Pep Guardiola Picks his World Cup Favourites

Published 05/16/2018, 5:24 PM EDT

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes that the main contenders for the FIFA World Cup will be the usual suspects. To be precise, he noted that Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina are the favourites.

He also said that if Argentina wished to do well in the World Cup, Lionel Messi’s form is crucial.

He also spoke about England’s chances at World Cup glory. The 47-year old would love to see the Three Lions do well. This is partially because some of his Manchester City players will be joining the Three Lions. The country has also treated him well since he arrived.

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He said: “They are always the same teams. Spain it was always illusion but after they passed the quarter-finals and they got a generation with Xavi, Iniesta, [Sergio] Ramos, [Gerard] Pique, [Sergio] Busquets, [Iker] Casillas, these guys…

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“I think Spain is one of the contenders with Germany, Brazil, if [Lionel] Messi arrives good then Argentina.

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“Hopefully England for the players I have and for the country who receive me and my family. I am curious about this competition.”

Guardiola also spoke about one of his players, John Stones and his chances of playing in the World Cup.

Stones kick-started his season well for Man City. Unfortunately, injury issues cropped up and he wasn’t as much of an influence for the club. But Guardiola is keeping the faith in him all the way. He thinks that Stones has come back well in recent weeks and is ready for an England call up.

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The Spaniard added: “I think he is really prepared. In the first part of the season he was a key player for us with Nicolas Otamendi, they were outstanding.

“After he got injured and had a few more problems to come back, but Huddersfield and Southampton both performances were good.”

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Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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