FIFA World Cup 2014
It is now the countdown to the FIFA 2014 World Cup and who is likely to be the winner?
Can Spain retain the trophy they wrestled from Holland in South Africa back in 2014?
Will the hosts Brazil manage to cope with the pressures of home advantage to regain the prize they last won in 2002?
Is there likely to be any other team able to spring a surprise?
Science has taken a look at the beautiful game, with economists at PwC the latest to put out predictions on the World Cup.
By “analysing all the key variables”, the consultancy has concluded England finds itself in a “group of death” and will have a tough fight to progress beyond the group stage in Brazil.
John Hawksworth, UK chief economist at PwC, comments: “Group D has the highest total combined score on our index and is therefore deemed to be the ‘Group of Death’. This reflects the strong collective footballing tradition of Uruguay, England and Italy – three countries in the top 10 of the all-time World Cup table that between them have won seven of the previous 19 World Cups.
“It will be tough for England to qualify from this group but, if they do, they should have a decent chance to at least reach the quarter finals.”
The report follows an analysis by Goldman Sachs last week that predicted host nation Brazil will beat Argentina 3-1 in the final of the 2014 World Cup, while England will not make it beyond the group stages.
Its as simple as that Brazil to win the World Cup and England not to progress from the group stage. Or is it? Who is your prediction to win this Summers Trophy?
