Biggest news story this week?

Well, yesterday we had quite an active set of games in Scotland. The biggest news to come from the northern nation, however, was Celtic's 1-0 victory over Rangers! Not only w as this a grudge match as usual, but the 3 points actually allowed the B'hoys to leapfrog their cross town rivals. While there were chances on both sides, it all came down to Joe Ledley's 52nd minute strike when it came to deciding the game. Despite just the one goal, it was still a heated match-up to be sure! Hibernian and Inverness drew 1-1 in their match Wednesday with Garry O'Connor putting the home side ahead in the 8th minute. Inverness eventually retaliated though, through Jonathan Hayes 4 minutes before half time. St. Johnstone v.s. Kilmarnock meanwhile was more one-sided: the home side took control in the 26th through Francisco Sandaza before Sandaza struck once more in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. Kilmarnock never recovered. St. Mirren and Dundee United ended level despite both sides accumulating 2 goals. Steve Thompson initially gave the home side the advantage in the 27th minute. Just 4 minutes later, Jonathan Daly equalized for Dundee. Graham Carey put things right for St. Mirren once more but it was to no avail as weakness at the back allowed Stuart Armstrong to draw the visitors level once more. Aberdeen and Hearts played out a goalless draw while Motherwell's match with Dunfermline was postponed. Have a good week!

English Premier League update!

Well, there were quite a few games today in England and some important movement in the table as well! While Newcastle's 0-2 away victory over Bolton exhibited the late battling that we all love about Newcastle, it leaves them 7th in the league. Hatem Ben Afra and Demba Ba were the two players to strike in the 69th and 71st minutes respectively to ensure the success of the travelers. Meanwhile, Fulham did well for themselves on their trip to Chelsea's home field with a 1-1 draw against a side with a lot more cash and talent. Juan Mata gave the Blues a 1-0 lead in the 47th minute of the 2nd half but that was cancelled out with Clint Dempsey's wonderful equalizer in the 56th minute. Liverpool and Blackburn ended in similar form except Blackburn just got lucky. The home side succumbed to an own goal from Charlie Adam in the 45th minute to give Blackburn a 0-1 lead into the break. However, Liverpool rallied and ended up striking home - just once - in the 53rd through Maxi Rodriguez. On now to Manchester United v.s. Wigan. Honestly, it was never going to be a close match however United utterly thrashed the visitors with the first goal coming from Park Ji-Sung in just the 8th minute. Dimitar Berbatov then struck twice, in the 41st and 58th minute, to make it 3-0. Normally, that would have been the time for United to take their foot off the gas. On the other hand, they may need a strong goal difference against a challenging Manchester City side this year. So they proceeded to strike twice more: through Antonio Valencia in the 75th and then Berbatov completed his hat trick in the 78th. Meanwhile, Stoke v.s. Aston Villa ended a dismal 0-0 with a couple of yellows handed out and nothing else. Sunderland's 1-1 draw with Everton was a good game though, Jack Colback gave the home side the lead in the 26th before Leighton Baines equalized for Everton in the 51st minute from the penalty spot. West Brom and Manchester City actually completed their match 0-0 as well!

What you have to look forward to!

Well tomorrow, Saturday the 24th, most of the action will be taking place in Scotland. Celtic will be facing Kilmarnock in Glasgow in a game that could in theory narrow Ranger's lead from 4 points to 1 point. Dundee United v.s. Hibernian is another game with the Dundee side looking to overtake Kilmarnock with a win over their 11th place competition. Dunfermline and St. Johnstone are another face-off with the visitors hoping for some points to narrow their gap with 3rd-place Motherwell. Since they are playing bottom-of-the-table Dunfermline, it might be on the cards. Then, we have Hearts playing against Motherwell. While Motherwell are in 3rd to Hearts' 5th, Hearts will be excited since they are at home. Inverness and Aberdeen are also playing with the northerners down to Aberdeen in the tables but just by one place and they are at home! St. Mirren and Rangers will probably be the most straight-forward game of the day! Rangers are top of the table and flying high and I honestly don't see them dropping points in this game. And that's really all there is this weekend! Enjoy.

Around the leagues.

