It’s semi-final time at the World Cup
It’s very seldom that your favourite sports correspondents run a second article on a single tournament, but this twentieth World Cup has been such a blast that we thought ‘why not?’ Plus, these column inches should’ve been filled by a report on the recent English Football League Two clash between Notts County and Mansfield, but we won’t go into that or we’ll sound more bitter than we already do!
Added to those two factors that our pre-tournament predictions went a lot better than usual, and another rugby write-up was just too tempting to resist. The title of our preview, ‘You’d be foolish to fancy the French for the World Cup’, proved to be as prophetic as it was bold. But then there were four, and we’re wondering if we should flip-flop on the outcome, so let us take a second glance before it all resumes this weekend.
Argentina v New Zealand
Friday night could turn into Fright night if you’re South American. They say it’s anyone’s at this stage, but is it really? New Zealand were nothing short of masterful in their win over the Irish and as tough as it was against the number one side in the world, they always seemed to have a handle on the game, making that opening defeat against France a distant memory. Will Jordan has well and truly discovered his form and may well fill his boots some more here. Nobody wants to see a landslide – well, almost – but that’s exactly what could happen.
England v South Africa
Anyone who witnessed England’s stunning victory at this stage four years ago will know that you should never write off the Red Rose. As awesome a rugby nation as the South Africa are, it’s not as if they’re unbeatable, so two visits in as many weekends to Paris for Steve Borthwick‘s side is a far from distant prospect. Have the Springboks already played their final in the epic win against the French? We’ll have to wait and see, but if anyone can upset the bookies it’s England.
So who makes the final? Argentina are going to have to pull off a behemoth of an upset, which, against a New Zealand side that has been getting better as the tournament has worn on, seems highly unlikely. England, who can embarrass any team on their day, will also be eyeing revenge for that painful defeat to South Africa in the 2019 showpiece. However, we’re sticking with the All Blacks to take the spoils, just as we said as far back as August 31 (ahem), beating England by a single-figure margin. Please do dare to disagree in the comments below.
The Early Whistle 