A Final World Cup Prediction

Brazil loses to Morocco in their first game in the group stage, but takes revenge against them in the final to take home its sixth World Cup trophy.

I've changed my mind about my World Cup prediction that I made the other day. Some questions have crept in. 

And when in doubt about who will win the World Cup you always have to fall back on Brazil. They're always the safe option to go far in the tournament.

But they're actually not the safe option this time around so I like them even more to win it.

I think Portugal's time to lift the trophy will come after Ronaldo finally retires. And as for the Netherlands, I just can't trust a team that lacks a true striker. 

I really want to believe in Portugal and the Netherlands because they're two football powerhouses that deserve to claim the world's greatest prize. They have the midfield and defense to compete with the best teams, and their attacking players are good enough to finish their chances in tight games during the knockout rounds. They also have good goalkeepers who can save them if their games go to penalties. So, as far as weaknesses go, there isn't that many to speak of. 

But, as always, there will be a few shocks that will turn brackets upside down and create new possibilities for teams to advance.

In my new tournament bracket I have Brazil knocking out the Netherlands on penalties in the round of 32 after finishing second in their group behind Morocco. 

That would open up the path for both teams to meet again in the final where Brazil will have learned its lesson and get the better of Morocco the second time around.

If it all goes according to my prediction they each will have to beat a couple of giants in the later stages of the tournament, with Brazil coming up against Germany and Spain in successive matches, and Morocco likely to face England and Portugal on their side of the bracket. 

The odds are stacked against them. Their paths will be difficult. For Brazil there will be redemption against Germany. And then glory.

I like the thought of Brazil winning the World Cup right after Argentina won it to reclaim its natural position in the footballing hierarchy. 

And Morocco has a lot of positive momentum. Teams that have made semi-final and final appearances in recent tournaments carry belief with them into the next one. It's a natural progression. So they're not a sleeper pick by any means. 

This will be my last World Cup post. This is my final prediction. I hope Haiti or Scotland don't go and screw it up and somehow send Brazil home early.

World Cup Thoughts On The Hosts, And A Few Favourites

 

On Mexico:

Host nation bump. Fifth game curse. There are many narratives surrounding the Mexican national football team. Their group is sneaky tough but very manageable, especially with the home crowd factor in their favour. 

When South Africa failed to make it out of the group stage as a host nation in 2010 they were in a group with Uruguay and France. So Mexico got lucky here. 

South Korea and Czechia are strong opponents but beatable. They each will give the home side a good fight. Mexico will be battle tested for the knockout rounds. I have a good feeling Mexico makes it to the round of 16 this summer, where they will possibly face England. And anything can happen in a knockout game.

On USA:

The U.S. also finds itself in a very tricky group, with two particularly nasty opponents in Paraguay and Australia. These guys will claw and scratch their way to a tie or even manage to score a late winner after defending their guts out for ninety minutes. They're not fun to play against. Then you have a Turkish team that plays with youthful exuberance and enthusiasm. They have a lot of talent who have an eye for goal.

I don't like the chances of America finishing 1st or 2nd in this group. That first game against Paraguay will tell us a lot. I could see Paraguay fight their way to a couple of draws and finish with five points after winning their final game against Australia with an extra time set piece header. I think Turkey will come 1st and USA third, most likely setting up a game with one of the favourites in the first knockout round.

On Canada:

I also see Canada finishing 3rd in their group, with a good chance of making the knockout round, where they will come up against either Turkey or America, depending on who finishes first in that group. I just think Switzerland and Bosnia are too good and too experienced, with powerful veteran strikers that Canada's backline won't be able to contain.

Bosnia made the World Cup the hard way. They have momentum on their side after defeating Italy in the final European playoff game. A win like that gives a team tremendous belief, which is critical in a short tournament. I expect them to make it to the round of 16. After denying Italy a spot it would be a shame to see them fizzle out and not even advance past the group stage.

And I want Canada to finish 3rd because I'm hoping for a U.S-Canada game in the round of 32. I think it will be one of the more exciting and open-ended games we will see this summer. But it'll most likely be Turkey vs. Canada. And who knows, Turkey could enter that game with an arrogant attitude and slip up. They've been absent from the World Cup for 24 years so they have a lot to prove. Canada could still claim a big knockout victory after finishing third in their group. 

