Should we do some sort of prediction game?
Edit:
Ok, probably best keep it simple.
Fill in this: https://bracket26.com/builder
(Only the best 8 3rd placed teams go through. These are the only ones you have to select for 3rd place)
Share the link you get at the end.
1 point for each correct group winner
1 point for each correctly predicted 16th-finalist
2 points for each correctly predicted 8th-finalist
3 points for each correctly predicted quarterfinalist
5 points for each correctly predicted semifinalist
8 points for each correctly predicted finalist
13 points for correctly predicted winner
Deadline is start of the first game (thursday I think?)
Quote from: Glüc on June 07, 2026, 04:27:07 PMShould we do some sort of prediction game?
It would be one way for me to deal with the impact of the World Cup on my morning and afternoon commute...
Tim Payne (https://www.si.com/soccer/who-is-tim-payne-how-new-zealand-defender-became-world-cup-folk-hero)for golden boot
Lionel Messi for golden ball and for the third time 🟡
I don't know anything about soccer, but that's never stopped me before.
I for one am happy to report that, for the third edition in a row, my home country is boycotting a World Cup held in an authoritarian regime. (For a country so obsessed about football, we sure are rubbish at it lately. Luckily, I dislike both the game and the obsession, so I shall continue blissfully ignoring the plight of my compatriots.)
Mexico World Champion
https://theanalyst.com/articles/who-will-win-2026-fifa-world-cup-predictions-opta-supercomputer
Quote from: Sir Lüc on June 08, 2026, 10:01:59 AMI for one am happy to report that, for the third edition in a row, my home country is boycotting a World Cup held in an authoritarian regime. (For a country so obsessed about football, we sure are rubbish at it lately. Luckily, I dislike both the game and the obsession, so I shall continue blissfully ignoring the plight of my compatriots.)
Didn't Italy simply fail to qualify for the World Cup? I don't think that's a boycott unless you say they played badly so they didn't have to go? :-)
-Txec R
Quote from: King Txec on June 08, 2026, 11:41:29 AMQuote from: Sir Lüc on June 08, 2026, 10:01:59 AMI for one am happy to report that, for the third edition in a row, my home country is boycotting a World Cup held in an authoritarian regime. (For a country so obsessed about football, we sure are rubbish at it lately. Luckily, I dislike both the game and the obsession, so I shall continue blissfully ignoring the plight of my compatriots.)
Didn't Italy simply fail to qualify for the World Cup? I don't think that's a boycott unless you say they played badly so they didn't have to go? :-)
-Txec R
Duh, the decades long ineptitude and mismanagement in the Italian football federation is obviously all a long ploy to avoid Russia, Qatar and the US.
Ok, probably best keep it simple.
Fill in this: https://bracket26.com/builder
(Only the best 8 3rd placed teams go through. These are the only ones you have to select for 3rd place)
Share the link you get at the end.
1 point for each correct group winner
1 point for each correctly predicted 16th-finalist
2 points for each correctly predicted 8th-finalist
3 points for each correctly predicted quarterfinalist
5 points for each correctly predicted semifinalist
8 points for each correctly predicted finalist
13 points for correctly predicted winner
Deadline is start of the first game (thursday I think?)
Idk man. https://bracket26.com/b/3gT7NtOujW (https://bracket26.com/b/3gT7NtOujW)
https://bracket26.com/b/sR3yVLBWLM
https://bracket26.com/b/f1xQUttKmv
You guys seem to be underestimating the "local" factor for Canada and USA.
Quote from: Danihel Txechescu on June 08, 2026, 06:38:14 PMYou guys seem to be underestimating the "local" factor for Canada and USA.
Hmm, well I don't think USA would be the favourite against Argentina either way, home advantage or not. Maybe I underestimated Canada? We'll see I guess.
On the other hand, I gave Mexico the win over England, which may have been at least partly wishful thinking.
Anyway, looking forward to your prediction!
https://bracket26.com/b/P2hwOLWxk6
I'm rooting for Japan since I learned about their 100 Year Vision.
Mexico always makes it through the group stage but never past the 4th game.
Let's go Japaaaan.
They were training in my city the last few days!
Get your predictions in before the first game tomorrow!
My prediction is that the whole thing is now a farce due to the US regime using it as an excuse for sadistic racially-biased exclusion of refs, players, and support staff
https://bracket26.com/b/GT8lJm6vfd
https://bracket26.com/b/db5dU3c908
Allez les bleus !
I don't want to jinx it, but my bracket is looking surprisingly good!
I thought I could easily edit the bracket and make adjustments but that turned out not to be the case AT ALL. This was the base I planned to work on, but then couldn't really make any changes:
https://bracket26.com/b/oyUT87_byA
(Note it's dated before the start of the World Cup.)
