The Dark Horses Who Could Cause a Stir at the World Cup
*By Christian Smith*
The statistical computer models and data-driven simulations have all concluded that Brazil, Germany, and France are most likely to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but there are upstart teams and rising stars that could flip the tournament.
"The dark horse that the experts are picking and that I'm incredibly enthusiastic about is Belgium," said Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of the [World Cup newsletter The Banter](http://jointhebanter.com). "Belgium has never won a World Cup, but they have what people call the 'golden generation' ー every single player at every single position right now is world class."
Marcus, who covered the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2010 tournament in South Africa, said the best teams don't interest him as much as the teams that have the best stories, including Peru and Egypt.
Peru dominated South American soccer in the 1970s with Argentina and Brazil, but hasn't played in the World Cup since 1982. The team's star striker, Paolo Guerrero, earned a last-minute reprieve from a doping ban to be allowed to play at this World Cup. He said his positive test was a result of drinking tea made from coca leaves that a Lima hotel waiter served him. It’s a common enough Andean beverage, but it also shows up like cocaine in a drug test.
Along with the veteran Guerrero, Peru will be boosted by 22-year-old Renato Tapia, a hard-charging midfielder who Marcus said will turn heads at this World Cup. Peru may struggle to beat France, Australia, and Denmark in Group C, but Marcus said he is attracted to the team's story and its potential to surprise.
Egypt is led by one of the world's best players, Mohamed Salah, who Marcus called "the most positive player in the tournament." Egypt has only qualified for the World Cup twice before ー in 1990 and all the way back in 1934 ーand the Pharaohs have never made it out of group play. This may be the team's year. Egypt plays Uruguay on Friday in Group A.
The other teams in their group officially kicked off the tournament on Thursday, as the host Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0 in Moscow.
The round-robin group stage will last for two weeks, after which the top two teams in each of the eight groups will advance to the round of 16. The World Cup final will be July 15 in Moscow.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-world-cup-2018s-heroes-and-villains-to-watch).
Emmanuel Acho joined Cheddar News to talk about his new book "Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits." The former NFL player, current broadcaster, and host is on a mission to help people see beyond the goals that they have set for themselves. “People say 'what is being illogical?'" he said. "To me, it's believing it is so even when it's not so — so that it can be so."
Adidas is now the first major sports brand to create a program for paying college athletes. The new "name, image and likeness" network will allow more than 50,000 students across NCAA Division 1 schools to become paid spokespeople for the brand. Thilo Kunkel, Associate Professor and Director of Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University, tells us why this new program is only the beginning of an exciting time for student athletes.
Sports betting has boomed over the past year; but at the same time, sports betting stocks have not been so hot. Now, some sports betting brands are starting to rethink how to spend their money, especially when it comes to ads. It will come after online sports betting brands spent more than $320 million on advertising in 2021, up 38% from 2020, per MediaRadar. Brendan Coffey, sports finance reporter for Sportico, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Rowing-machine maker, Hydrow, raised $55 million in Series D funding round, led by Constitution Capital. Hyrdow offers a connected rowing machine that costs $2,495. The company's funding round comes as the at-home fitness industry is facing some challenges, due to many consumers returning to gyms after working out at home during the pandemic. Bruce Smith, founder & CEO of Hydrow, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
WNBA star Sue Bird is back with the Seattle Storm after announcing her retirement last year and spoke to Cheddar about taking a pay cut to help her team win, issues around gender equity in sports, and partnering with beer brand Corona on sweepstakes that will allow fans to win a limited edition Corona fridge with space to display sneakers. "I love whenever you can partner with a company that you A) enjoy," she said. "It's not that ridiculous to see me with a Corona in my hand. You're not supposed to say that as an athlete, but it's true."
Turkish media reports say a second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey.
Ben Strauss, sports and media reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to recap round two of the NCAA Men's Tournament and what we can expect heading into the Sweet 16.
March Madness kicked off this month as more and more states are legalizing sports betting — and some major upsets almost immediately busting many a bracket. Jay Croucher, the director of trading at the sportsbook PointsBet, joined Cheddar News to talk about the tournament and the current top picks. "There's not too much difference in terms of the busiest days of the year between the Super Bowl and the first day of March Madness," he said.
The NCAA tournament kicks off this week, so it's about that time to finalize your march madness brackets if you haven't already, and decide where to call the upsets. Iain MacMillan, senior editor at MacMillan, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
March Nadness is officially underway, and betting on this year's tournament has the potential to reach record levels. About 45 million Americans are expected to wager a total of $3.1 billion on just the men's tournament alone, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association. Prince Grimes, Senior Writer for USA Today's sports betting media property, BetFTW, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how betting could play into this year's tournament and other storylines surrounding March Madness.
