A Challenge view on the World Cup 2018 Draw
Every 4 years the whole country comes to a stand still, the hope, the excitement, and the ever growing twinge of optimism that says “this could this be our year”, 52 years of hurt for the English fans, dying to see the famous Football Trophy lifted by the 3 Lions. In this blog we will look at the draw, England’s’ potential path to the final and who we fancy at Challenge Towers to lift the cup!
Who is in England’s Group and should we expect to qualify?
As second seeds, there was every chance we could of been drawn against one of the big 4 (Germany, Brazil, France and Spain), thankfully the gods were kind and we have drawn Belgium, Tunisia and Panama. This is not to say it will be an easy group by any means, Belgium, the number 1 seed, cruised to victory in their group averaging a staggering 4.3 goals per game, whilst only dropping points to group runners up Greece in a 1-1 draw. Whilst both Tunisia and World Cup New boys Panama also will be looking to cause an upset with strong squads, England should hope to beat both sides in their first two games to have essentially what should be (with England you never know!), a play-off for first place in the group.
England’s Potential Path to the Final
Should qualification go by World Rankings, here is how our tournament will shape up!
LAST 16
Tuesday, July 3: Poland v England (Moscow) 7pm
QUARTER-FINALS
Saturday, July 7: Germany v England (Samara) 3pm
SEMI-FINALS
Wednesday, July 11: Argentina v England (Moscow) 7pm
FINAL
Sunday, July 15: England v Portugal (Moscow) 4pm
So..not too shabby, we could have potentially easier fixtures, as there will always be odd upset on the way too, but that is about as much as I can tell you so far…keep reading below to see who looks likely to go all the way in the eyes of our team members!
Challenge Trophies Favourites and Dark Horses!
Neil: France (6/1) and Croatia (33/1)
Charlie: France (6/1) and Mexico (66/1)
Ben: Spain (7/1) and Nigeria (200/1)
Who do you think will win the World Cup? Will England finally deliver on their potential? Or will Gareth Southgates men fail once more? Leave a comment below.