Well, in England today we had quite the battle between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Spurs actually took the lead in the 8th minute through Emmanuel Adebayor. While they held on to their lead for a time, Chelsea fought back and equalized through Daniel Sturridge in the 23rd minute. While there was more action, there were no more goals and the match ended 1-1. Over in Turkey Besiktas and Karabukspor played out a 1-0 performance with the home side taking the lead and winning in the 37th minute after Hugo Almeida found the back of the net. Meanwhile, Gaziantepspor and Bursaspor fought in a 2-2 draw. Olcan Adin gave the home side the lead in the 32nd minute before Ibrahim Bangura equalized in the 56th minute for Bursaspor. Abdullah Elyasa Sume then gave Gaziantepspor the lead once more in the 66th before Bursaspor were brought level once more! This time though, Ozan Ipek was the man for the home side. He struck in the 86th minute to win the game. Genclerbirligi v.s. Istanbul was the third game today in Turkey and the home side were powerfully in charge. Yasin Oztekin opened the account in the 7th minute while Herve Tum added a second in the 24th. Tum then added a second for himself - Genclerbirligi's third - in the 43rd minute. Last but not least, Ermin Zec completed the 4-0 scoreline in the 73rd minute. The final game of the day was between Trabzonspor and Orduspor who amassed a total of 5 goals. Trabzonspor were given the lead in the 22nd minute through Halil Altintop. Their lead was opened up further by Burak Yilmaz from the penalty spot in the 34th minute. Yilmaz had struck another pair by the 76th minute too! He made it 3-0 before half time and completed his hat-trick in the 76th. Orduspor did have something to smile about though: Hakan Ozmert gave them a goal of their own to make it a 4-1 game.

General Update! 12/18/11.

So! A lot is happening in the world of football right now. First of all, how about a brief overview of the leagues of Europe? Well, in England Manchester City have maintained their hold on the league title - though things are still very close between them and their cross-town rivals United who are in 2nd with 39 points: just 2 points less! Tottenham Hotspur aren't looking too bad either, holding 3rd by 2 points as well, but they should be confident: they've been playing very nice football this season. Chelsea are right behind them in 4th with 32 points. Arsenal and Liverpool round out the top 5 as they are both tied for points with 29 after 16 games. Newcastle are a surprise though: they have not fallen out by any stretch of the imagination! Instead, they are in 7th with 27 points - right on the heels of the Gunners and Liverpool. Down in Spain meanwhile Real Madrid remain on top of the league despite the loss in El Classico to 2nd place Barcelona. The two sides are divided by 3 points with Madrid holding 40 and the Catalans holding 37. Valencia meanwhile occupy 3rd with 33 points which gives them a very small comfort zone over the likes of 4th-place Levante who have 29 points. CA Osasuna have 5th position with 25. On now to Italy where Juventus have reclaimed their place at the top of the table with 33 points from 15 games. AC Milan are right on with them though, more than willing to take the top if the Old Ladies slip. AC are just 2 points behind - as are Udinese Calcio! Lazio hold 4th quite nicely though, defying 5th-placed Inter Milan to catch up with them with a 6 point spread. Lazio have 29 to Inter's 23. Over in Germany things are also competitive with Bayern holding 1st by just 3 points. Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 each have 34 in 2nd. Borussia Monchengladbach aren't out either though, just 1 point shy of the 2nd place sides. Werder Bremen hold 5th though, making 29 points from 17 matches played. In Portugal, Porto have drawn level with Lisbon rivals Benfica with both sides holding 33 points from their first 13 matches. Sporting Lisbon occupy 3rd, 27 points from 13 games isn't too bad however 4th place SC Braga have a game in hand and 22 points already. If they play their cards right and Sporting drop some points, Braga may be looking at a shot at the title. CS Maritimo are in a similar position though they have already played their 13th game. In the Netherlands AZ Alkmaar actually control the league - just by a point though! 2nd place PSV have 37 which means the pressure is really and truly on. FC Twente are 4 down in 3rd with Ajax right with them. Feyenoord are in 5th with 31. In Scotland Rangers are leading by 4 points over Celtic in 2nd who have 44 points - this hasn't been a good year for the B'hoys. Having said that though, they still have a full 10 points over 3rd place Motherwell. Motherwell do have a game in hand though. Now then. In other news, Barcelona are the best club on earth! It's official! They claimed victory earlier today with a 4-0 drubbing over Brazilian side Santos in the Club World Cup. What is there to say about the affair? Well, Barca were up to their usual title flair with massive amounts of possession and great goals too! Lionel Messi was the man of the match, Xavi helped control the ball-game, and the likes of Dani Alves and company made sure Barca dominated from back to front.

