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Football

09th Jul 2018

Gary Neville’s World Cup predictions are very impressive in hindsight

Any chance of the lotto numbers, Gary?

Darragh Murphy

He nailed the semi-finals.

Not many expected Spain to fail to make the final four of the World Cup and even fewer anticipated Brazil crashing out at the quarter-final stage but Gary Neville gets paid the big bucks for a reason.

After the group phase, Neville laid out how he felt the knockout stages would play out in Russia and he pretty much nailed it.

Neville perfectly predicted the semi-final match-ups which will take place this week before, like Eden Hazard, he anticipated a Belgium vs. England final.

Revisiting his predictions ahead of the upcoming England vs. Croatia semi-final in Moscow, Neville allowed himself a pat on his own back before he urged England supporters to get behind Gareth Southgate’s team.

https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1016364237168488448

“Let ourselves get carried away,” Neville told Sky Sports News.

“The dressing room or the manager won’t be but when you look at the path, why wouldn’t you get excited? Why wouldn’t you feel confident?

“I said the same thing before the Colombia game – it’s not me getting carried away. It’s the expectation of: can we beat Colombia? Yes. Can we beat Sweden? Yes. Can we beat Croatia? Let’s see what happens on Wednesday.

“If you’re asking me a question in a one-off final can we do it? I think we can do it. If we had to play two big teams in close succession, that’s very difficult. We should be grateful of the side of the draw we’re on and grateful for the spirit and performances they’re putting in. We should continue to show that belief against Croatia – we’ve got a real chance.”