Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!
Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack,
and Juninho.Writer’s Prelude. With the beginning of the World Cup, its my pride to write the first Daily Thread for the greatest competition in the world. A few quick notes: 1) the thread below won’t be Real Madrid related because there
was limited news yesterday; 2) on that note it has been a bit weird how Mourinho hasn’t been announced yet…rumors range from him being unhappy about the Alvarez drama and others related to ust simply paper work; 3) Vini summer plans slowly breaking; 4) get ready for summer departures after the WC; and 5) I’ll admit I’m not the biggest World Cup fan but will try to do my best with the thread below.
Juninho’s Copa Mundial Predictions
One More Disclaimer. MM — what I should have done with this thread was poll the moderators for their predictions for the World Cup but alas I forgot. That’s on me. However, we will continue along a thread written by arguably (but not arguably) the Special One aka the Greatest Mod of All Time who happens to likely be the mod the least interested in the 2026 World Cup. BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON. I’d be more than happy to see your predictions throughout the thread below.
Winner — Portugal. So this prediction is somewhat a prediction from the heart rather than the head, and mind you I’m really not the biggest post-Real Madrid CR7 fan so this really has nothing to do with him. The logical answer for this year’s World Cup winner is obviously France. They are the the team with the most depth and the best players. Additionally, if France wins their group they likely should avoid most top teams until near the semifinal. But I’m the type of person to go at least slightly against the grain and I’ll be honest I don’t entirely love France’s midfield options. The team is going to be great going forward, but I have a feeling that they’ll often find themselves caught in transition with Theo / Kounde in unfavorable positions and Rabiot just being Rabiot. I have little faith in future-Madrid player Konate nor Upamecano and various reports are shaky about Saliba’s health after a long season.
Also just to throw this in the loop, I’m concerned about the other usual favorites. England always finds a way to implode on themselves. Spain is rather hurt and no one seems to really be talking about it. Yamal likely won’t be healthy until after the group stage and he’ll surely have rust being that he hasn’t played in months. Nico Williams has been a bummer to watch all season. I doubt Rodri can survive the entire tournament and Pedri / Olmo always seem to pick up an injury or two.
So that at the moment really just leaves us with Portugal. The team with the best midfield, one of the better defenses, an underappreciated goalkeeper, and as long as Cristiano can put his ego aside one of the better attacks. They will be my pick this year that I’ll likely this regret while they crash out in the quarterfinals lol.
Dark Horse(s) — Norway / Ivory Coast / Japan. Ok I’m going to cheat on my dark horse picks because there are a few teams I’m excited about to watch that I think may overperform and they are Norway, Ivory Coast, and Japan. Starting off with the Norwegian team, they just know how to score goals and could be a perfectly positioned team for the summer tournament. Erling Haaland is just a player that thrives with space and imo WC football is generally pretty open. If Odegaard and Nusa can stay up to task, Haaland should have plenty of chances. The Ivory Coast is also another young exciting team that I could see over performing. Although they’ll have a relatively tough group to traverse, I could see their young forwards thriving in the WC set up. Diomande seems poised to put his stamp on world football before his big summer move from Leipzig so I’m definitely excited to see what he may produce. Finally, Japan seems like a team everyone has somewhat forgotten. I’m still pro-Takefusa Kubo and think he could have a chance to excite the international crowds this summer. Additionally, Japan as a unit are one of the most cohesive teams in the tournament. They may not make it to the finals but I could see Japan being a tough competitor in all of their games.
Honorable Mention: Ecuador — mean defense.
Biggest Disappointment(s) — Brazil. I think Brazil is going to disappoint us this World Cup and it pains me to say this as this is likely Neymar’s Last Dance. I actually think Brazil will be WC favorites in 4-years but right now feels like an ugly transition period. Yes, Vini and Raphinha may be able to overpower various teams but I do not trust literally anyone else on Brazil despite Carlo setting the team up better than his predecessors. Casemiro is a true leader and has been great for Manchester United…but Utd only played 1 game a week. I doubt Case holds up…And then besides that — do you trust Danilo, Lucas Paqueta, any of the potential LBs, or the pairing of Marquinhos and Gabriel (after a grueling long season and god awful CL final miss)? I do not. This is also just the footballing issues and not the issues off the field if Neymar is 50/75% healthy and not starting or 75% healthy AND starting. Also I know earlier I said I trusted Vini and Raphinha but let’s not act like they’ve been good on the international stage…This just feels like a mess waiting to happen. Watch out for Brazil in the future tho!
James Rodriguez’ Breakthrough Player — Arda Guler / Kenan Yildiz. Arda Guler is my somewhat Real Madrid bias pick but I truly do think that one of these boys from Turkiyë are about to explode on the scene. It’s of course easier for me to talk about Arda since he is one of ours and he has been steadily improving as a 10 throughout the season but Kenan Yildiz has also been a phenom in Serie A and is one of the better U23 players we will see. I expect them both to take advantage of their group with truly memorable moments.
Honorable Mention(s): Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast), Desire Doue (France — actually idk if he should count), Nusa (Norway), and god willing BOBBY CHARLTON (Brazil)
Golden Boot — Kylian Mbappe. Enough said. It’s going to be Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane. Not only because they’re credited 9s but because they take penalties and their teams SHOULD go deep into the competition.
Golden Ball Winner — Michael Olise. I’ve actually been planning this hotter take statement for months but I really do think this summer will be the summer of Michael Olise. The player just seems ready and his last start for France further showcased his immense talent. With the departure of Griezmann and Ekitke’s injury, Olise now just has sweeping freedom to showcase his abilities as not only a central creator but 1v1 as a touchline winger. Now my only caveat is that if France wins the WC, Mbappe will be the Golden Ball Winner regardless. It’s like Rodri winning the Golden Ball at the Euros. Politics reigns king. Anyway watch out for Olise.
Real Players to Watch —ENDRICKKYYY, Nico Paz, Michael Olise, and Arda Guler. There’s a very good chance that Endrick & Nico will have little to no minutes throughout the competition but just in case they do — it’ll be a fun watch. I’m hoping to see both step up with limited mins for their nations and hopefully remind everyone why they’ll be the future of the sport come the next competition.
Anyway — good luck to you all and your respective countries (besides Argentina — sorry but I always root against Argentina, and well Ghana and England and Morocco and the US.)
Cheers,
J
This Daily Thread was written in memory of the World Cup Dreams of Rodrygo Goes. Brazil’s #10 and Neymar’s Heir. Rest and get well soon! Que Deus nos abençoe e nos proteja.
