I love dark horses but world soccer seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We just haven’t seen teams from other continents other than Europe and South America really make an impact on the world scene... at least, with any kind of regularity. It seems safe to time after time, pick the time-tested winners. Someone like Belgium may have the talent but just don’t have the experience of winning on the big stage. It could change.
Spain defeated Italy 3-0 and won the group they were both in. Spain, if there are no internal problems and they have good coaching, could be a power to be reckoned with.
I like Republic of Ireland, sadly, there appearances in recent tournaments have been lackluster.