The IC Insiders forecast for the quarter finals winners is spot on so far. With only two matches to go the IC Insider’s forecast have been panned out exactly as set out in our report prepared after the preliminary rounds were completed. The closeness of the quarter finals suggest that matches in the semis should be very close once more. Data suggest that the three top teams likely to land the cup are Columbia, Netherlands and France. All three appears to be very close but with Columbia having a very small edge. Brazil is a some what off from the three leading teams.
Ranking| IC Insider ranked the teams in the quarter finals and make its forecast based on the preliminary round performance of the teams. The report that was posted indicated that Brazil the number 4 ranked team should have the better of the number 10 team, Chile with the latter scoring 5 goals and conceding 3 versus Brazil with an 8 to 2 superior record. Holland with 10 goals for and 3 against should have the better of Mexico with a 4 for 1 record, but this is not expected to be a walk over as the Mexicans demonstrated in the preliminary rounds that they don’t intend to quit easily. Columbia’s 9 goals for and 2 against should, on paper place them ahead of Uruguay the number 13 ranked team with 4 and 4 but the latter performance in their last two matches suggests that it could go either way. Costa Rica looks as if they will progress to the next round over Greece who only won one match and have a negative goal difference with only two goals being scored by them. Costa Rica 4 goals and one against was achieved in one of the toughest groups. 
France the IC insider’s number 3 team should be too good for the number 15 team, Nigeria, the same is true for Germany IC Insider ranked number 5 team who should do away with Algeria the number 12 team. Argentina the number 6 team should blow away the Swiss team who are ranked at 11 with 7 goals for and 6 against compared to 6 to 3 for Argentina. Belgium on paper should have the better of the USA having had a superior goal difference and what a appears a more solid defense but the USA team seems to have a better goal hungry approach, if the latter can do better in defense than their last two encounters they look as if they are in with a good chance of winning.
Columbia, Netherlands or France world cup winner?
2014 World Cup Quarter finals forecast
IC Insider has ranked the teams in the quarter finals and make its forecast based on the preliminary round performance of the teams. Brazil the number 4 ranked team should have the better of the number 10 team, Chile with the latter scoring 5 goals and conceding 3 versus Brazil with an 8 to 2 superior record. Holland with 10 goals for and 3 against should have the better of Mexico with a 4 for 1 record, but this is not expected to be a walk over as the Mexicans demonstrated in the preliminary rounds that they don’t intend to quit easily.
Columbia’s 9 goals for and 2 against should, on paper place them ahead of Uruguay the number 13 ranked team with 4 and 4 but the latter performance in their last two matches suggests that it could go either way. Costa Rica looks as if they will progress to the next round over Greece who only won one match and have a negative goal difference with only two goals being scored by them. Costa Rica 4 goals and one against was achieved in one of the toughest groups. France the IC insider’s number 3 team should be too good for the number 15 team, Nigeria, the same is true for Germany IC Insider ranked number 5 team who should do away with Algeria the number 12 team. Argentina the number 6 team should blow away the Swiss team who are ranked at 11 with 7 goals for and 6 against compared to 6 to 3 for Argentina. Belgium on paper should have the better of the USA having had a superior goal difference and what a appears a more solid defense but the USA team seems to have a better goal hungry approach, if the latter can do better in defense than their last two encounters they look as if they are in with a good chance of winning.
World Cup IC TOP 10 teams
At the mid-way point of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, the appropriate ranking of the various teams are best gleaned. The FIFA system of ranking teams is clearly flawed, with some of the top teams booted from the competition at a very early stage and others that were low on the list ending up in the 16 to contest the quarter finals. The get a better picture of what is likely to be a better ranking, 
IC Insider decided to use the data up to the mid-way point to rank the teams and arrive at the IC TOP 10. The TOP 10 rankings are listed in the accompanying table and shows the FIFA June ranking for comparison purposes. The winner for this year’s World Cup seems set to come from within the top 6 but Columbia appears the weakest of the lot but could well go far.
FIFA number 1 team Spain won just one match after they were eliminated from this year’s World Cup finals, the number 10 team, England never even won a match. The number 9 ranked team, Italy, managed just one win and bowed out of the tournament at the end of the preliminary round. The number 4th ranked team Portugal is also out of the top 16. The 28th team Costa Rica won all their matches against FIFA’s 7th, 9th and 10th ranked teams. The team that was ranked at 44, Nigeria, is in the top 16. Korea Republic was ranked at 57 did better than many ranked above them and so is the case with Iran that was ranked at 43, Ghana was ranked at 37 and is out of the top 16 but ended up at 23 based on IC Insider’s ranking.
FIFA incredible ranking system left wanting
The world cup finals are making a mockery out of FIFA ranking system for its members. For years FIFA has been using a system of moving nations up and down the ranking ladder based on results of games played. Unless there are regular interchange of teams globally so that there is a good comparison that can be done internationally, the ranking system is likely to be flawed which is exactly what the June rankings and the world cup outcomes indicate. Commentators have been caught out as well as they have in many cases limited information to compare one team with another. The results many have been confounded by the results of world cup 2014.
FIFA number 1 team Spain won just one match but only after they were eliminated from this year’s world cup finals, the number 10 team England never even won a match, their no 9 ranked team managed just one win and bowed out of the tournament at the end of the preliminary round. The number 4th ranked team Portugal is in with a chance of staying in the top 16 but may well not make it.
The 28th team Costa Rica won all their matches against the 7th, 9th and 10th ranked teams, the team that was ranked at 44 is in the top 16. Korea Republic that was ranked at 57 did better than many ranked above them and so is the case with Iran that was ranked at 43, Ghana was ranked at 37 and is close to being in the top 16.
Something must be terrible wrong with a system that gets the ranking so wrong. FIFA needs to revisit this system if it to have credibility as the present system has little. But this is not the only thing that FIFA a body of mostly well aged men control. Cricket has moved to let technology help in determining the accuracy of developments during a cricket match, tennis has done so for years but FIFA has refused to move into the modern era except belated for goal post technology. The present series and past ones have had so many bad calls that the time has long gone for football to move fully into the modern world and let technology assists the referees on the field.
Croatia 4-0 as Cameroon players fight
Croatia the better playing team in the world cup match. demolished a Cameroon team that fell apart as one of its player effectively gave himself a red card and departed play, minutes before the end of the first half. At the end of an entertaining world cup match, the Cameroon team not only lost but will be heading home as they are without a point, with only one game to play. Things deteriorated for the Cameroon team when two players were virtually in a fight close to the end of play.
Croatia has a chance to move forward to the next round but would need to beat Mexico or if they draw they would have to rely on Cameroon pulling off an unlikely win against Brazil when they play next week.
Italy 2,England 1
Italy scored first from a scorching long kick that completely eluded the keeper to be followed later by England that came from a cross from Wayne Romney and was slambed in the Goal to Daniel Sturridge just before the half time of another entertaining 2014 world cup match.
Claudio Marchisio scored first for Italy and Barotelli scored the second Italian goal in the second half.
Costa Rica 3, Uruguay 1
Costa Rica had the better of play in their group D world cup match against the South American Uruguay. After they stupidly gave away a penalty by pulling down one of the Uruguaian players in the penalty area, they now lead 3-1 with three excellent goals, with the last minutes from the end thus putting paid to any hope Uruguay had of winning the match. Campbell was the star for Costa Rica in scoring the first goal for his country.
Things got worse for Uruguay in the dying moments from the end with a Uruguay player being red carded, the first of this year world cup.
