[franz555]

" ENTHUSIASM IS EVERYTHING , IT MUST BE TAUT AND VIBRATING LIKE A GUITAR STRING "

PELE

The Greatest show on earth is only 10 days away . I am going to keep one thread for the tournament and include the final tally in the season long thread once its all over. These are just my thoughts and wagers on the Group stage , since i see no value in backing Brazil @ 7/2 to win it all ( Yes , i think its their tournament to lose ).

Group A : ( FIFA Ranking )

1st Netherlands ( 8 )
2nd Ecuador ( 44 )
3rd Senegal ( 18 )
4th Qatar ( 50 )

The group winners should be the Dutch. I was already leaning to Ecuador for 2nd spot before i watched Mane go down with a knee injury. He was everything to Senegal ,so i will back Ecuador to steal the points head to head. No interest in laying the juice on the Dutch to win the group @ 1.50sh.

Opening game : Sun Nov 20

Qatar vs Ecuador

Ecuador @ 2.10 ( 2 units )

[SamsNCharge99]

Go go usa

[franz555]

Group B : ( FIFA Ranking )


1st England ( 5 )
2nd Wales ( 19 )
3rd Iran ( 20 )
4th USA ( 19 )

England are the clear cut favs in the group. I am only backing Wales for 2nd due to a lack of faith in either Iran ( Live to defend a scoreless draw ) or USA who havent really posted a decent result in a while. Advancement should come down to the Wales vs USA game , where i will back the experience of Wales over a young US side

Lean to England vs Iran over 2 , or an England team total over 1.5, in the group opener on Nov 21

[franz555]

Group C : ( FIFA ranking )

1st Argentina ( 3 )
2nd Mexico ( 13 )
3rd Poland ( 26 )
4th Saudi Arabia ( 51 )

Argentina should be able to go undefeated in this group , although they are heavy favorites to do so. I am banking on Mexico to come away with the spoils against Poland in their group opener Nov 22nd.

[franz555]

Group D : ( FIFA Ranking )



1st Denmark ( 10 )
2nd France ( 4 )
3rd Tunisia ( 30 )
4th Australia ( 38 )


France are the defending champions and one of the deepest talent pools assembled for this Cup. They have been very inconsistent of late , due in large part to key injuries. They played a " friendly " on Sept 25th at Denmark and lost 2 - 0 , but more importantly a statement was made by Denmark that day. I am going to back the in form side at a decent price , believing that their match on Nov 26th will decide the group winner.

Denmark to win the Group @ 3.70 ( 1 unit )

[pologq]

thanks franz for the analysis

[franz555]

Group E : ( FIFA Ranking )

1st Germany ( 11 )
2nd Spain ( 7 )
3rd Japan ( 24 )
4th Costa Rica ( 31 )


Spain should be the obvious choice to win this group. Their build up to this W/Cup had some big wins on the resume , especially a 1 -0 decisive win on Portuguese soil. That said , the blood that runs through my veins is 100% Kraut , and posting anything other then a 1st place finish would be Verboten ! The match between Spain and Germany should be one to mark down on your calendar ( Nov 27 @ 2pm est ).

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Hoping USA advances to the knockout round but they have not played well leading up to the tourney.

[franz555]

Group F : ( FIFA Ranking )


1st Belgium ( 2 )
2nd Croatia ( 12 )
3rd Morocco ( 22 )
4th Canada ( 41 )


The country with the deepest talent pool the past few years has to be Belgium. The list of great Belgium players, presently starring for European clubs, is seemingly endless. The big question is whether or not they have a healthy starting 11. Can Hazard , Meunier , Mertens , Benteke , Lukaku , De Bruyne all be 100%. Croatia are still a force to be reckoned with , due in large part to their midfield. Modric , who is considered a God in Croatia , is getting up there in years at age 37 , as is Kamaric 31 and Perisic at 33. As for putting my beloved Canada in last , its only a reflection of so many key injuries to over come. Davies , David , Larin , Buchanan .......all at different stages of injury. Way too much of a loss for Canada to play at the same level of Belgium or Croatia.

Nov 27 : Croatia vs Canada : 11am est

Croatia @ 1.80 ( 3 units )
Croatia -1 @ 2.35 ( 2 units )

[franz555]

Group G : ( FIFA ranking )


1st Brazil ( 1 )
2nd Switzerland ( 15 )
3rd Serbia ( 21 )
4th Cameroon ( 43 )


Watching Brazil play during qualifying , you truly understand why they personify " The Beautiful Game ". Its poetry in motion how they flow as a unit up and down the pitch. In my opinion , they are the clear cut team to beat. Switzerland are capable of beating most countries across the globe on any given day. The road victory in Spain on Sept 24th included. I love the Over 2.5 @ 1.92 on Nov 28th when the two open the group stage.

