World Cup starts in 14 days. Who is your dark horse team and your honest prediction for the winner?

[Marnie]

June 11 in Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca. Forty-eight teams. Three host nations. The biggest World Cup in history. Two weeks away.

The favourites are France, Argentina, Spain, Germany, and Brazil depending on which analyst you ask. But dark horse picks are the interesting conversation. Which team is going to make a run that surprises everyone and who do you actually think lifts the trophy on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey?

Honest predictions. Not the safe ones

[QuantumLeap]

Colombia as dark horse. They have been quietly excellent for two years, the squad is well-balanced, they know how to play tournament football, and nobody outside South American football is taking them seriously enough

[HiggsField10]

Germany to win it. Everyone is talking about France and Argentina and Spain. Germany quietly rebuilt, nobody expects them, they play free from pressure. That combination has produced World Cup winners before

[Craig71]

Morocco again. They showed in Qatar that African football can compete at the highest level. They have maintained the squad, improved the depth, and the neutral atom draw of their fanbase creates extraordinary home-away atmosphere

[Totally]

My dark horse is Japan. The J-League quality has been rising for a decade and the squad has genuine Champions League quality players now. They could make the quarter finals at minimum and if they get a good draw further

[NightCrawler33]

France to win. Mbappe healthy, the squad depth, the motivation from losing the last final on penalties. I think this is the year and I think it is not going to be close if they avoid complacency in the group stage

[Ava_75]

The United States as the surprise package on home soil. Not to win it but to get to the quarter finals. The crowd advantage across multiple venues and the Pulisic-Reyna combination finally playing together in a tournament is dangerous