It’s time for the World Cup predictions, to determine which teams will advance from each of the first round groups and which country will go on to win the biggest prize in world soccer — the World Cup trophy.

Up until now, I’ve held off on providing my predictions namely because I wanted to wait unless there were any last minute injury scares. So with that said, I’ve listed my predictions below from each group. While in every World Cup there are always surprises especially with heavyweights getting knocked out of the first round, I’m finding it difficult to see which soccer heavyweights will not make it into the round of 16. But there are undoubtedly some predictions below that you may not agree with.

To make the predictions more meaningful and to have a bit of fun, I’ve gone ahead and listed my predictions alongside those of other world soccer pundits including the World Cup Buzz Podcast team and others.

And to make it even more fun, I’d like to ask you – the reader – to post your predictions in the comments section below.

My plan, as the tournament unfolds, is to publish a prediction “league table” to show which pundits got the most guesses correct, as well as to see how the readers of EPL Talk did against the pundits. Do you have what it takes to beat the pundits? Post your answers in the comments below.

One last thing before I reveal the predictions. If there are any pundits who have made predictions who are not listed below, post those in the comments section too so I can update the page. The more predictions from pundits, the merrier.

Here are my predictions as well as those from leading pundits:

Group A:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Mexico, South Africa
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Mexico, Uruguay
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Mexico, France
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Mexico, South Africa
  • Andy Brassell: France, Uruguay
  • Paul Hawksbee: France, Mexico
  • Sean Ingle (The Guardian): France, Uruguay

Group B:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Argentina, Nigeria
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): South Korea, Argentina
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Argentina, Nigeria
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): South Korea, Argentina
  • Andy Brassell: Argentina, Nigeria
  • Paul Hawksbee: Argentina, Nigeria
  • Mike Leigh: Argentina, Nigeria

Group C:

  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): England, United States
  • Andy Brassell: England, United States
  • Paul Hawksbee: England, Slovenia
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): England, United States
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): England, Slovenia
  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): England, United States
  • James Richardson (The Guardian): England
  • Barney Ronay (The Guardian): England
  • Kevin McCarra (The Guardian): England, United States
  • Barry Glendenning (The Guardian): England
  • Jonathan Wilson (The Guardian): England
  • Sean Ingle (The Guardian): England

Group D:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Germany, Serbia
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Germany, Serbia
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Germany, Serbia
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Ghana, Germany
  • Andy Brassell: Germany, Ghana
  • Paul Hawksbee: Germany, Australia

Group E:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Netherlands, Denmark
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Netherlands, Japan
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Netherlands, Denmark
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Netherlands, Japan
  • Andy Brassell: Netherlands, Cameroon
  • Paul Hawksbee: Netherlands, Cameroon
  • Mike Leigh: Netherlands, Japan

Group F:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Italy, Slovakia
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Slovakia, Paraguay
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Slovakia, Italy
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Slovakia, Italy
  • Andy Brassell: Slovakia, Italy
  • Paul Hawksbee: Italy, Paraguay

Group G:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Brazil, Portugal
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Brazil, Portugal
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Brazil, Portugal
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Brazil, Ivory Coast
  • Andy Brassell: Brazil, Ivory Coast
  • Paul Hawksbee: Brazil, Portugal

Group H:

  • Kartik Krishnaiyer (World Cup Buzz): Spain, Chile
  • Richard Farley (World Cup Buzz): Spain, Chile
  • Laurence McKenna (World Cup Buzz): Spain, Chile
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Spain, Switzerland
  • Andy Brassell: Spain, Switzerland

World Cup Winner:

  • Sid Lowe (The Guardian): Brazil
  • The Gaffer (EPL Talk): Brazil
  • Barry Glendenning (The Guardian): Argentina
  • Andy Brassell: Brazil