2026-10-27, 09:34 AM - Word count:
Back again, looking at my predictions from before the season. This time it's for the two minors divisions. I'll be looking at each team and grading my own predictions.
Division 1
1. Paris
PREDICTED Finish: 10 - 0 - 2 (30 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 9 - 2 - 1 (29 points)
Prediction Grade: A
One thing I'm noticing as I go through and review my predictions, is that I never put in enough draws. Either that or this season was super heavy on draws compared to previous seasons. In any case, Paris ran through the league like I expected; they were one win lower than I thought, but also one loss. I ended up one point off but the separation in points between them and second place was pretty spot on. They scored a lot of goals (36) like I expected, and didn't allow many goals (like I expected). Good job, Paris.
2. Krung Thep
PREDICTED Finish: 7 - 1 - 4 (22 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 5 - 3 - 4 (18 points)
Prediction Grade: B?
I got the losses right! Unfortunately for both Krung Thep and for me, however, I was wrong on the number of wins, and two of them turned into losses. I had some concerns about the Krung Thep defense but they were pretty good with only 18 goals allowed, and a 6 goal differential. I had them neck and neck with Rapid Magyar in my predictions, which was correct! But I had Krung Thep in second and they finished third instead :( If only KT had managed a win in the second game against Magyar, I'd have gotten the finishing position correct. I'm not really sure how harshly to grade myself with the double near miss, but I think a B is fair enough.
3. Rapid Magyar
PREDICTED Finish: 6 - 2 - 4 (20 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 5 - 4 - 3 (19 points)
Prediction Grade: B?
Magyar had four draws which, somehow, is not even the most in the division. That really messed up my predictions, but in the end it all comes out in the wash and I was only one point off. As mentioned in the previous blurb, I was right about Magyar/Krung Thep being neck and neck for 2nd and 3rd in points, but wrong about the order. I thought their defense, which was full of inactives, would struggle OR force the team to play worse active players on offense, but I was wrong about that - Rapid Magyar took second place in goals for, goals allowed and, of course, goal differential. It's a pretty distant second in Goals For and Goal Diff, but second place is second place.
4. Rova
Record: 6 - 0 - 6 (18 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 5 - 4 (14 points)
Prediction Grade: C+
FIVE draws when I predicted none. Give me a break. At least I was only a couple points off in total, I guess. I thought they could compete for top 3 off strong tactics despite a TPE deficit, and they weren't TOO far off, so I'll pat myself on the back a bit. But they did finish in fifth after a prediction of fourth, so again, not too far off. They actually managed a positive goal differential, unlike Cape Town (who finished above them), which was nice to see.
5. Montreal
Record: 5 - 2 - 5 (17 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 1 - 8 (10 points)
Prediction Grade: D-
Good News: I didn't think Montreal would be in the top 3. Bad News: I was off by 7 points, and they're actually in relegation instead. I had them competing with the other smattering of mid-table teams, and instead they barely finished with more points than North Shore (sorry North Shore). One win is all that separates them and last place. I think they even got relegated? A bad, bad season for the team and my grading.
6. Cape Town
Record: 2 - 2 - 8 (8 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 4 - 5 - 3 (17 points)
Prediction Grade: D-
Pretty big miss here on all fronts. I thought the team would struggle to compensate for their multiple low TPE players, and didn't quite have the peaks like the other teams. Instead they went out and won four times and drew five (so many?!?!), despite their -2 goal diff. I had them playing in the relegation match, but instead they were pretty solidly fourth.
7. North Shore
PREDICTED Finish: 2 - 1 - 9 (7 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 2 - 8 (8 points)
Prediction Grade: A
I shorted North Shore a point as they manage to finish with 8, converting a predicted loss to a draw. Sorry about that, team. I was pretty dead on with them being last place, though, so that's cool? I guess? We're headed to division 2 next season where maybe the TPE gap will be a little bit smaller. I called out that Mikko Rashford II would have to carry the team to whatever victories they got, and was pretty accurate on that one. Rashford II scored 7 (with 2 assists) of the team's 16 goals. I think. He's in the site as like 4 different players and it's rather confusing.
Division 2
1. London
PREDICTED Finish: 9 - 1 - 2 (28 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 8 - 2 - 2 (26 points)
Prediction Grade: B
Well, SOME team went 9 - 1 - 2 to win the division with 28 points, but it wasn't London. I'm tempted to count that as a success but I won't. London still ended up top 2 and played (won, I think?) their promotion game. They finished just two points behind first place and my predicted points. They cleaned up against the expansions teams like I predicted (3W, 1D) but that one draw instead of a win cost them a share of first place. It's hard to be a great team even with higher TPE, I guess.