Champions League draw!!!

Well the group stage is over and now we get into the knock-out round! Who will face who? Will any of the smaller sides make it out? Well, you can puzzle these questions after this knowledge session: Olympique Lyon of France will face Cypriot side APOEL FC over two legs while SSC Napoli from Italy will test themselves against the English giants Chelsea! AC Milan and Arsenal are the other two Italian and English sides respectively to face off in what is sure to be an exciting match-up. Swiss surprises FC Basel 1893 will challenge Bayern Munich of Germany in their first fixture while the other German representatives, Bayer 04 Leverkusen will pray for blessings as they face FC Barcelona. Speaking of Spanish sides, Real Madrid and PFC CSKA Moskva of Russia will clash while fellow Russian side FC Zenit St. Petersburg face the challenge of defeating the Portuguese side SL Benfica. Last but not least, Olympique Marseille from France face Inter Milan of Italy! Enjoy the games!

Europa League group stage wrap-up! 12/15/11.

Well the group stage has been completed and it was not kind to many sides but the sides that have weathered the storm are: PAOK FC of Greece and FC Rubin Kazan of Russia qualified from Group A. Meanwhile in Group B Standard de Liege from Belgium and Hannover of Germany were the teams that made it through - very comfortably it should be noted. Group C on the other hand had more contestation with PSV of the Netherlands going through smoothly but Legia Warszawa from Poland had to fight to the death for qualification. I already covered Groups D - G in my last post so I'll hop over to Group H where Club Brugge KV and SC Braga made it through. They hail from Belgium and Portugal respectively. Group I meanwhile was held by Club Atletico de Madrid (Spain) while Udinese Calcio (Italy) grabbed second on the last day of the group - drawing 1-1 with Celtic to ensure their progression. Finally, Group J was controlled by FC Schalke 04 of Germany while FC Steaua Bucuresti from Romania did very well for themselves. Enjoy the next round of games!

Europa League update 12/14/11.

Well, teams are beginning to qualify in earnest now with several groups wrapping up today: In Group L RSC Anderlecht successfully maintained their superiority at the top of the table with 18 points from 6 wins in 6 games! Meanwhile, FC Lokomotiv Moskva were through with 12 points from their 6 matches. In Group K we also had qualifiers with FC Twente running through with 13 points while Wisla Krakow were able to edge their way past Fulham after the English side were held to a 2-2 draw against Odense BK in their last match. Krakow had 9 points to Fulham's 8. On to Group J now where FC Schalke 04 stayed undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws for 14 points and a comfortable margin of victory. FC Steaua Bucuresti were the other side to qualify with 8 points - 2 more than 3rd place Maccabi Haifa FC! Hopping over to Group F now where Athletic Club and FC Salzburg were the qualifiers. Athletic had 13 points from their 6 games while Salzburg had 10 - tied with PSG of France who they beat out on goal difference. The story wasn't quite the same in Group E where Turkish side Besiktas JK qualified with 12 points while Stoke City FC finished in 2nd with 11 points. Last but not least, Group D concluded with Sporting Lisbon from Portugal and S.S. Lazio of Italy taking the top two slots. Sporting were safe with 12 while Lazio really had to fight for 9 - just 3 points above 3rd place FC Vasuli! Enjoy the round of games tomorrow!

Real Madrid v.s. Barcelona!

