5 8 W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M W W W . S H O R T L I S T .

C O M 5 9
W O R L D C U P P R E D I C T I O N S

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1. IT WILL BE
A CARNIVAL
JohnBarnes:
As soonas the
WorldCupstarts,
theentirenation
andwholeworldwill get
behindit. Andof course
thecolour, therevelry and
theexcitement that Brazil
encapsulates it means
its goingtobeabsolutely
fantastic. BeforetheWorld
Cup, fromapolitical and
mediaperspective, Fifa
andtheorganisers are
goingtoget alot of stick,
but onceeveryonegets
thereandthefootball
starts, expect areal
carnival atmosphere.
2. MESSI WILL
BE FIRED-UP
Matt LeTissier:
Lionel Messi has
somethingtoprove
onthe WorldCup
stage. If he wants tobe
consideredonthe same level
as Maradona andPel, hes got
tohave a strongWorldCupand
leadhis teamtowin. Until Messi
really shines there, people will
always ask the question is
he really at that level?
4. SOMEONE WILL
DO A GREECE
AND WIN
AdrianChiles:
It couldbetheyear
of theunderdog its
never happened
at aWorldCup. Its happened
at theEuros andthe
Champions League. I think
someonemight findaway
of gettingabit lucky, winning
agameonpenalties andall
of asuddentheyreinthefinal.
Think Belgiumor Chile.
6. ROONEY WILL
FINALLY TURN UP
Roy Keane: Waynes a
topplayer, but Imsure
hedbe disappointed
withsome of his
Englandperformances.
Hes hada fewniggly
problems for a monthor
two, but his forms been
decent, andEngland
needhimfiringon
all cylinders. There
is a lot of pressure
onhim, but
hes usedto
that.
3. SPAINS REIGN
WILL BE OVER
Jeff Stelling: I think
thegoldeneraof
Spanishfootball is
showingsigns of
edgingtowards its conclusion.
Imnot sayingthey haveabad
sideor anything, but at the
Confederations Cupthey got
wallopedinSouthAmerica,
andI think wereseeinga
slight declineinterms of their
national team. Theyreall
gettingalittlebit older, and
Imnot suretheyoungsters
areof thesamequality.
NYMPHOMANIAC FILM
POSTER: THE REJECTS
WAIT, GUYS, THATS
NOT SIMBA
WHO SAID IM SHRINKING?
RIGHT, WHAT DID
KEANU REEVES DO
FROM HERE?
YES, ITS MY TROPHY WIFE
5. ENGLANDS
HARDEST GAME
WILL BE URUGUAY
Gus Poyet: Uruguay
havesomething
different weget
together for amonth
beforeatournament and
becomeaproper groupof
players. That monthtraining,
living, knowingeachother
brings somethingspecial. Its
theway welivefootball, we
learnfootball. Wedietoplay
for thenational team.
W O R L D C U P P R E D I C T I O N S
7. FLEDGLINGS
WILL SHINE
Gordon Strachan:
The preparation
will take their breath
away the build-up
and intense media scrutiny
might be different. But
sometimes you come down a
level for your country. If youre
playing Chelsea or Man City,
they have the best players in
the world; in an international
you could play Lithuania.
11. RONALDO
WONT WIN IT
FOR PORTUGAL
Marcel Desailly:
When you talk about
Portugal for this
World Cup, you think
about Cristiano Ronaldo. But
youre not capable of bringing
out other names. Yes, he is the
years top player, [winning the]
Ballon dOr, but is it enough?
Im not sure. They had to beat
Sweden in a qualifying play-off
and [in the] last minute
Ronaldo made the difference,
but Im not sure you can count
on only one man. It is not yet
the time for Portugal.
8. ESPECIALLY
RAHEEM
STERLING
Matt Smith: Hes
had a great season
and is maturing into
a pacy, talented,
confident young man. I think he
can beat a man in a telephone
box, he has an eye for goal as
weve seen recently, plus hes
the youngest probable starter
at 19 years of age. Thats a good
thing. I think at 19 youre not
burdened by fear.
14. ENGLANDS
PENALTY CURSE
WILL BE LIFTED
Matt Le Tissier: In
World Cups there are
games that are very
tight, but if it goes to
penalties we have people in
our squad who are very good
penalty-takers, and down the
years, we havent. So going
into this World Cup, I actually
feel a lot more confident than
any of the previous ones.
15. A PREMIER
LEAGUE TEAM
WILL SIGN A
RUBBISH PLAYER
Jeff Stelling:
Plenty of players
have been bought
off the back of World
Cup tournaments that have
turned out to be disasters,
so every club has got to be
wary. But theres always
somebody. Every World Cup
somebody comes through
youve barely heard of and
makes an impact. Whether
they continue to make an
impact after a World Cup is
another issue. Ask me who
they are now and I couldnt
name one, but therell be
at least one player who
will make their name
in Brazil.
12. EVEN NON-
FOOTBALL FANS
WILL WATCH IT
Adrian Chiles:
What I like about
the World Cup is
that non-England
fans watch it. If we get to the
quarter-final, well probably have
25 million people watching on
ITV. Normally well get seven
or 10 million watching, so thats
15 million people who dont
normally watch football, and
I like that they suffer.
Jeff Stelling, Matt Le Tissier, Paul Merson: Keep up to date with all the latest news and analysis throughout the World Cup on
Sky Sports News. Adrian Chiles, Andy Townsend, Roy Keane, Gordon Strachan, Matt Smith, Gus Poyet: Catch live World Cup
games throughout the tournament on ITV and ITV Player. Pat Nevin: Pat Nevin is a BBC 5 live pundit. John Barnes: England
legend John Barnes is lending his support to YO! Sushis #TEAMTWO campaign, asking the nation to get behind Japan as their
second team for a chance to win 1m should they triumph. Marcel Desailly: Marcel Desailly is a Laureus Academy Member,
promoting the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. For more information please visit laureus.com
9. THERE WILL
BE MORE GOALS
Andy Townsend:
I dont think Ive ever
seen such a collection
of strikers, in any
tournament Ive worked
on, at their peak, and
that bodes well. Itll be
a shame if Falcao isnt
fit, and its early
days for Neymar,
but with Messi,
Aguero, Rooney,
Balotelli, Sanchez
you
could
go on.
13. ENGLAND WILL DO
BETTER THAN YOU THINK
Paul Merson: I cant understand
people saying this is a bad group for
England. Italy are an aging team if
we get a man on Pirlo and stop him
from playing, I dont see where theyll hurt
us. Uruguay have Suarez and Cavani, but
Cavanis not setting the world alight. Then
theres Costa Rica. If we win the group,
it opens it up for us.
10. NEYMAR WILL LIKE BEING HOME
Pat Nevin: Hes the most talented footballer in the
world. I wouldnt say hes the best, but for raw skill
and ability, Neymars the most talented, which is
saying something when you have Ronaldo, Bale
and Messi. To do that regularly you need to be the main man.
Hes not the main man in Barca, but theres a lot of pressure
on him in Brazil they expect him to do it for them.
HANDS-FREE WATER BOTTLE:
NEEDS WORK
OH! IS THAT A SHINY?
MAYBE IM NOT CUT OUT
FOR PILATES
NEED!
WERE SORRY TO
ANNOUNCE A SEVERE
OUTBREAK OF HEADLICE
BIG FISH, LITTLE FISH
FREE HAIR WAX? WHERE?
THERES NO RULE AGAINST
TELEKINESIS, RIGHT?
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