[franz555]

Group H : ( FIFA Ranking )


1st Portugal ( 9 )
2nd Uruguay ( 14 )
3rd South Korea ( 28 )
4th Ghana ( 61 )


Portugal have the talent and depth to ride a wave into the Final 4. Although Ronaldo's best days are behind him , he is no longer required to carry this team on his back. Players like Fernandes , Jota , Neves , Carvalho , Silva , Mendes , Pereira ...etal are all fixtures on top European clubs. South Korea were a team to watch out for heading into this tournament , but the injury to their star player Heung- Min Son of Spurs is critical.

Nov 28 : Portugal vs Uruguay

Portugal @ 2.10 ( 2 units )

[franz555]

Hoping USA advances to the knockout round but they have not played well leading up to the tourney.

They are capable of going through for sure. I just agree that heading into this tourney they havent played that well

[EddieMusher]

I read that some African witch doctor has cured Sadio Mane

[EddieMusher]

Group H : ( FIFA Ranking )


1st Portugal ( 9 )
2nd Uruguay ( 14 )
3rd South Korea ( 28 )
4th Ghana ( 61 )


Portugal have the talent and depth to ride a wave into the Final 4. Although Ronaldo's best days are behind him , he is no longer required to carry this team on his back. Players like Fernandes , Jota , Neves , Carvalho , Silva , Mendes , Pereira ...etal are all fixtures on top European clubs. South Korea were a team to watch out for heading into this tournament , but the injury to their star player Heung- Min Son of Spurs is critical.

Nov 28 : Portugal vs Uruguay

Portugal @ 2.10 ( 2 units )

Is there any info on Son? I thought he would make it to World Cup

[EddieMusher]

https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/art...korea-republic

[franz555]

Is there any info on Son? I thought he would make it to World Cup

He missed the last 2 for Tottenham and i noticed that his name was not included in the 25 man squad that played an exhibition against Iceland today. Such an electrifying player to watch.

[franz555]

https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/art...korea-republic

Awesome news. He is a special player, with or without facial gear

[EddieMusher]

Awesome news. He is a special player, with or without facial gear

Yeah! I like Son and South-Korea is always fun team to watch, I hope they qualify from group stage.

[EddieMusher]

I'm thinking of a group stage winner parlay with, Argentina + Belgium at +130

[lakerboy]

Good luck Franz during the tournament. Looking forward to your plays and thanks for the information.

[franz555]

I'm thinking of a group stage winner parlay with, Argentina + Belgium at +130

I was looking at a few combo parlays for the group stage as well. Argentina and Portugal were my 2 " wheel " teams. England was another team i like , but only pays 1.30 to 1.35 range. Argentina @ 1.40 and Portugal @ 1.65 , pays 2.31

[JAKEPEAVY21]

We kick off the first match in less than 4 hours

[franz555]

We kick off the first match in less than 4 hours

Nothing like it

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Nothing like it

Looks like you are on Ecuador, do you put any validity in these Qatar match fixing rumors?

Seems like rubbish to me but who knows...

[jjgold]

Hopefully this will be the live thread

[franz555]

Looks like you are on Ecuador, do you put any validity in these Qatar match fixing rumors?

Seems like rubbish to me but who knows...

Where there is big money , corruption is rarely far behind.

That said , i dont believe that some individual approached several players from Ecuador to take bribes to lose intentionally.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Where there is big money , corruption is rarely far behind.

That said , i dont believe that some individual approached several players from Ecuador to take bribes to lose intentionally.

Agreed, good luck today and throughout the tourney

[franz555]

Agreed, good luck today and throughout the tourney

Thanks Jake

Good Luck to you as well

[lakerboy]

You keeping the plays in the other thread or in here?

[franz555]

You keeping the plays in the other thread or in here?

As i mentioned in post #1 , i will keep all World Cup plays here and put the tally's in my 2022/23 thread once The W/C is over

[lakerboy]

As i mentioned in post #1 , i will keep all World Cup plays here and put the tally's in my 2022/23 thread once The W/C is over

Okay. Good luck. Getting excited myself for this.

[DiamondJack]

BOL

[franz555]

BOL

BOL to you as well

[Smokey McPot]

Holy crap, they even screwed up the countdown to start the match.

[cincinnatikid513]

i see my friend var has already made an appearance, was it a good goal or not twitter says var was wrong