The World Cup 2018 is about to start and, once the ball starts rolling in Russia, the eyes of millions of devoted fans around the world will be firmly placed on every pass, every strike, every goal – and we could not be any more excited to find out what this unique tournament will bring. For this World Cup special we teamed up with Mitchell Jones, editor for FootballPredictions.com, to gain some extra inside scoops.
As it couldn’t be any different, the vast majority of Barcelona fans would love to see their beloved Lionel Messi lifting the iconic golden trophy minutes after the final whistle of the final game. While the diminutive No.10 has nothing to prove at club level, it is clear that leading Argentina to World Cup glory would be the pinnacle of an already enviable CV others could only dream of.
Don’t get me wrong, Barca supporters around the world will also be cheering for Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets (Spain), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Samuel Umtiti, Ousmane Dembele (France), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia), Philippe Coutinho, Paulinho (Brazil), Marc Andre Ter Stegen (Germany), Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium) and even Yerry Mina (Colombia) but, clearly, the prospect of a victorious Messi after so much heartache while defending his national colours is hugely exciting.
Having said that, the fact that many experts don’t consider Argentina as favourites is far from surprising. Despite having reached three major finals in the last four years, nobody can deny that their success is directly linked to Messi’s influence and leadership. At the same time, the lack of support when it truly matters and, to a certain extent, quality from his teammates did not allow La Albiceleste to overcome the very last hurdle.
The 2018 World Cup is certain to send the pulses of millions of Barcelona fans around the planet racing for what promises to be a fantastic month of football. Even most of the World Cup predictions are showing that the Barcelona players will do surprisingly well.
While we are fully aware that most of our hearts will most likely be broken at some point, the hope of having a Blaugrana return to the Camp Nou dressing room with the golden trophy under their belt is all worth it.
