World Cup Winner

[jakemn]

The * denotes a tie in works ranking. It's a points based ranking system so yeah ties occur.

[jakemn]

Personally I picked Belgium. Why? I like to pick an on the cusp of being a top-tier team unless there's a super strong favorite. I hate to last time around I always knew Spain was unstoppable but picked Netherlands because I just thought they had a lot of offensive talent that year and we were all waiting on them to click. It almost happened!
So here's why I think these top teams won't win it:
Spain: I will never pick Spain, hate em. Love some players, super hate others, hate how good they are. But also they don't have a finishing striker that can keep up with how good the rest of the roster is IMO. Costa is good but now he may not be able to play. Pedro is a wing and might be able to be striker again. Negredo meh. And soldado possibly but again he isn't as good as the rest of that roster.
Brazil: I don't see enough chemistry between everyone and I don't think their most talented players have the experience. Neymar is young, Lucas is super young, oscar is young, Marcelo doesn't have enough wc experience. And their goalkeeping is meh. Thiago silva, Alves, hernanes, hulk, luiz, and Dante may be the only guys starting every game that have solid experience as field players. I don't think they have the maturity yet. But we shall see, they are playing in Brazil and this is a passionate group of guys.
Argentina: defense is spotty. Goalkeeping very weak. And I don't know how they'll be able to work aguero and messi at the same time.
Portugal: sure Ronaldo. But who else? They're great but I don't think they have enough talent asides from Ronaldo. Some good players like nani, coentrao, pepe, and meirellas but it just won't happen.
Germany: I love Germany and this is tough but I think they just lack the finisher to keep up with them, much like Spain. Though Germany does have options there like gotze, reus, or muller, but that's not their natural position. Maybe even schurrle. They could definitely win but I'm not 100% sold and this isn't a pick I normally make.
Colombia: I love Colombia to win it too and this is definitely a my kind of pick. Martinez, Muriel, guarin, Rodriguez, Valencia and falcao are all great. They have a ton of pace on the outside and some serious skill in the middle with the great finishing ability of falcao along with some likely midfield and forward scoring ability of Martinez, guarin, and Muriel. Though they have stingy backs and not fantastic keepers. I like them a lot but don't think they can pull it off.
Uruguay: this is my pick to win it if it weren't Belgium. Cavani and Suarez up front is a dream come true. And they're sure to score a million plus goals this coming cup. But that's about it. There defense isn't something to write home about. Muslera is good in net but not great. There midfield is decent. Cavani and Suarez alone are why I give them such a huge chance but like Portugal, you can't put so much trust into so few to carry you far. You need a team, and that's why I pick Belgium.

Why Belgium?
So well-rounded.
Let's start from the back.
Courtois is currently the best keeper in the world IMO (sorry neuer but la liga is harder than bundesliga especially when you play on the team in bundesliga that accounts for half it's reputation). Mignolet isn't a half bad backup either.
Fullback is their sketchiest position, but van buyten is solid IMO and vertoghen is known to play fullback if need be.
Center back is strong. Kompany is incredible and if you don't have vertoghen on the outside he makes for a great 2nd center back. Vermaelen is also pretty darn good if he makes the final selection.
Midfield is the strongest for Belgium. The weakest of which (that will see solid time) are chadli and witsel. Who are still pretty decent. Mirallas de bruyne and dembele are next and I think they can bring a lot to the table. Fellaini could be a real factor if he's given adequate playing time and gets his Afro Laden hair out of his ass. Hazard is once of the best players in the world and is playing extraordinarily well this season. He has outside mid athleticism with a attacking central mid vision, dribbling, and finishing capability. He will lead them to victory.
Up front you have benteke and lukaku. Two great, strong finishers, who bring a nice one two punch that leaves them without a weakness when it comes to scoring.

[ZWHEELER44]

One word for Argentina: Messi