To begin, let me just say: WHAT A GAME!!! Real Madrid took the lead very early on through Benzema who collected a rebound and slotted home beautifully in the 21st second. Barcelona had dropped the ball back to their keeper Valdes who really ruined a pass which was intercepted by Di Maria. It was only a matter of time that Madrid would score after that kind of mistake. Respect to Barcelona though! They held on and not only tightened up at the back but also grabbed a vital equalizer in the 30th minute. Messi pulled 3 Madrid players into the center with his run before feeding it back out to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean had almost nothing and yet his strike from the edge of the area found the back of the net with Casillas looking helpless! 1-1! The two sides finished the half thus poised. Barcelona continued to fight their way back into the match but the way they took the lead was wonderfully absurd: In the 53rd minute Ramos cleared the ball which was collected by Xavi. Xavi, who was playing in a milestone game for Barcelona proceeded to take a chance and shot the ball towards the goal. Casillas had it... Before a vicious deflection off of Marcelo directed the ball into the other side of the net. Casillas scrambled but was left wanting a rock to hid under. The Bernabeu was deathly silent except for the ecstatic contingent of Barcelona fans at the game. The Catalans weren't done though. Despite some scares from Cristiano Ronaldo - scares that consisted of him totally hashing every opportunity he was given - Barca were the ones to draw blood once more: Fabregas heads home in the 66th minute after an enthralling piece of football that swept Madrid off the pitch. Alves was the man who delivered the beautiful cross. I don't think any of the defenders thought anyone would get to it. The former Arsenal man proved them wrong! And so the game ended, no more goals, some more action, but a 1-3 scoreline nonetheless. Is this the beginning of Barca's league comeback? We'll see. Hope you enjoyed the match!

Champions League update!!! The results for 12/7/11.

So in Group A we had quite the set of matches with Manchester City defeating Bayern Munich by a scoreline of 2-0 which did... Absolutely nothing for the English side! They are still out following Napoli's defeat of Villarreal by the same scoreline in Spain. Bayern remained at the top of the group despite their loss, standing tall with 13 points. Napoli meanwhile qualified with 11 points in 2nd place. City were left a point behind in 3rd while Villarreal ended in 4th with 0 points. On to Group B now where Inter were surprised 1-2 by the likes of CSKA Moskva in Italy. Up in France meanwhile, Lille and Trabzonspor ended level 0-0 which left the Turkish side out of luck in 3rd place. Inter still held on to 1st place despite their loss while CSKA grabbed 2nd by the edge of their teeth. Lille finish the table in 4th. Now Group C is where the hugest surprises came: not from Benfica's edging Otelul Galati 1-0 but rather Basel's 2-1 victory over giants of world football Manchester United. That result led to the knocking out of the Manchester club before the knock-out stages even begin! Benfica and Basel thus ensured their respective qualifications in 1st and 2nd. United ended up in 3rd with 9 points while Galati finished with nothing. In concluding we have Group D where Real Madrid completed their conquest with a perfect winning record. This came after their 0-3 victory over Ajax of the Netherlands. With 18 points from 6 games giving them an untouchable lead, Madrid can feel very happy for themselves. Meanwhile, in Croatia, Dinamo Zagreb were absolutely hammered by Lyon of France who struck 7 times while allowing just 1 in. The result was exactly what the French side needed to qualify as they managed to overturn any adverse goal differences. So here are the teams in the next round: from Group A there is Bayern and Napoli; from B there is Inter and CSKA; as far as C goes Benfica and Basel are the surprise representatives; D's delegation consists of Real Madrid and Lyon while E qualifiers are Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen. In Group F Arsenal and Marseille reigned while G was grabbed at the death by the likes of APOEL and Zenit St. Petersburg. Last but not least qualification was achieved by Barcelona and AC Milan in Group H. Hope you are looking forward to the next round as much as I am! Expect the fixtures sometime soon.

Champions League: The last group day! 12/7/11.

