Football is Mathematics
UEFA Champions League 9
UEFA Europa League 18
UEFA Europa Conference League 18
Premier League 10
LaLiga 9
Bundesliga 9
Serie A 10
Ligue 1 9
Eredivisie 9
Liga Portugal 7
On June 14, the football fans will descend on Russia for the 2018 World Cup. Although there will be 32 teams competing at the tournament, the likelihood of some of the nations such as Saudi Arabia or Peru winning the Jules Rimet Trophy is slim.
Just eight teams have won the 20 World Cup tournaments that have been held. Will a new nation win it in 2018 or will a previous winner repeat?Let's look at five past winners who look likely of winning it again this year.
Germany
The reigning World Cup champions, Germany come into the tournament as the No. 1 ranked team. Germany is seriously stacked with talent at all positions except striker. The team is still reliant on Mario Gomez, but Joachim Low could turn to 22-year-old RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner for goals. Elsewhere on the pitch, Germany have talent at all positions. The team has so many good players, having a world-class No. 9 may not be that important.
Brazil
The No. 2 ranked team in the world, Brazil are aiming for their sixth World Cup win. Brazil's progression in the tournament really depends on Neymar. The team relies heavily on the Paris Saint-Germain forward. If he can stay fit in the tournament, Brazil should make it to the semifinals again. Brazil are loaded with attacking talent, but defensively they are suspect. Don't forget Germany's dismantling of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, 7-1, in the semifinals.
Argentina
Argentina struggled mightily in CONMEBOL qualifying and needed Lionel Messi to carry them through. Argentina are a wild card despite the obvious talent. The reason for their status as a wild card is due to the Jorge Sampaoli's team is extremely inconsistent. If the team can find a way in which Messi isn't totally reliant on Messi, Argentina have a great chance of winning the tournament.
France
When the World Cup kicks off in June, it will 20 years since France last won the tournament. France have a solid mixture of experienced players and young stars. The team's potential is through the roof, but some of the club's top stars – Paul Pogba – are not in form currently. The team's biggest weakness could be its defence. Otherwise, France's midfield, attack and goalkeeping are some of the strongest in Russia.
Spain
The winners of the 2010 World Cup, Spain are bringing through some exciting new players that weren't available during the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Julen Lopetegui's team still relies on experienced defenders Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique. Despite the age of both, Ramos and Pique can still perform at a high level. The midfield has equal amounts of youth and experience while the attack will rely on Diego Costa to get the goals. The 2018 World Cup in Russia should see Spain get past the group stage, which they didn't do last time around.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | |
| 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | |||
| 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | ||||||
| 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 |
| 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Mexico | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
2 |
South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
3 |
South Korea | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
4 |
Czech Republic | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Switzerland | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
2 |
Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
3 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
4 |
Qatar | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -8 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Brazil | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
2 |
Morocco | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
3 |
Scotland | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 |
4 |
Haiti | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -6 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
USA | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
2 |
Australia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
3 |
Paraguay | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 |
4 |
Türkiye | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Germany | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
2 |
Ivory Coast | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3 |
Ecuador | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
4 |
Curaçao | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -8 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
2 |
Japan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
3 |
Sweden | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
4 |
Tunisia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -10 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Belgium | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
2 |
Egypt | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
3 |
Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
4 |
New Zealand | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Spain | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
2 |
Cape Verde | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
Uruguay | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 |
4 |
Saudi Arabia | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -4 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
France | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
2 |
Norway | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
3 |
Senegal | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
4 |
Iraq | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -11 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Argentina | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
2 |
Austria | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
3 |
Algeria | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 |
4 |
Jordan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -5 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
Colombia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
2 |
Portugal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
3 |
DR Congo | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
4 |
Uzbekistan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -9 |
| OVERALL TABLE | |||||||
| OVERALL TABLE | PTS | GP | W | D | L | +/- | |
1 |
England | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
2 |
Croatia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
3 |
Ghana | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
4 |
Panama | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 |
Kashima Antlers are undefeated in 25 of their last 30 league games
Lugazi Municipal have achieved just 3 wins of their last 19 Premier League games
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League games
In Club Brugge's last 15 matches of Champions League, there have been over 2.5 goals scored
Necaxa W have lost their last 15 Liga MX Women games
Nara Club have won all of their last 6 matches in J3 League
Al Jeel have failed to score in their last 6 matches in 1st Division
In their 5 most recent games of J1 League, FC Tokyo have succeeded in keeping a clean sheet
Winterthur W have won by a margin of 2+ goals in 4 of their most recent matches of Nationalliga B Women
There have been 3 straight losses in HT/FT in USL League One for New York Cosmos
Ind Santa Fe are undefeated in 17 of their last 20 league games
Persebaya Surabaya are unbeaten in their last 11 Liga 1 games
Pachuca CF have achieved just 2 wins in their 11 most recent games in Liga MX
Zaqatala FK have seen over 2.5 goals in their last 9 games in I Liqa
Santos Laguna have won their last 5 matches in Liga MX
Baku Sporting have lost all of their last 5 matches in I Liqa
In all of their 3 most recent matches in UEFA Europa Conference League, Brighton have managed to keep a clean sheet
FK Kauno Zalgiris haven't scored a goal in all of their last 3 league matches
Monaco have managed to win at HT/FT their last 3 UEFA Europa Conference League games in a row
There have been 3 straight losses in HT/FT in Europa League for Celje
Chengdu Qianbao are unbeaten in 47 of their 56 most recent matches (Super League)
AEK are on a run of 30 consecutive undefeated matches in their domestic league
Köln have achieved just 3 wins in their 20 most recent games in Bundesliga
There have been over 2.5 goals in 12 of the latest 2. Liga matches of FC Liefering
Qingdao Jonoon have suffered 11 straight defeats in their most recent clashes in Super League
The team of Spezia have achieved 9 straight wins in Serie C
Tristán Suárez have managed to keep a clean sheet in their last 8 league games
Levadiakos haven't scored a goal in their last 8 league games
Sporting Cristal are on a run of 5 consecutive HT/FT wins in Primera División
Troyes have lost by 2+ goals all of their last 5 Ligue 1 games
Chengdu Qianbao are unbeaten in 47 of their 56 most recent matches (Super League)
AEK are on a run of 30 consecutive undefeated matches in their domestic league
Köln have achieved just 3 wins in their 20 most recent games in Bundesliga
In Club Brugge's last 15 matches of Champions League, there have been over 2.5 goals scored
Necaxa W have lost their last 15 Liga MX Women games
The New Saints have won their last 12 games in Premier
Tristán Suárez have managed to keep a clean sheet in their last 8 league games
Levadiakos haven't scored a goal in their last 8 league games
Samsunspor's most recent record consists of 6 straight half time/full time losses in Süper Lig
Sporting Cristal are on a run of 5 consecutive HT/FT wins in Primera División











