THEY FINISHED 7TH: BRAZIL

The Armchair doesn't want to sound arrogant, but he has great difficulty in understanding those who thought Brazil would win this World Cup. Even reaching the final should not have been entertained.

The same with Germany and Argentina. They might be big names from the history of the World Cup, but none of them had shown any kind of form coming into the competition, and all were player for player weaker than at least three other big teams, Spain, France and Belgium.

Neymar did OK but is an habitual faker, and in this tournament all that fakery has caught up with them. Penalties they might have falsely earned in the past have been wiped out by VAR. The culture of diving and faking needs to change if these nations are ever to enjoy success on the world stage again.

Brazil seemed to learn that lesson in the second half against Belgium, where chasing the game meant they couldn't afford to waste time on the fakery. But Belgium outclassed them and gave them a taste of their own medicine, winding down the clock and winding up the Brazilians with a little dose of fakery.

What goes round...

ROUND OF 16: France 4-3 Argentina

The day Messi took a back seat and Mbappe came of age. A seven goal thriller, which Argentina took close to extra time. But the French ran out deserved winners, their second from Pavard, a right back, a veritable stunner and strong candidate for goal of the tournament. It’s taken a while for France to get into gear, and Argentina were never really firing here, but take nothing away, this French side looks like it’s got the ingredients to win it. 

THEY FINISHED 21st: NIGERIA

Deserved to go through and so nearly did but for that late loser against Argentina. As always, Nigeria were exciting to watch, Moses marauding down the flank an endearing memory. But, it’s not been a good tournament for the African nations and this was a super tough group for any team to get drawn in. Shame. 

World Cup Group D Final Games: Argentina 2-1 Nigeria; Croatia 2-1 Iceland

Oh, Rojo. How you saved a nation. How you got Maradona to show two fingers to the rest of the world. How you saved Messi’s international career for at least a few more days. How well you finished, but how much you denied a Nigeria team who surely deserved a place in the Round of 16. They were just minutes away, but everyone else in the group were a lot of points of away from Croatia who maxed out on point age and served to remind the world that their quality players make a quality team that’s to be feared in the knock-out phase.

World Cup 2018: Argentina 0-3 Croatia

The unravelling of the Messi legend didn’t quite happen here, but almost. The genius proved he can’t quite produce his club performance for his country. Take nothing away from Croatia though, who were epic. More epic than The Armchair could ever have imagined.

The Armchair Predicted

Argentina 2-2 Croatia

15 and 8

World Cup 2018: Argentina 1-1 Iceland

England fans must feel a bit better about their Euro2016 exit after this.

Iceland are no pushover, clearly. Clear as ice, in fact.

But Messi continues to misfire in the big tournaments. He will never be regarded as a true international legend unless he can turn things round in the next couple of games.

That missed penalty of his has condemned The Armchair to face his first inaccurate prediction of this World Cup, at the sixth attempt.

There was almost a siege on the Icelandic goal toward the end, but their huge keeper and even mightier spirit kept the South Americans at bay to secure a well-earned, first ever World Cup point.

And a big, loud, welcome to the World Cup to the Viking Thunderclap. So much more interesting than the ageing Mexican Wave (32 years old this World Cup.)

So, The Armchair has been proved wrong, but having predicted Croatia to win the group, there's still room for a little smugness.

The Armchair Predicted:
Argentina 2-1 Iceland

5 and 1

Who Will Win In The World Cup Round of 16? Top half of draw predictions

Based on my group finishing predictions, the top half of the World Cup 2018 Round of 16 shapes up like this:

RUSSIA v PORTUGAL

Ronaldo won’t be 100%. Russia will be driven by a passionate home crowd. Portugal peaked in 2016. Russia want this really bad. RUSSIA TO WIN

FRANCE v ARGENTINA

Such a big game so early on. But to win the World Cup you’ve got to beat the biggies some time. France are angry at losing the Euro 2016 final in their own back yard. Argentina aren’t amazing. This will go to extra time though. Possibly penalties. FRANCE TO WIN

SPAIN v URUGUAY

Another classic match-up. Hard to call. Big names clashing all over the park. But Spain still has the edge. The quality. A new generation hungry to follow in the footsteps of the 2010 legends. Here’s where they start to write their own history. SPAIN TO WIN

CROATIA v PERU

Intriguing. Peru perhaps the biggest unknowns of my Predicted Round of 16 teams. The pressure will be on Croatia. Close to home. Closer to glory. They can see the lights of the quarter finals from here. But Peru are ultra relaxed. In glory land and loving it. Winning fans in Russia. And they take this to penalties. A pure lottery and pure is an anagram of the team that will come out on top. PERU TO WIN

Who Will Qualify From World Cup Group D?

The World Cup 2018 Group D teams

ARGENTINA

CROATIA

ICELAND

NIGERIA

Keep. Your. Money. In. Your Pocket. That’s my advice when it comes to this group. What a tough one to call. 

You would think Argentina would win it, but Messi never seems to have a great World Cup. Player for player, they edge their group mates and it would be a shocker for them to go out in the group stage. But, remember, they didn’t qualify for the 2018World Cup with any ease.

And as for the rest, any one of those could qualify.

Iceland will make friends all over Russia, not least for the passion of their fans. To call them underdogs does them an injustice. They were Euro 2016 quarter finalists, beating England along the way. No great feat, admittedly.

Croatia has quality players with international pedigree and I always tip them to do well in tournaments (I even predicted they would reach the Euro 2016 Final which did not happen).

And Nigeria are always a good team to watch, perhaps lacking the big name attacking players they used to have.

So how to call this. Look to the support. Geographically, Croatia are the nearest, Argentina the furthest. I’m going to go against the grain with my predictions on this one and hope the Croats justify me backing of them to win Group D! 

This one will be close though, with one, maybe two points separating the four teams.

MY World Cup 2018 GROUP D Predictions

1: CROATIA

2: ARGENTINA

3: Iceland

4: Nigeria