Groups A - D play today to determine the final qualifiers for the knock-out round! Expect an explosive day of action in Group A when top-of-the-group Bayern Munich take on 3rd place Manchester City. While Bayern have already qualified and are assured of their 1st-place status, they will still probably want a result in England even if it is a draw. 2nd place Napoli meanwhile travel to Villarreal in Spain for a match that they should feel confident about: The Spaniards have lost both of their other 2 matches at home! Villarreal will really want to make some points though, so they at least wont be going home empty handed. Bayern have 13 points, Napoli have 8, Manchester City have 7 while Villarreal have 0. Over to Group B now where the names are slightly less star-studded but the action will be every bit as intense: Inter sit at the top with 10 points which already qualifies them for the next round. They will be facing CSKA Moskva in their game today who are level for 3rd with 5 points. 2nd place Turkish side Trabzonspor (who have 6 points) will be facing stiff competition from Lille (who have 5 like CSKA) when they go to France today. I wouldn't be surprised if the Turks end up going through based solely on the fact that their away record is better than Lille's home record. We will have to see though; if Inter field a B-team, then Trabzonspor must win. If Inter hammer their guests, a draw will be enough. Meanwhile in Group C things are quite hot with qualification in any of 3 hands: SL Benfica and Manchester United both have 9 points from their respective 8 games while FC Basel 1893 are still in  the fight at 8 points. Only FC Oţelul Galaţi are out of the fight with 0 points. And what do things look like? Well, the Portuguese welcome the Romanians of Oţelul Galaţi to Lisbon today which should result in 3 points and qualification. In the other fixture, Manchester United might be challenged when they visit Basel (Switzerland) later today. When the two sides met in England the Red Devils were stunned 3-3 so expect just about anything from this game. Last but certainly not least we have Group D where Real Madrid rule supreme and Ajax are almost sure of qualification. They have 15 and 8 points respectively while French side Lyon have 5 points. GNK Dinamo Zagreb have taken no points. So how about the games today? Well, in this climate, Dinamo Zagreb will be welcoming Lyon to Croatia with the hopes of at least a draw to mean they have taken 1 point in this dismal qualifying campaign. I still expect Lyon to win: they must score a ton of goals though, as they have quite the goal deficit to overtake. Meanwhile Ajax face Madrid in the Netherlands so they will hope the home support and the squad's talent will combine to winning- or at least drawing- effect. Enjoy the games!!!

Champions League update 12/6/11.

What a day of football action we had today! In Group F Chelsea put 3 past Valencia without reply to solidify their control of the group with 11 points while Bayer Leverkusen's 1-1 draw with Genk was enough to get the Germans into the next round with 10 points. Valencia ended up in 3rd place with 8 points after their loss while Genk had 3 points in 4th. Over in Group F there was quite the final day drama as Arsenal lost to Olympiacos 3-1 in Greece but still got through in 1st place with 11 points. Marseille actually grabbed 2nd after a come-from-behind victory that caught their German hosts Dortmund completely by surprise. Dortmund had led 2-0 by the 32nd minute however their lead was cut to 1 in the 4th minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. 2 more goals for the French side in the last 10 minutes settled the matter. Olympiacos will be disappointed after being snubbed for 2nd, dropping to 3rd with 9 points though they have every right to keep their heads held high. Dortmund on the other hand finished in disgrace with only 4 points. On to Group G now where results were also bizarre! Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg played out a disappointing 0-0 draw in Portugal today with the Russians relying totally on their cornerstone: goal keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev. He faced at least 10 shots today and allowed not one to pass him. Meanwhile, APOEL and Shakhtar Donetsk played out a quite surprising 0-2 affair with the Cypriots actually losing at home! Nonetheless, APOEL progress to the next round while Shakhtar are in 4th with just 5 points. Zenit were able to bring themselves into 2nd with their draw while Porto are pushed (by just 1 point) into 3rd with 8. Finally, Group F also concluded resoundingly with Barcelona blasting BATE 4-0 while Plzen and Milan played out an exciting 2-2 draw. Barca thus finish at the top of the group with an undefeated record and 16 points while AC Milan occupy 2nd with 9. Plzen represented the Czech Republic well, amassing 5 points, as BATE Borisov collected just 2. Look forward to the next round!!!

Champions League!! 12/6/11 preview!

