Gregory Volitich – Who Will Win This Year’s World Cup?
If you are a football fan like myself then you will no doubt be incredibly excited that once again it is a World Cup year, the tournament which only arrives every 4 years, and is truly the greatest sporting spectacle on Earth. This year’s edition will take place Russia, as 32 teams look to compete for the chance to lift that coveted Jules Rimet trophy. I was chatting with my good friend and fellow soccer fan Gregory Volitich last week, about who looks the most likely to win the competition. We ended up divided in our opinion but here are the top runners so far, who do you think will lift the trophy?
Germany
It is hard to look past the footballing machine that is the Germany national side, and they will be pushing hard this year to lift back-to-back World Cups, a feat which few teams have been able to achieve. What is worrying about this German side is that they actually look better than they did 4 years ago, with yet another golden generation coming through. To win the World Cup is an incredible achievement but to win it twice is simply spectacular, win it or not, you can definitely expect to see this German side in the advanced stages of the competition.
Brazil
The Brazilians have had 4 years to try and come to terms with what happened against German in the Maracana stadium, when they were embarrassed completely and lost 7-1 to the eventual champions. This is a new look Brazil side which has opted to go for youth with a dash of experience. We can expect to see Neymar on top form as he leads his country, along with the likes of Casimeiro and Jesus in this fresh Brazil side. Brazil haven’t shown up for any of the past 3 World Cups, something which the fans most definitely don’t accept. This year Brazil are the bookies favorites and could very well go all the way in Russia.
Spain
Despite the golden generation of Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol and Casillas having now passed us by, the Spanish are still going to be a big threat in this World Cup. With teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid being so keen on introducing local youth into their setups, the Spanish national side are spoiled for choice in terms of the squad that they can select. The Spanish still have winners in their side who know what it takes to win a competition of this magnitude and the likes of Pique, Busquets and Fabregas will be well placed to help guide the younger players through the tournament. Spain will miss the wisdom of cup-winning manager Vicente del Bosque, but with the players at their disposal you can most definitely expect them to put in a solid campaign, which could see them eventually be crowned champions of the world once again.