JUNE 9 ― The waiting is nearly over: on Thursday, the World Cup Finals will get underway with hosts Russia taking on Saudi Arabia in one of the most underwhelming games of the group stage.
The really serious stuff kicks off a day later with a 'local derby' between Portugal and Spain, which should give an early indication whether the former are ready to mount another title challenge after winning Euro 2016, and whether the latter are ready to live up to their hype as one of the tournament favourites.
The head to head battle between long-time Real Madrid teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos will be a particular highlight, and the game is undoubtedly one of the must-watch encounters of the group stage.
Along with Spain, the other teams rated as the most likely potential winners are Brazil, Germany and France, and it's hard to argue with that.
Brazil possess a fabulous array of talent in the midfield and attacking positions, especially if Neymar has fully recovered from his recent injury as his brilliant goal in last week's friendly with Croatia suggested.
With Paulinho, Casemiro and Fernandinho in place to offer defensive support, Brazil should have great balance to back up the attacking explosion they can expect to receive from Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino, and if everything clicks they will take some stopping.
Even so, Brazil probably don't possess the best front three at the World Cup: instead, that honour falls to France whose forward line of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele has all the makings of a sensational combination.
With Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante and Blaise Matuidi in midfield and a back four marshalled by Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti, there is a huge amount of quality within the French ranks and the only question mark is whether coach Didier Deschamps, who has never really convinced in his role, will be able to pull everything together into a coherent whole.
If France boast the best attack at the World Cup, there's no doubting the best midfield: Spain are spoilt by a luxury of riches in the centre of the pitch, with Sergio Busquets accompanied by Andres Iniesta, David Silva, Koke and Isco.
No team will command more possession of the ball than Spain, but it’s uncertain whether they can find an effective striker to finish off their approach play. Diego Costa has never looked comfortable at international level, but Iago Aspas has enjoyed a great season for Celta Vigo and Isco is always worth a few goals from midfield, and Spain are my pick to win the competition.
Having said that, it's difficult to discount Germany. The reigning champions might not have as much individual quality as the other leading contenders, but veteran coach Joachim Low will ensure their organisation is second to none and it would be a major surprise if they don't reach the semi finals at least.
In fact, the four teams outlined above look like they should be by far the strongest teams at the competition, and it would be no surprise to see the semi-finals pairing up Brazil vs France and Germany against Spain.
Of course, other nations will be hoping to have their say and in a knockout competition there is always a decent chance that one or more of Belgium, Colombia, Portugal, Uruguay and England will force their way into the latter stages.
The most fascinating story of them all, though, is whether Lionel Messi will finally be able to end his drought of major international honours by inspiring Argentina to the title.
The odds are heavily stacked against him. Argentina looked no better than average during qualifying, in real danger of not even making it to Russia until Messi scored a hat-trick to defeat Ecuador in the last qualifying fixture.
Aside from Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria, who have never really clicked at international level, there's a dearth of world-class talent within the Argentine ranks, and it doesn't help that recently appointed manager Jorge Sampaoli appears determined to employ an unusual and demanding 2-3-3-2 formation despite a worrying lack of preparation time.
Nevertheless, this is Messi, and you just cannot rule him out. He has enjoyed a brilliant season with Barcelona, leading a not particularly special team to an easy title triumph in La Liga, and his ability to single-handedly win any game against any opposition is beyond doubt.
The main question mark hangs over the defence. Messi can be relied upon to create or score one or two goals in every game, but not three or four. So Sampaoli needs to find a way of making life difficult for the opposition and keeping a few clean sheets. If he does that, Messi can do the rest.
Messi winning the World Cup would be a fabulous story. And although it's unlikely, if his team gets through the group stages and starts to build up some confidence in their overall group structure, you just never know. With Messi, the impossible becomes possible.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
