1.) I like England to surprise. Italy usually starts slow, getting better as it goes along. I could see a draw there. England will do better playing outside of Europe and away from the intense media spotlight. Too bad they aren't training in the Amazon. It would have been perfect. They will have lower expectations this time around, which also works to their advantage since expectations are usually sky high for them (a la the "EASY" bracket in 2012). Pretty sure they would see Spain or Brazil in the quarters depending on how it plays out. That's probably the end of the road but I can see 3-0-1 before they get to that point.
2.) US bracket isn't as tough as it seems, as other said, and Portugal is a one man band. There's no way the US will take Ghana lightly. It's an elimination game. I don't like the Germany game. They know all JK's tricks.
3.) For filling out brackets,, expect the South American teams to outperform. I think France will fall flat even with the easy bracket and South Korea always puts on a nice show.
Can't wait.