I take no credit for that, as it's basically what the Opta Analyst guys said.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on June 20, 2026, 10:07:35 AMI don't want to jinx it, but my bracket is looking surprisingly good!
Heh, you're not wrong. You managed to get quite a few (what I thought were) surprising results correct. Well done. Still, early days.
By my (quick and potentially not very accurate) count we are on track for the following group stage point counts:
(min-max)
Lüc 22-41
Glüc 21-39
Braneu 22-43
AD 19-37
þerxh 24-43
Danihel (late entry) 23-42
Breneir 21-40
There are a lot more points to be earned in the knockout stage, which the group stage obviously has implications for, but I'm gonna wait until after the groupstage to do an update on that.
Quote from: Glüc on June 25, 2026, 08:03:14 AMBy my (quick and potentially not very accurate) count we are on track for the following group stage point counts:
(min-max)
Lüc 22-41
Glüc 21-39
Braneu 22-43
AD 19-37
þerxh 24-43
Danihel (late entry) 23-42
Breneir 21-40
There are a lot more points to be earned in the knockout stage, which the group stage obviously has implications for, but I'm gonna wait until after the groupstage to do an update on that.
Based on that range I didn't do as bad as I predicted.
Update before the final three groupstage games:
(min-max)
Lüc 32-38
Glüc 31-36
Braneu 32-39
AD 30-35
þerxh 35-42
Danihel 34-41
Breneir 39-35
Ive also had a look at the implications for the overall tournament:
(min-max)
Lüc 32-138
Glüc 33-126
Braneu 34-135
AD 32-128
þerxh 35-145
Danihel 34-142
Breneir 32-133
My max score took a bit of a hit because my two predicted finalists ended up on the same side of the bracket. þerxh is currently ahead but needs to hope Portugal beats Colombia tonight or he'll face the same problem.
Final groupstage points (groupwinners correct / round of 32 correct)
Lüc 35 (8 / 27)
Glüc 35 (7 / 28)
Braneu 35 (9 / 26)
AD 34 (10 / 24)
þerxh 37 (10 / 27)
Danihel 37 (11 / 26)
Breneir 35 (9 / 26)
Total score outlook
min-max
Lüc 35-132
Glüc 37-122
Braneu 39-128
AD 40-121
þerxh 41-119
Danihel 37-135
Breneir 39-117
Quote from: Glüc on June 27, 2026, 01:04:22 PMMy max score took a bit of a hit because my two predicted finalists ended up on the same side of the bracket. þerxh is currently ahead but needs to hope Portugal beats Colombia tonight or he'll face the same problem.
I face the same problem.. it was the 1st time I've wished victory for Portugal!
Actually rather surprising that only two people seem to have had Germany advancing past France (also I just noticed the title of Gluc's bracket, lol).
I will never understand why the Dutch team didn't play like they were 1 goal behind in extended time. Morocco looked pretty dangerous, so they could have lost, but they ALWAYS lose on penalties. It's really not a 50/50 thing for the Netherlands...
Oh well, I prefer watching cycling anyway. Go register now for TCAT leg 2 (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5334.0)everyone!!!
Updated outlook:
min-max
Lüc 39-130
Glüc 41-120
Braneu 41-126
AD 44-116
þerxh 45-115
Danihel 39-128
Breneir 43-115
Quote from: Glüc on June 30, 2026, 05:14:31 AMI will never understand why the Dutch team didn't play like they were 1 goal behind in extended time.
Morocco had *a lot* of local support. Or, put it differently, Netherlands was booed heavily by Mexican fans (this match was played in my city, btw). Twelve years on, we still remember: NO ERA PENAL (https://sbpress.com/2021/01/no-era-penal-a-deep-dive-into-arjen-robbens-infamous-penalty-against-mexico/).
I tend to root for the underdog and I have been informed this will make it quite easy to root for Canada in Saturday's match against Morocco.
Updated outlook:
min-max
Lüc 49-128
Glüc 51-120
Braneu 49-126
AD 48-116
þerxh 53-115
Danihel 51-128
Breneir 51-102
Points scored in Round of 32
Lüc 26
Glüc 26
Braneu 24
AD 18
þerxh 24
Danihel 24
Breneir 24
Outlook (all rounds):
min-max
Lüc 64-128
Glüc 64-120
Braneu 62-126
AD 52-114
þerxh 64-115
Danihel 64-128
Breneir 59-100
Updated outlook:
Outlook (all rounds):
min-max
Lüc 76-128
Glüc 67-109
Braneu 68-97
AD 52-87
þerxh 70-107
Danihel 70-125
Breneir 68-97
Lüc's prediction is starting to look really good. If we get a semifinal between Spain and France that may well decided whether Lüc or Danihel wins.
Sidenote: corruption in football isn't a new, but the way FIFA is currently rigging the tournament in favour of the US at the request of orange dictator guy is really quite something else.
