FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers: Predictions

While I hate how the World Cup was awarded to Qatar on so many levels, it is hard not get excited about the fact that the world's biggest sporting event is only a year away. As I am a follower of the Premier League and Champions League who also follows the progress of La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue Un, my footballing knowledge is rather Eurocentric. In this list I am going to be looking at the European qualifiers and guessing the order that the groups will end in. Let's go!

Group A:

Portugal

Serbia

Ireland 

Azerbaijan

Luxembourg

It was basically a tussle between Serbia and Ireland for 2nd and Azerbaijan and Luxembourg not to come last. In the end I let the first two group matches decide who went where. Serbia took the three points at home against Ireland and fielded, in my opinion, a stronger team. While Azerbaijan lost to Portugal, they were no push-overs and I felt that, despite one mistake, the Azerbaijani goalkeeper (Sahruddin Mammadaliyev) displayed brilliant ability worthy of a man-of-the-match award.

Group B:

Spain 

Sweden

Greece

Georgia 

Kosovo

Yet again, it is an obvious winner with two nations who are duking it out for second and the other two just hoping to avoid the embarrassment of coming last. Sweden's best players are on of a slightly different caliber to Greece, fielding the likes of Robin Olsen, Victor Lindelöf and, of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who recently returned from international retirement. Then I decided to go with Georgia because I had actually heard that they had a national team.

Group C:

Italy

Switzerland

Northern Ireland

Bulgaria

Lithuania

Another obvious winner. This is getting ridiculous! I think Switzerland will scrape second with Xhaka, Shaqiri and most of all Sommer helping them limp their way into World Cup contention. Then Northern Ireland, who frequently punch above their weight, will be led into third by Johnny Evans, a player I have always liked. Bulgaria will be unlucky to get fourth, only a few points off second, and Lithuania will plummet to a pathetic last-place finish.

Group D:

France

Ukraine

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Finland 

Kazakhstan

France and Ukraine will annihilate everyone and easily secure top two, with Bosnia and Herzegovina (their two best players both being well over 30), Finland and Kazakhstan unconvincingly taking up the final three positions. Nothing much to say here.

Group E:

Belgium

Wales 

Czech Republic

Belarus 

Estonia

Belgium, Wales and the Czech Republic mean that this might just be the best group yet despite containing a team that cannot beat Honduras and another that lost 2-6 in their most recent match at home. So yeah, the top three will have a fierce battle for the best spots, while the final two will attempt not to lose by ten goals or come last (no doubt both undesirable feats will be achieved).

Group F:

Denmark

Scotland

Austria

Israel

Moldova 

Faroe Islands

With none of the World Cup favorites in the group, surprises could likely happen. However, I think Denmark are the clear favorite, with a strong team in all positions, especially when it comes to the goalkeeper (Kasper Schmeichel) when compared to the other teams. Scotland and Austria both have good players, both having fair defenses, and Israel also aren't bad. The less said about Moldova and the Faroe Islands, the better.

Group G:

Netherlands

Turkey

Norway

Montenegro

Latvia 

Gibraltar

A fearsome fight for top three, and a just-as-fearsome one with the bottom three, I think this is possibly the most up-in-the-air group, as the winner could be any one of the top three nations. I would, however, tip Norway for victory even without their talisman, Virgil van Dijk. I would also tip Turkey's deep squad to push into second.

Group H:

Croatia

Russia

Slovenia

Slovakia

Cyprus

Malta

Really a terrible group, you would have to tip an aged Croatia or possibly up-and-coming Russia to win the group. Slovenia have already beaten Croatia, so if they continue with similar form a third-place should be pretty achievable. Then I guess Slovakia, with an away draw already, Cyprus with a home draw and finally Malta who are still sitting on zero points.

Group I:

England

Poland

Hungary

Albania

Andorra 

San Marino

The top three are basically set in stone, and I would tip Robert Lewandowski and his attacking Poland to just edge out Hungary's Péter Gulácsi and his defense. Albania in fourth, and then I guess Andorra, followed by San Marino.

Group J:

Germany

Romania

Iceland

Armenia

Liechtenstein

North Macedonia

Germany should win the group, and then I would tip a young Romania to come second over the aged Iceland golden generation. Let's say the final three will be Armenia, Liechtenstein and North Macedonia respectively. Rather anticlimactic.

Thanks for coming back to view another awesome (if I do say so myself) blog post. I hope you all enjoyed, and if you did please consider subscribing to and sharing my blog. I hope you have a wonderful rest-of-your-day and I will see you next time. Noah ;P