Ronaldo can rack up the goals

THE World Cup is just days away from starting and the closer we get, the more confident I’m getting in the Germans.

They qualified with ease, taking a maximum 30 points and conceding just four goals en route to the finals – and any manager happy to leave Leroy Sane out of a 23-man squad must be confident.

But that means England can take comfort in losing to the eventual winners!

Looking past the group stages (where I’m expecting England to finish second to Belgium) and into the knockouts, you’d fancy Gareth Southgate’s men to edge a potential clash with Colombia or Poland and set up a tie against their oldest rivals in the last eight.

The odds certainly suggest that’ll be the case, too. At 15-8, England’s most likely stage of elimination is the quarter-finals – and I’m sure fans wouldn’t feel too disheartened with that.

If you’re looking at lively outsiders, keep your eyes on the first four groups. The easiest route to the final is in this half of the draw, and aside from your obvious picks (Spain, France and Argentina), there’s each-way value in Portugal.

They know how to grind out results and at 25-1, they’ve been well-backed up to this point.

On the subject of Portugal, I’m leaning towards Cristiano Ronaldo (right) topping Group B’s scoring charts at 10-3.

Against the likes of Morocco and Iran, that has to be great value for a man who averaged a goal in every game in all competitions last season.