. I’m sure they’ll be winning a few more this year.
Likely to be joining them in the latter stages of this year’s tournament are the South American contingent of Brazil and Argentina. It’s often been said that Europeans tend not to travel too well to a South American World Cup. Brazil and Argentina are strong and won’t be put out by the humid conditions that have been endlessly reported here in dreary England.
The current holders Spain are the last part of this elite group. Despite the heat they have enough quality to make a decent attempt at retaining their crown, you don’t have to worry much about the heat if you’re never chasing the ball. And Spain are likely to be doing very little chasing.
“You’ve got a chance there mate”
This is meant to be the showcase of the world’s best players. And, Zlatan and Bale aside, the world’s best will be descending on this World Cup. There is plenty of quality outside of Spain, Brazil, Argentina and Germany. And plenty of match winners too.
Belgium seem to have come out of nowhere to become an international footballing power house with one of the most recognisable squads in the tournament for British fans. Proven Premier League stars like Hazard, Vertonghen, Lukaku, Kompany, Dembélé plus many more (and Marouane Fellaini). If all of these players can come together on the biggest of football stages then they will definitely be in with a chance.
It truly is a strong competition this year, full of teams who are capable of winning big games on their day. What of Italy if Pirlo continues to control games and they get the best out of Balotelli? What if the Dutch can get star players like Robben, RVP and Sneijder playing like they do for their clubs? How difficult could Uruguay be to stop of they get Cavani and Suárez playing together effectively? Meanwhile it’s difficult to write off Portugal while they boast the best player in the world.
“You never know”
No one had Greece down as would-be winners of Euro 2004, and while this example is ten years old now it still serves as a timely reminder that football doesn’t have to be as cut and dry as it appears. Maybe someone else could make an unexpected dash to the final in Brazil? Maybe Greece again? Probably not, but you never know.
Columbia, Chile, Russia, Switzerland, Ecuador, Croatia, the Ivory Coast, the USA, Mexico, South Korea. I had a great sweepstake in 2010 as I drew Ghana and watched them with my head in my hands as they were cheated by the hand of Luis Suárez at the quarter final stage. These teams would have been no one’s first choice during this year’s sweepstake draw, but there are always people worse off than you. They’re the people who drew teams from the below category in fact.
“Ha, unlucky mate”
You wouldn’t like to say that anyone is in Brazil to simply make up the numbers. But if you venture onto any betting website you’ll see that the odds get mighty long for these teams. Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, Honduras, Australia, Costa Rica, Iran. With SkyBet, a £4 flutter on the Aussies, the Costa Ricans or the Iranians will see you pocket £10,000 if they were to triumph in this World Cup. A return of about thirty quid by winning the sweepstake with one of these teams could leave you feeling rather cheated by comparison.
“Never mind”
England.
Oh come on, do we ever win it!? Don’t be fooled by the 10th place in the FIFA rankings or the 25/1 betting odds. I hope they prove me wrong, but they won’t. They never do. England can once again remain the sweepstake kiss of death