Group G, projected order of finish (top two, in bold, to advance):
Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras.
Comments:
Just about everyone who is not choosing Brazil to win it all is taking Spain, and it’s not a bad guess, though La Furia Roja have a history of coming up short on the big stage. Still, they are going to win this group, which is better than you might think.
I’m taking Chile to come second and thus to advance. They are entertaining, can play multiple styles, and are well coached. They came second to Brazil in Cup qualifying and they did so handily. But the Swiss are a top 20 team and it would not be any kind of surprise if Switzerland advances. Honduras plays an aggressive style of football that can be fun to watch, largely because while they may be overmatched in the group ththey could play a lot of 3-2 games.
And there you have it – bold predictions for the entirety of the group stages, most of which are sure to be wrong.
