Ian Darke backs Canada to quarterfinals, Japan to semifinals
Ian Darke sits in the middle of a prediction sheet that splits the U.S. and pushes Canada and Japan deep into the tournament. One forecast has Canada in the quarterfinals, while another sends Japan to the semifinals for the first time in its history.
The forecast mix is wider than that. France and Spain were named tournament favorites, and the debate around the U.S. ran in opposite directions, with one pick sending Mauricio Pochettino’s side to the semifinals and another ending it in the Round of 16.
Canada and Japan picks
Brian Sciaretta said, “Canada goes to the quarterfinals.” That would put Jesse Marsch’s team into a stage it has not been asked to reach in this setting, with Canada also carrying the added weight of being one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
Luis Miguel Echegaray took Japan even further. “Japan will earn a semifinal spot for the first time in its history.” Hajime Moriyasu’s team has never gone beyond the round of 16 at a World Cup, so that forecast alone marks the sharpest break from the old ceiling in the piece.
The tournament begins across three countries and finishes with the final on July 19, leaving little time for those predictions to breathe before results start forcing them into or out of range. Canada’s route and Japan’s jump are the boldest calls in the set because they ask both teams to move past recent history and, in Japan’s case, past its deepest World Cup finish ever.
France, Spain and the U.S.
Matteo Bonetti put France among the favorites and paired it with Spain, then pointed to Kylian Mbappé as the figure driving that case. “He was electrifying in the 2022 World Cup and was so close to tasting glory.” Bonetti also highlighted the 18-year-old phenom from Barcelona, saying he should be fit enough to see minutes in the opener against Cape Verde after recovering from a hamstring injury.
The U.S. predictions cut both ways. Doug McIntyre wrote, “I’ve said it before, so I’ll say it again: The U.S. men's national team reaches the semifinals.” Laken Litman answered with the opposite read: “On the flip side of Doug, I think the U.S. will be eliminated following the Round of 16.”
That split leaves the U.S. in the same conversation as the teams at the top of the field, but without agreement on how far it can go. The recent tune-ups against Senegal and Germany only make those forecasts more interesting, because the predictions are no longer abstract once the tournament opens and the bracket starts squeezing teams toward one result or another.
For readers tracking the field, the clearest takeaway is that the boldest forecasts already separate the plausible from the speculative. Canada to the quarterfinals, Japan to the semifinals, and France and Spain as favorites set the baseline; the U.S. split shows how quickly the same tournament can produce radically different reads before a ball is kicked.
