Yes, we're in that imaginary world where we get to throw the 68 top soccer teams in the world into one giant knockout tournament, March Madness style. And what would this imaginary world be without picks? Nothing. England editor Graham MacAree takes a stab at projecting the Europe region, featuring Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and number one seed Barcelona. No prizes for guessing who makes it out of the group.
Soccer Bracketology: Picking The Games, Europe Region Edition
First Round
Esperance over SuperSport. Close, but Esperance’s performance in last year’s CAF Champions League gives them the big-game experience needed to beat their South African opponents.
Second Round
No. 1 Barcelona over No. 16 Esperance. There probably won’t be any point watching this match. If Esperance ended the match with fewer goals conceded than their seed, they’ll be happy.
No. 9 Rennes over No. 8 Spartak Moscow. Spartak are a handful at home, but at the San Siro they will find themselves outgunned by classy Rennes.
No. 5 Zenit St. Petersburg over No. 12 Trabzonspor. Turkish teams are never as good as their reputations, and Zenit are a force in international competition.
No. 4 Shaktar Donesk over No. 13 Anderlecht. Belgian outfit Anderlecht get the short end of the stick with the seeding here. You’d expect them to give a number six or seven seed a scare, but Shaktar should win comfortably.
No. 11 Cruzerio over No. 6 Villarreal. The first big upset as Villarreal take their Brazilian opponents too lightly.
No. 3 Bayern Munich over No. 14 Al-Ahly. It’s been a rough year for Bayern, but this should be fairly smooth sailing.
No. 7 Rubin Kazan over No. 10 Juventus. Advantage to Rubin Kazan, who are a) used to playing on a plastic pitch, b) getting to play in Russia and c) better than Juventus.
No. 2 Chelsea over No. 15 Seongram Ilhwa Chunma. Chelsea might as well have home field at the Luzhniki for all that they’re beloved in Russia, and they’ve managed to get a result there already this season.
Third Round
No. 1 Barcelona over No. 9 Rennes. There are a handful of teams with a chance of stopping Barcelona’s stately march to the title. Rennes aren’t one of them.
No. 5 Zenit St. Petersburg over No. 4 Shaktar Donesk. Overperforming Shaktar are due for a wobble, and Zenit are more than good enough to exploit it.
No. 3 Bayern Munich over No. 11 Cruzerio. After seeing Cruzerio shock Villarreal in the previous round, Bayern will be ready for the Brazilians here.
No. 2 Chelsea over No. 7 Rubin Kazan. The closest-fought third round game, but Chelsea have the power to just about keep up with Kazan.
Regional Semifinals
No. 1 Barcelona over No. 5 Zenit St. Petersburg. Zenit’s run comes to an end as they’re crushed under the Barcelona juggernaut.
No. 2 Chelsea over No. 3 Bayern Munich. Evenly matched over most of the pitch, this becomes a tale of Chelsea’s strikers against Bayern’s defenders. Chelsea to edge it. Barely.
Regional Finals
No. 1 Barcelona over No. 2 Chelsea. Chelsea at full strength have a shot at Barcelona, but drained after a grueling encounter with Bayern Munich they won’t be able to exert their physical superiority.
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