World Cup 2022 - Round of 16 Predictions

Images are taken from the FIFA website/Facebook

The group stages have ended and I think this World Cup has been one of the most exciting tournaments to date because of all the upsets!

Earlier, I predicted the 16 teams that would make the Round of 16, let's see how good/bad my predictions were!

My earlier predictions can found in this post.

Group A
I predicted Netherlands and Ecuador. I only got Netherlands right and Ecuador disappointed. Credit to Senegal and it seemed that the African and Asia teams have done better in Qatar's climate this time. 1 out of 2.

Group B
I predicted England and Wales. Once again, I got the favourites right only so it's 1 out of 2 as well.

Group C
I predicted Mexico and Poland, partly because Argentina had already lost 1 match at time of writing. Argentina ended up winning the remaining matches to top the group. so I only got Poland right. 1 out of 2 as well.

Group D
I predicted France and Denmark. Got the favourites right again. Denmark was supposedly stronger on paper but they disappointed this time. 1 out of 2 as well (again!?).

Group E
I predicted Spain and Germany. What a dramatic end in the last round of matches, which saw 4 teams swapping positions in the table up to last minutes. Got Spain right so it's 1 out of 2.

Group F
I predicted Belgium and Croatia. Got Croatia right, and Belgium just had themselves to blame for underperforming. 1 out of 2 as well.

Group G
I predicted Brazil and Switzerland. I GOT BOTH TEAMS CORRECT!!! Finally! The two stronger teams did their job!

Group H
I predicted Portugal and Uruguay, Almost got both teams correct but was undone by a late goal from South Korea. So it's 1 out of 2.

Overall, I got 9 out of 16, with at least 1 team in all the group. Not too bad, considering the amount of upsets this time.

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Moving onto Round of 16!

So here's my predictions this time - let's hope I can do better!

1. Netherlands vs USA: This should be a straightforward match for Netherlands, which has been relatively steady this time. Netherlands to win.

2. Argentina vs Australia: Argentina can be erratic but I don't see Australia winning this because of the disparity in quality, and there's Lionel Messi. Argentina to come through comfortably.

3. France vs Poland: France are the one of the favourites to win the World Cup but this might be a tricky fixture. They need to do much better this time but they should scrape this through. France to progress.

4. England vs Senegal: The African teams have done well this tournament and I smell a potential upset here. In the spirit of upsets this World Cup, I would go with a Senegal win here.

5. Japan vs Croatia: Despite all the upsets from Japan, Croatia is the team that has the experience in big tournaments and they were the runners-up in the 2018 World Cup. They have came through a challenging group and I think their consistent quality should see them through to the quarterfinals. Croatia to win. Very sure on this.

6. Brazil vs South Korea: This would be the greatest upsets in this tournament if Brazil were to lose. It can't happening right? Haha. Brazil to win. Maybe some extra time or penalties for excitement? Lol!

7. Morocco vs Spain: I felt that Spain did a HUGE gamble to finish 2nd to avoid Croatia and potentially Brazil. After all, at least Morocco and Portugal are easier on paper. Still think Spain would be able to cope with Morocco and they will progress.

8. Portugal vs Switzerland: Portugal really need Cristiano Ronaldo to shine or they might fall to a tough Switzerland. Switzerland has been a steady team as far as I can recall and I feel that they have a good chance here. Sticking my neck to call for a Swiss victory here.

So that's all for my predictions! Let's revisit them after Round of 16 stage to see how many of them are correct!