Home -> Summer 1998 -> World Cup '98 Picks

What a Month

I plan to watch as many of the games as I possibly can. That may mean some extended lunches this summer.

For good coverage of the tournament, visit ESPN. You can also get a more European look at Final Whistle, which also lists a complete set of odds of winning the World Cup. That way you can see how far off some of my picks are.

First Round

Group A

Brazil
Scotland
Morocco
Norway

   Norway is a good sleeper team. Scotland has my sympathy after past failures, and Morocco has a great color scheme, but they aren't going to knock out Brazil.

Brazil, Norway

I got this right, even if I would have been happier if Morocco advanced.
Group B

Italy
Chile
Austria
Cameroon

   Austria came out of a weak group of European qualifying, and they have played poorly in recent friendly matches. Cameroon's organization is poor. Chile could sneak through.

Italy, Chile

Got this one. Forza Italia!

Group C

France
South Africa
Denmark
Saudi Arabia

   Home squad be damned, I don't like France's chances. This is a tough group and if I don't pick some upsets somewhere, I'll feel like a wimp. Bafana Bafana and the Arabian Horses will shock the tourney.

Saudi Arabia, South Africa

They didn't exactly shock anyone and France was not the chump team I thought they were.
Actual winners: France, Denmark

Group D

Nigeria
Paraguay
Bulgaria
Spain

   Spain has no history of World Cup success, Nigeria has no momentum, and Bulgaria has about as much youth and energy as a Rolling Stones tour. Sure Mick Jagger and Hristo Stoichkov may still be fun to watch, but they aren't who they used to be. So why not Paraguay and the self-declared world's best goalkeeper, Chilavert?

Paraguay, Spain

See, Spain were the real chumps of the tournament. They got a six goal performance, two games too late.
Actual winners: Nigeria, Paraguay

Group E

The Netherlands
Belgium
South Korea
Mexico

   I'm not trying to suck up, or anything, I just like the Dutch team. Mexico is unfortunately a mess going into this competition, and Belgium is as red hot as their red jerseys.

The Netherlands, Belgium

Mexico was more organized than I thought, and I was glad to see it.
Actual winners: The Netherlands, Mexico

Group F

Germany
USA
Yugoslavia
Iran

   I like Germany to take the whole thing, so now we need a runner-up. No one would be surprised if I picked the USA, my home-sweet-home team. Nor would it be a surprise to go with the extremely talented Yugoslavian team. Which is why I am going with Iran, whom I believe are being overlooked by the media and their group F opponents, at their peril.

Germany, Iran

Iran was underestimated, but the Yanks alone suffered because of it.
Actual winners: Germany, Yugoslavia

Group G

England
Tunisia
Romania
Colombia

   Well, somebody has to come out of this group.

England, Romania

Wrong order, right teams.
Actual winners: Romania, England

Group H

Argentina
Jamaica
Japan
Croatia

   What a fun group this could be. Jamaica could threaten to crash the next round, but I like Croatia even without injured striker Alan Boksic.

Argentina, Croatia

Got this one right.

1 July 1998 - So it looks like I picked 11 out of 16 correctly. That doesn't sound too bad, but I only got 8 out of 16 in the right order. So my round of 16 isn't real accurate, and I won't bother with comparisons.

Second Round

Assuming all those picks, here are the round of 16 match-ups, and my winners in red.

  1. Brazil vs. Chile

  2. Italy vs. Norway

  3. Saudi Arabia vs. Spain

  4. Paraguay vs. South Africa

  5. The Netherlands vs. Iran

  6. Germany vs. Belgium

  7. England vs. Croatia

  8. Argentina vs. Romania

Quarter Finals

Here are the Quarter Final picks that flow from above. Noticably absent are England, France. Surprisingly present (even to me) are South Africa and Spain. Again, winners in red.

1 July 1998 OK, so here my accuracy improves to 6 of 8. Moreover, those 6 are all in the correct spots. The places I have them wrong are in italics below.

  • Brazil vs. South Africa Denmark

  • Italy vs. Spain France

  • The Netherlands vs. Argentina

  • Germany vs. Croatia

  

The Golden Boot

The award for the player who scores the most goals. Ronaldo is a favorite, as are del Piero of Italy, Michael Owen of England, and Gabriel "Batigol" Batistuta of Argentina. I think Paraguay's Chilavert will manage to take a penalty or two as well, but my pick for the award is

Oliver Bierhoff, Germany
[Bierhoff photo] Bierhoff celebrates the Winner of the 1996 European Chamionship. A possible sign of things to come in July?

5 July 1998 - OK, so he doesn't come close to the Golden Boot. But man, can he throw an elbow!

Semi Finals

Even if you pick some crazy upsets, you always get to have the favorites standing at the end. Let's finish knocking them out the box.

Brazil vs. Argentina
Italy vs. Germany

5 July 1998 - I've never been so happy to be so wrong. All the reaining teams, Brazil, France, Holland, and Croatia, play an attacking style, and know how to score goals. OK, maybe the French can't finish, but they at least know how to set up plays.

Since Nina is from Zagreb, I'll be supporting Croatia. I also like the Dutch style, so I'll be pulling for them to reach the finals as well. That isn't just ass kissing, either.

Which brings us to the Finals.

Finals

Germany
defeats
Argentina

That would be the third meeting between these two countries in the World Cup Final. It also wouldn't be the first time a bunch of Germans got to sing "Deutschland Uber Alles" in the streets of Paris.

First Published: 7 June 1998
Last Updated: 5 July 1998
Go Ahead, Tell Me How Wrong I Am!