On Portugal and Netherlands:

To win the World Cup you need a combination of health, squad depth, a strong midfield and defense, team cohesion, balance throughout the lineup, a desire to win, a selfish striker, young talented players looking to make a name, a good track record in recent tournaments, and a bit of luck. 

After looking at the rosters of all the favourites to win the tournament I landed on Portugal and the Netherlands as the teams best fitting that description. Portugal has the best midfield of all the countries and the Netherlands has the best defense, with guys with a nose for goal from all over the field. 

Netherlands has a weak striker, but in a World Cup you need players who can score from every position and the Netherlands have that. In the last World Cup they lost on penalties in the Quarter finals to the eventual winners and in the 2024 Euros they made it to the Semis. So they can taste it. They've been close to the finish line. They'll have the hunger to win. And Portugal will too because of the Ronaldo factor. The whole team will play harder to get him that trophy. 

Brazil, France, and Spain will threaten, they will dominate throughout the tournament, but I really think this year we will see a first time winner of the World Cup. 

Törni

 

"My maxim was, la carrière est ouverte aux talents, without distinction of birth or fortune." - Napoleon.

Some men are born soldiers. Most are not. 

The best armies identify inborn talent and natural ability, and elevate individuals possessed with the hunger for war.

The age of mass armies produced millions of casualties because military training, advanced equipment, emotional state propaganda, and scientific management can not turn regular individuals into warriors overnight. Good soldiers aren't made in a lab.

The mass conscription going on in Ukraine currently goes against all military logic, human nature, religion, natural law, tradition, everything. It is evil. 

It's not an easy decision to choose to be a warrior and to sacrifice your life for a greater cause. But it must be a willing choice. Otherwise you're just a slave heading to a pointless slaughter. 

A lot of Ukrainians are suffering this fate. The war with Russia is a contrived spectacle that should have never been waged. Ukraine was not being invaded. The Russian threat was exaggerated. Painful memories of past Russian transgressions were conjured up by the Neocons and the fools in Washington to get that country in a war frenzy. Those war criminals must ultimately be hanged for their crimes. They sent a generation of Ukrainians to early graves for nothing.

When war is necessary you don't need to drag men out of their homes. In Finland during WWII a man like Törni didn't need to be prodded to fight. And once he discovered that he was extremely good at it there was no holding him back from killing as many Soviets as he could. 

But he was one of a kind. With drones and AI now dominating the battlefield the likes of Törni will never be seen again. 

II.

Wikipedia:

Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Alan Thorne, was a Finnish-born soldier who fought under three countries: as a Finnish Army officer in the Winter War and the Continuation War ultimately gaining a rank of captain; as a Waffen-SS captain (under the alias Larry Laine) of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS when he fought the Red Army on the Eastern Front in World War II; and as a United States Army Major (under the alias "Larry Thorne") when he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War.

Video Title: Lauri Torni Biography Part 1: Soldier of Three Armies. Source: Forgotten Weapons. Date Published: October 3, 2025.

The One Percent World Cup

FIFA destroyed what was supposed to be a magical tournament and a global celebration of the beautiful game. 

I hope we don't see empty stadiums, but there's a high likelihood there will be a lot of empty seats.

An excerpt from, "World Cup matches in Toronto still aren't sold out. But fans are facing high costs" CBC, May 29, 2026:

Would you rather buy a ticket to a World Cup match or pay a month’s rent at a condo near BMO Field?

With two weeks until kick-off and thousands of tickets still available for the six matches Toronto is hosting, many of the city’s soccer fans appear to be giving a definitive answer.

An excerpt from, "New York and New Jersey subpoena Fifa over ‘manipulated’ World Cup ticketing" The Guardian, May 27, 2026:

The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have launched an investigation into Fifa’s ticketing practices around the 2026 World Cup, focusing specifically on the matches due to take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The investigation, announced Wednesday by New York’s Letitia James and New Jersey’s Jennifer Davenport, centers on fans who say they were misled about the location of the seats and on claims that Fifa’s own public messaging around tickets has contributed to the inflated prices seen throughout the tournament.