Quote from: Glüc on July 06, 2026, 06:24:35 AMSidenote: corruption in football isn't a new, but the way FIFA is currently rigging the tournament in favour of the US at the request of orange dictator guy is really quite something else.
Yes... a lot of even people I normally like are saying stuff like, "FIFA is always corrupt." But that kind of callow cynicism is always the problem with American politics! We must demand better!
We're still waiting for penalties between Colombia and Switzerland, but that won't actually affect the score for this round, which is as follows:
Points scored in Round of 16
Lüc 18
Glüc 12
Braneu 12
AD 6
þerxh 12
Danihel 15
Breneir 15
Overall score so far:
Lüc 79
Glüc 73
Braneu 71
AD 58
þerxh 73
Danihel 76
Breneir 74
This round turned out to be pretty decisive. At least for AD, who has no predicted semifinalists left, so 58 will actually be his final score. Because of the way the teams interact however it is also no longer possible for myself, Braneu or þerxh to win. It really comes down now to whether Spain makes it to the final, in which case Danihels Opta-based prediction wins. In almost every other case Lüc wins, except there is one particular scenario where the winner is a tie.'
Outlook (all rounds):
min-max
Lüc 79-128
Glüc 73-109
Braneu 71-94
AD 58
þerxh 73-104
Danihel 76-125
Breneir 74-97
Okay, I will admit that my chances are no longer looking very good.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very interested in the possible tie scenario. (I'm inclined to root for a chaotically close outcome...)
In the meantime, for my coworkers, I guess it's Go Spain?
Updated outlook:
(all rounds)
min-max
Lüc 89-128
Glüc 91-109
Braneu 81-94
AD 58
þerxh 83-104
Danihel 86-125
Breneir 79-92
The tie scenario is impossible now. Funnily enough Im currently at the highest minimum score, but that's only because I have both France and Spain in the final, but at least one of Lüc or Danihel will pass me, depending on whether France or Spain makes it to the final. The semifinal between them will therefore essentially be the final of the prediction game.
In 2030, I would like to give two predictions: One before the start of the World Cup and another as soon as the group phase is wrapped up.
During the first matches, it became clear to me that France was going to be World Champion. I'm with Lüc on this one, except I believe the final game will be France vs Norway.
Quote from: Danihel Txechescu on July 10, 2026, 06:13:01 PMIn 2030, I would like to give two predictions: One before the start of the World Cup and another as soon as the group phase is wrapped up.
During the first matches, it became clear to me that France was going to be World Champion. I'm with Lüc on this one, except I believe the final game will be France vs Norway.
I also would like to make my predictions after a bunch of the matches have been played. I think I definitely would have done better if I knew how some of them turned out.
Yeah thats fair. I wanted to make it as easy as possible to participate, but obviously predictions will change throughout a tournament and maybe it is more engaging to do multiple prediction rounds.
Points scored in quarterfinals
Lüc 20
Glüc 15
Braneu 15
AD 0
þerxh 10
Danihel 20
Breneir 10
Overall score so far:
Lüc 99
Glüc 88
Braneu 86
AD 58
þerxh 83
Danihel 96
Breneir 84
Potential Top 3s:
1. France beats Argentina in the Final
1. Lüc 128 points
2. Glüc 109 points
3. Danihel/þerxh 104 points
2. Argentina beats France in the final
1. Lüc 115 points
2. Danihel 104 points
3. Glüc 96 points
3. France beats England in the final
1. Lüc 120 points
2. Glüc 109 points
3. þerxh 104 points
4. England beats France in the final
1. Lüc 120 points
2. Glüc/Danihel 96 points
5. Spain beats Argentina in the final
1. Danihel 125 points
2. Lüc 107 points
3. Glüc 96 points
6. Argentina beats Spain in the final
1. Danihel 112 points
2. Lüc 107 points
3. Glüc 96 points
7. Spain beats England in the final
1. Danihel 117 points
2. Lüc 99 points
3. Glüc 96 points
8. England beats Spain in the final
1. Danihel 104 points
2. Lüc 99 points
3. Glüc 96 points
Well, congrats Dan! Seems like France could not accept an Italian rooting for them, and promptly folded.
FINAL UPDATE
Points scored in semifinals
Lüc 8
Glüc 8
Braneu 0
AD 0
þerxh 0
Danihel 16
Breneir 0
Points scored in final
Lüc 0
Glüc 0
Braneu 0
AD 0
þerxh 0
Danihel 13
Breneir 0
Not only did Danihel get the winner right, he also got both finalists correct, resulting in the following final score:
Danihel 125
Lüc 107
Glüc 96
Braneu 86
Breneir 84
þerxh 83
AD 58
Congrats Danihel!
And congrats to Spain of course. Conceding only a single goal for the whole tournament makes them the deserved winners. Not one of the teams I rooted for from the start, but Im happy they won over Argentina.