England’s Stage of Elimination: Quarter Final – 15/8
England can reach at least the quarter finals. Looking at their group, I would expect them to finish in the top two places, and after that they would play one of Colombia, Senegal, Poland or Japan. They can certainly beat any of those teams.
Beyond that, it’s hard to say because we do not know for sure who they would face in the quarter finals, but it’s possible they’d meet Brazil or Germany. As Gary Lineker said, the Germans always win.
England have a young team. This is a new generation, they have lots of potential, but if they meet Germany or Brazil in the quarter final the step up in level will be too high.
England top goalscorer: Harry Kane – 8/11
I hope that Harry Kane will have a great tournament because for the last few years he has done an amazing job for Spurs. He’s an amazing striker.
I still wonder if he will do it at the highest level. He has the talent, the question is when will it show?
At Euro 2016 he was tired. His body Language showed it.
He lacked inspiration on the pitch, his touch was heavy, his mind was not fresh, he looked in big trouble. I hope he can lead England well in Russia because he deserves it.
World Cup Winner: Brazil – 4/1
The last time a South American team won the World Cup was in 2002, when Brazil won in Korea and Japan. Since then, there have only been European winners, including a German win in Brazil the last time.
I expect Brazil to get revenge for South America in Russia.
I don’t put Germany on the same level as the Brazilians, even though they are second favourites at 5/1, because they have lost so many big leaders. Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Klose, even the goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, has been injured so long this year.
Germany is very good team collectively, but individually they need those leaders and they’ve lost too many. They won’t be up to the challenge of Brazil.
Top Scorer: Neymar – 8/1
Brazil will win and Neymar can score a lot for them. It can depend on the teams you play in the group the stages. Brazil’s group is not the strongest. He could take advantage of games against Costa Rica, Serbia or Switzerland.
Messi is one of the favourites but I cannot see Argentina challenging for the tournament, so that limits his chances, and this may be the last time Messi has a chance to win it. It would be a big gamble to back him at 10/1.
Argentina have great forwards, good midfield, but their weakness as always is defence.
Even though they made it to the final last time, I was not convinced by their performances. They don’t have balance in their team, and that makes it hard for Messi to win this.
Player of the Tournament: Mohamed Salah – 40/1
Neymar is the obvious choice here, he is the favourite at 7/1. I hope France’s Kylian Mbappe, at 33/1, can have a say too, he’s but I am interested by Mohamed Salah at 40/1 if he’s fit.
I love this guy. I love what he is doing on the pitch, but I also just love his personality. In the Champions League final it was so sad what happened, it changed the game completely.
When you admire a player like this, you wish him the best, even if he’s you’re opponent. After the season he’s had, he desrves something at the end, especially the way his season ended. If he can get fit he can do something special in Russia.
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