World Cup can still make a mockery of predictions

Convinced football is coming home? Lumping on Germany after scoring seven? Tipping Lionel Messi to retain it? Telling yourself that Sweden are dark horses? Writing off Spain, Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo? Hold fire. Because the World Cup is an epic. Never more so than this time around in which the group stage will reduce the number of participants down to the 32 that were involved previously. It is what happens in the eighth game not the first that will dictate which team will lift the famous trophy.

The lessons from history are there. Most famously, of course, the reigning champions Argentina…