World Cup Predictions

[todd-parker]

A. Who's going to win? France

B. Will the U.S. make it out of the group stages? Yes, barely

[Rosthol]

Winner: Spain.

Does the US get out of the group? Yes.

[winonsports]

A. Who's going to win? France

B. Will the U.S. make it out of the group stages? Yes, barely

Barely ???

What's your W-L-D for the three group games to have USA finish third ?

[todd-parker]

Group D:

Turkey - 1 win, 2 ties = 5 pts.
USA - 3 ties = 3 pts.
Australia - 3 ties = 3 pts.
Paraguay - 1 loss, 2 ties = 2 pts.

Going to come down to fair play points or FIFA World Rankings.

[mjg]

If the US ends up with 3 draws then something went terribly wrong. The team is far from perfect but should do well enough to finish top or second in the group. Turkiye has a couple of good players but I'm not sure they are the proverbial dark horse this year, as they tend to be.

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

Turkiye has more than a couple of good players. Guler and Yildiz are bonafide stars only getting started with their careers. Calhanoglu is a proven horse in midfield (though like Yildiz is recovering from injury). Their other midfielder Kokcu who was at Benfica and then moved to Besiktas this season is a stalwart workhorse. Kadioglu at Brighton is a back who plays up and won the wing and a really dangerous attack option. They have multiple guys who can score who are looking to break out including Can uzun who is at Eintracht Frankfurt and Yunus Akgun. They are going to be a strong team for a long time given that everyone but Calhanoglu is under 25. Their weakness is in goal - just meh.

[mjg]

Turkiye has more than a couple of good players. Guler and Yildiz are bonafide stars only getting started with their careers. Calhanoglu is a proven horse in midfield (though like Yildiz is recovering from injury). Their other midfielder Kokcu who was at Benfica and then moved to Besiktas this season is a stalwart workhorse. Kadioglu at Brighton is a back who plays up and won the wing and a really dangerous attack option. They have multiple guys who can score who are looking to break out including Can uzun who is at Eintracht Frankfurt and Yunus Akgun. They are going to be a strong team for a long time given that everyone but Calhanoglu is under 25. Their weakness is in goal - just meh.

You mentioned the two guys that are threats and certainly provided the names of other players on the team. Agree to disagree what it means for potential success in this tournament. Do they get through to the next round? For sure. And they might beat the US but I think it will be a tight game.

[winonsports]

If the US ends up with 3 draws then something went terribly wrong. The team is far from perfect but should do well enough to finish top or second in the group. Turkiye has a couple of good players but I'm not sure they are the proverbial dark horse this year, as they tend to be.

Predicting three draws for the USA is definitely a "look at me" statement. The odds of that happening are 2%. USA are solid favorites vs Paraguay and Australia, as is Turkey vs Australia. Turkey USA is a toss up.

Group odds have USA as the favorite with Turkey as a close second

[WildBill]

USA 3-1 over Paraguay with goals by Pulisic, Balogun, and Pepi

USA 2-0 over Australia with goals by McKennie and Tillmon

USA ties Turkey 1-1 with a goal by Pulisic.

US wins Group D on goal differential.

US makes it to the quarterfinals, with Spain winning the World Cup.

[Rosthol]

I would be happy with a quarterfinal run.

Do something we haven't seen before.

Spain winning.

I could live with that

[winonsports]

USA 3-1 over Paraguay with goals by Pulisic, Balogun, and Pepi

USA 2-0 over Australia with goals by McKennie and Tillmon

USA ties Turkey 1-1 with a goal by Pulisic.

US wins Group D on goal differential.

US makes it to the quarterfinals, with Spain winning the World Cup.

If USA and Spain both win their group, then they could/will play in a quarterfinal in LA.

[Rosthol]

Spain would be a difficult draw.

But in the quarterfinals there won’t be any easy games.

[winonsports]

Group D:

Turkey - 1 win, 2 ties = 5 pts.
USA - 3 ties = 3 pts.
Australia - 3 ties = 3 pts.
Paraguay - 1 loss, 2 ties = 2 pts.

Going to come down to fair play points or FIFA World Rankings.

Goals scored comes before that. A 2-2 tie will mean more than 1-1

[Rosthol]

Hoping for a quarterfinal run.

[winonsports]

Turkiye has more than a couple of good players. Guler and Yildiz are bonafide stars only getting started with their careers. Calhanoglu is a proven horse in midfield (though like Yildiz is recovering from injury). Their other midfielder Kokcu who was at Benfica and then moved to Besiktas this season is a stalwart workhorse. Kadioglu at Brighton is a back who plays up and won the wing and a really dangerous attack option. They have multiple guys who can score who are looking to break out including Can uzun who is at Eintracht Frankfurt and Yunus Akgun. They are going to be a strong team for a long time given that everyone but Calhanoglu is under 25. Their weakness is in goal - just meh.

You mentioned the two guys that are threats and certainly provided the names of other players on the team. Agree to disagree what it means for potential success in this tournament. Do they get through to the next round? For sure. And they might beat the US but I think it will be a tight game.

He acts like the Americans don't have as much talent from Euro players

[Rosthol]

Need to get off to a good start.