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Highlighting the best World Cup matches of Round 1

By Zack Nelson

VILLAREAL, SPAIN - JUNE 03: The Spain team line up for a photo prior to kick off during the International Friendly match between Spain and Switzerland at Estadio de La Ceramica on June 3, 2018 in Villareal, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)
VILLAREAL, SPAIN - JUNE 03: The Spain team line up for a photo prior to kick off during the International Friendly match between Spain and Switzerland at Estadio de La Ceramica on June 3, 2018 in Villareal, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) /
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BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – OCTOBER 05: Gareth McAuley of Northern Ireland and Thomas Muller of Germany during the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier between Northern Ireland and Germany at Windsor Park on October 5, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – OCTOBER 05: Gareth McAuley of Northern Ireland and Thomas Muller of Germany during the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier between Northern Ireland and Germany at Windsor Park on October 5, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) /

Sunday 17th June – Germany vs Mexico

Germany start their quest to become the first back-to-back World Cup winners since Brazil in ’58/’62 with a tough match-up against Mexico.

Mexico comes in with a ton of experience, considering they have many returning players from the squad that qualified for the Round of 16 in each of the last two World Cups.

They may have even gotten as far as the semi-finals in 2014 if it wasn’t for Arjen Robben’s infamous dive in stoppage time.

The most exciting Mexican player to watch, however, is one of the least experienced. Try to keep your eye on the blur that will be sprinting down the left-hand side of the field, doing his best to terrorize Joshua Kimmich.

His name is Hirving Lozano, and he could very well end up being one of the best players that Mexico has ever produced.

I won’t go too in-depth on Germany, because everyone knows that they’re one of the world’s best. They’ve got talent at every position, and when you can afford to leave out guys like Leroy Sane, Mario Gotze, and Jonathan Tah, you know you’re stacked.

Everyone’s familiar with players like Mats Hummels, Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus, etc., but one player I will highlight is RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner.

After another impressive Bundesliga campaign, the 22 year-old has done enough to land a spot in Joachim Low’s squad.

There’s always a couple of players that break-out at every major international tournament, and if he ends up being the main striker for Germany, this could be Werner’s time.

Prediction: Germany 3-1 Mexico

Honorable mention – Brazil vs Switzerland

Switzerland is like Belgium-lite, as they have an abundance of talent, but still haven’t quite put it all together at major international tournaments.

It’ll be interesting to see what we get from Switzerland’s young Bundesliga stars – Breel Embolo, Denis Zakaria, and Manuel Akanji – as well as if Xherdan Shaqiri can step up and really make a name for himself as he tries to impress bigger club teams while looking for a move away from relegated Stoke. Scoring against Brazil could do just that.

On the other side, Brazil are stacked with talented players, and will have to take down Switzerland if they’re to live up to the expectations of being a serious trophy contender. Watch out for Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, and Casemiro.

Prediction: Brazil 2-1 Switzerland

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