Well, this is it. When all the chips are counted and the two biggest winners progress. Already we have some who are through to the next round and others who will be hoping to compete next year. In Group E the hugest match will be between Chelsea and Valencia. The English side play host to the Spanish with both sides level for 2nd on 8 points. It is sure to be a fantastic match. Meanwhile current leaders Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping for the 3 points to qualify themselves when they visit Genk later today. Over in Group F things are also very close with already qualified Arsenal traveling to Greece to play 3rd place Olympiacos. The Greeks currently have 6 points compared to 2nd place Marseille's 7. Speaking of the French side, they will be facing disappointing Borussia Dortmund in their final game with qualification on the line. Obviously the Greeks will hope the Germans step-up their game at home: I wouldn't be surprised, they are undefeated at home in the group stages this year. Meanwhile, Group G also has a top three situation that is super close: APOEL sit on top with 9 points while Zenit St. Petersburg are a point behind in 2nd. Porto are in 3rd with 7 while Shakhtar Donetsk are down and out with just 2 points. As far as last games go, APOEL have it pretty easy: defeat Shakhtar in Cyprus and qualify for the next round. Porto and Zenit on the other hand face-off in what is sure to be an explosive match! Last but not least, in Group H, everything is wrapped up here as the teams are just going through the formalities honestly: Barcelona are well clear with 13 points at the top of the table while Milan are 4 points ahead of 3rd place Viktoria Plzen. Combined, BATE Borisov (last place) and Viktoria don't even have as many points as Milan! Enjoy the games!!!

Club World Cup!!! Coming soon.

On the 8th of December, 2011, the Club World Cup kicks off in Japan with the hosts Kashiwa Reysol hosting Auckland City FC of New Zealand. The Kashiwa side were just a couple seasons ago slipping into relegation. Today? They have become the first ever Japanese side to win consecutive 2nd and 1st division titles one after the other. Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues are just two of the big names on this exciting team. Auckland meanwhile are rebuilding after a less than impressive 2010 season when they lost both national and international titles that they had won the year before. In qualifying for this years edition, they remained undefeated through 8 matches scoring 18 times and allowing only 3. After this play-off for the final Quarter-Finals spot, we will then well and truly get under way. Whoever wins between the New Zealanders and the Japanese will then face the stiff competition of Club de Futbol Monterrey in the Quarter-Finals. The Mexican side have been together for quite some time in most cases with much of the squad really in their prime for this tournament. After grabbing the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League title, they will now be playing in their first Club World Cup. They've earned it, now let's see what they can do with it. In the other Quarter-Final game, Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia will challenge Al-Sadd of Qatar in what will be the huge match of Africa and the Middle East. Esperance will hope to continue their form that saw them win the treble in 2010/11: the CAF Champions League, the league, and the cup! Oussama Darragi, the bright captain, stands out in a group of largely home-grown talented players. Al Sadd meanwhile return to the top of world football after winning the 2011 AFC Champions League. With a mixture of old guard and new boys, they pose quite the threat to any side. Last but certainly not least we have Santos and Barcelona. These two giants await their challengers in the Semi-Finals with hopes of capturing a world title. After successful conquests at home (Sao Paulo state championship and Brazilian Cup in 2010), and abroad (claiming the club’s third Copa Libertadores), expect them to go for all of the gold in Japan. With Leo, Elano, Neymar, and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who knows what they will do? Barca meanwhile are the obvious favorites with a total of 10 trophies in the past 3 years. With Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and David Villa, expect great things from the Catalan side. Enjoy!

Euro 2012!!

Well the Groups have been decided and here we go! Group A has Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Group B is headed up by the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal. Meanwhile Group C will probably be dominated by World and European Champions Spain; Italy, Croatia, and the Republic of Ireland are also present. Last but not least Group D has Ukraine, Sweden, France, and England. How about some predictions? Well, in Group A co-hosts Poland will hope that the home field advantage spurs them on to great things. Russia on paper are the favorites for taking top honors in the group while Greece should give them a good run for their money. The Czech Republic may surprise, but I would expect them to be held in 3rd, after the Greeks. Over in Group B the Netherlands will be heavily challenged by Germany. Portugal can't be totally disqualified, but honestly their pedigree just isn't the same as the other two. Finally Denmark will have to dig deep to make sure that they are not embarrassed in this edition of the tournament. On to Group C where I may seem redundant in predicting that the Spanish will run out winners. This won't be as straight forward as it may seem though, with the Italians posing a decent challenge with a much tighter team than we saw in their last competitive performance. Croatia are not pushovers at all either, offering a good challenge to either of the Western European sides. Unfortunately, Ireland will probably be left fighting to make ends meet in such a talented group. Finally, in Group D, Ukraine will be spurred by the home crowds to do well, but against the likes of England, France, and Sweden, this may be hard. I would think England will take 1st while France should grab 2nd. Sweden will challenge, as will the co-hosts, but the talent of the English and the French should carry the day. Be ready for surprises though!