A Fifa spokesperson declined to comment.

An excerpt from, "Should Canada investigate World Cup ticket pricing alongside U.S.?" Global News, May 29, 2026:

As concerns grow about pricey World Cup tickets, two American attorneys general have announced they plan to probe “a range of issues that have arisen with FIFA’s ticketing process.”

This includes dynamic pricing that’s driven the cost of the most in-demand tickets to five figures.

On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport released a joint announcement that they’re subpoenaing documents from FIFA regarding its pricing practices for matches at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

An excerpt from, "FIFA's World Cup ticket sales outraged fans. Now they are under investigation" NPR, May 28, 2026:

Ticket prices for this tournament aren't just much higher than previous World Cups. For the first time, FIFA has introduced dynamic pricing, leading to sharply higher prices for many World Cup games.

. . .A clear example is for the final match, set to take place in New Jersey on July 19. FIFA initially sold the most expensive tickets at $6,730 — already much higher than the about $1,600 price for the most expensive tickets for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

By its latest sales windows starting in April, the same category of tickets cost $10,990.

 . . .The prices have sparked widespread outrage — and drawn wide scrutiny on FIFA. Even President Trump, who has established a close relationship with Infantino, told the New York Post he wouldn't pay the roughly $1,000 for nosebleed seats for the U.S. opening game against Paraguay next month.

Compounding the problem, FIFA back in April also unveiled an entirely new category of tickets called "Front Category" seats, offering front row seats across the stadium, that were priced even more expensively.

 

Foch

 

Wikipedia:

Ferdinand Foch (October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front during the First World War in 1918.

. . .Foch was later acclaimed as "the most original military thinker of his generation". He was a disciple of Napoleon, and made use of the lessons taught by Moltke. He became known for his critical analyses of the Franco-Prussian and Napoleonic campaigns and of their relevance to military operations in the new twentieth century. His re-examination of France's defeat in 1870 was among the first of its kind. At the college, Foch was a professor of military history, strategy, and general tactics while becoming the French theorist on offensive strategies. He also employed mathematical terms in his lectures.

During his time as an instructor, Foch created renewed interest in French military history, inspired confidence in a new class of French officers, and brought about "the intellectual and moral regeneration of the French Army". His thinking on military doctrine was shaped by the Clausewitzian philosophy, then uncommon in France, that "the will to conquer is the first condition of victory." Collections of his lectures, which reintroduced the concept of the offensive to French military theory, were published in the volumes "Des Principes de la Guerre" ("On the Principles of War") in 1903, and "De la Conduite de la Guerre" ("On the Conduct of War") in 1904. Both "thought" and "will" were the key words of these teachings. While Foch advised "qualification and discernment" in military strategy and cautioned that "recklessness in attack could lead to prohibitive losses and ultimate failure", his concepts, distorted and misunderstood by contemporaries, became associated with the extreme offensive doctrines (l' offensive à outrance) of his successors. The cult of the offensive came to dominate military circles, and Foch's reputation was damaged when his books were cited in the development of the disastrous offensives that brought France close to ruin and the army to mutiny in 1917.

Foch was seen as a master of the Napoleonic school of military thought, but he was the only one of the Military College Commandants (Maillard, Langlois, Bonnal) still serving. Their doctrines had been challenged, not only by the German school, but also since about 1911 by a new French school inspired by General Loiseau de Grandmaison, which criticised them as lacking in vigour and offensive spirit and contributing to needless dispersion of force. The French Army fought under the new doctrines, but they failed in the first battles of August 1914, and it remained to be seen whether the Napoleonic doctrine would hold its own, would give way to doctrines evolved during the war, or would incorporate the new moral and technical elements into a new outward form within which the spirit of Napoleon remained unaltered. The war gave an ambiguous answer to these questions, which remains a source of controversy among experts.

Video Title: Marshal Ferdinand Foch: Hero of the Great War, Knight of Columbus. Source: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council. Date Published: July 22, 2025.