How good has the World Cup been?
48 group stage matches have been played and we’ve been given a ‘rest day’ to reflect on exactly what has happened before the knockout round begins on Saturday.
But where do we start to reflect on such an incredible two weeks?
There’s been drama - mainly thanks to VAR - and there’s been plenty of goals.
And there’s also been a massive casualty with world champions Germany already on their way home.
Who could have predicted that?
Well, one man that certainly didn’t predict that Germany would be falling at the first hurdle is Jose Mourinho.
JOSE MOURINHO PREDICTED THE ENTIRE GROUP STAGE
Mourinho made the very brave move to predict all the group winners and runners-up of each World Cup group before the tournament even started.
But how did he get on?
Well, let’s take a look:
Group A
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - Uruguay
Runners-up - Russia
Eliminated - Saudi Arabia & Egypt
What actually happened
Winners- Uruguay
Runners-up Russia
Eliminated - Saudi Arabia & Egypt
Group B
Mourinho's prediction
Winners - Spain
Runners-up - Portugal
Eliminated - Morocco & Iran
What actually happened
Winners - Spain
Runners-up - Portugal
Eliminated - Morocco & Iran
Group C
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - France
Runners-up - Australia
Eliminated - Peru & Denmark
What actually happened
Winners - France
Runners-up - Denmark
Eliminated - Peru & Australia
Group D
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - Argentina
Runners-up - Nigeria
Eliminated - Iceland & Croatia
What actually happened
Winners - Croatia
Runners-up - Argentina
Eliminated - Iceland & Nigeria
Group E
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - Brazil
Runners-up - Switzerland
Eliminated - Serbia & Costa Rica
What actually happened
Winners - Brazil
Runners-up - Switzerland
Eliminated - Serbia & Costa Rica
Group F
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - Germany
Runners-up - Mexico
Eliminated - Sweden & South Korea
What actually happened
Winners - Sweden
Runners-up - Mexico
Eliminated - Germany & South Korea
Group G
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - England
Runners-up - Belgium
Eliminated - Tunisia & Panama
What actually happened
Winners - Belgium
Runners-up - England
Eliminated - Tunisia & Panama
Group H
Mourinho’s prediction
Winners - Senegal
Runners-up - Poland
Eliminated - Colombia & Japan
What actually happened
Winners - Colombia
Runners-up - Japan
Eliminated - Senegal & Poland
HOW DO WE RATE MOURINHO'S PREDICTIONS?
So, let’s take a look at how Mourinho performed.
First, the good.
He absolutely nailed Group A, Group B and Group E so deserves credit for that.
But let’s look at what he got horribly wrong.
Australia to qualify? The Socceroos picked up a solitary point and crashed finished bottom of Group C.
Croatia to be eliminated? Zlatko Dalić’s side have been one of the best sides in the competition and beat Argentina to top spot - thrashing them 3-0 in the process.
Germany to finish top? Ok, we’ll let Mourinho off that one because everyone thought that would happen.
And just look at Group H. Yes, it was incredibly difficult to call and that’s summed up with Mourinho’s prediction of Senegal and Poland progressing with both nations crashing out.