2. Athens
PREDICTED Finish: 8 - 1 - 3 (25 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 4 - 5 (13 points)
Prediction Grade: F
After a quick check, I can confirm that 12 points is the most I've been off on any individual team, breaking the previous record of 10. I predicted Athens to finish in second and instead they only managed thirteen points and ended the season 5th. They were only above the two expansion teams! Speaking of, those expansions teams were 2 of their wins and 2 of their draws. So against the rest of the schedule they went 1 - 2 - 5. That has to be a complete let down if you're Athens, or if you're me who really believed in their success. I thought they'd have a stifling defense with multiple high TPE defenders, but they let up 23 goals which is 2nd worst, ignoring CD Alfama's 47 allowed. Their offense really struggled with only 17 goals for - again barely beating out the expansion teams - and the defense just was not elite enough to compensate for it.
3. Cairo
PREDICTED Finish: 8 - 1 - 3 (25 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 9 - 1 - 2 (28 points)
Prediction Grade: B
And Cairo is the team who takes first place and earns the auto promotion! I expected their offense to be very very good, and it was! They scored 45 goals. The surprise, to me, was how good their defense was - tied for the fewest goals allowed at 16. Much like Paris in division 1, Cairo was dominant in division 2 just in terms of GF/GA. Admittedly a lot of that is buoyed by games against the expansion teams (+17 GD), but that can't be taken for granted as some teams did struggle to secure wins against the new squads.
4. Seoul
PREDICTED Finish: 7 - 2 - 4 (23 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 5 - 4 (14 points)
Prediction Grade: D
Another big miss! I thought Seoul had the offensive firepower to make up for their lack of defense, but that wasn't the case. They managed to end the season with a -2 goal differential, but they at least finished fourth. That's enough to upgrade this F to a D, in my opinion. So many ties for Seoul. Five!
5. Masques
PREDICTED Finish: 4 - 1 - 7 (13 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 4 - 4 - 4 (16 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Masques was a wildcard this season, with a win over London but a loss to Alfama. Anything is possible when you're Masques. They split evenly with wins losses and draws to end up with 16 points, which is good enough for third place in the division... ten points back of second. It was a two horse race this season. Like every other non-promotion team the finished with a negative goal differential, and as expected they had a pretty rough defense. So at least some of my prediction for Masques was right! Gotta take the small wins where you can get them.
6. Guayaquil
PREDICTED Finish: 2 - 0 - 10 (6 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 5 - 5 (11 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Guayaquil managed five draws, sapping points away from the rest of the table and destroying my predictions. Boo. They almost doubled their predicted points, solely off those five draws. Their goal differential was actually respectable, too, sitting at only -8 which is within shouting distance of all the non-promotion teams.
7. Alfama
PREDICTED Finish: 1 - 0 - 11 (3 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 1 - 9 (7 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Much like Guayaquil, but to a lesser extent, Alfama outperformed my expectations. Which were very very low so not hard to do. They did manage an impressive negative 31 goal diff, but despite that squeaked out 2 wins and a draw. They finished in seventh like I predicted, at least. I had them down for a singular win as their only points, so good on them for outperforming that. As mentioned, though, the downstream effect of them outperforming is all my other predictions being worse :(
Division 1
1. Paris
PREDICTED Finish: 10 - 0 - 2 (30 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 9 - 2 - 1 (29 points)
Prediction Grade: A
One thing I'm noticing as I go through and review my predictions, is that I never put in enough draws. Either that or this season was super heavy on draws compared to previous seasons. In any case, Paris ran through the league like I expected; they were one win lower than I thought, but also one loss. I ended up one point off but the separation in points between them and second place was pretty spot on. They scored a lot of goals (36) like I expected, and didn't allow many goals (like I expected). Good job, Paris.
2. Krung Thep
PREDICTED Finish: 7 - 1 - 4 (22 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 5 - 3 - 4 (18 points)
Prediction Grade: B?
I got the losses right! Unfortunately for both Krung Thep and for me, however, I was wrong on the number of wins, and two of them turned into losses. I had some concerns about the Krung Thep defense but they were pretty good with only 18 goals allowed, and a 6 goal differential. I had them neck and neck with Rapid Magyar in my predictions, which was correct! But I had Krung Thep in second and they finished third instead :( If only KT had managed a win in the second game against Magyar, I'd have gotten the finishing position correct. I'm not really sure how harshly to grade myself with the double near miss, but I think a B is fair enough.
3. Rapid Magyar
PREDICTED Finish: 6 - 2 - 4 (20 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 5 - 4 - 3 (19 points)
Prediction Grade: B?
Magyar had four draws which, somehow, is not even the most in the division. That really messed up my predictions, but in the end it all comes out in the wash and I was only one point off. As mentioned in the previous blurb, I was right about Magyar/Krung Thep being neck and neck for 2nd and 3rd in points, but wrong about the order. I thought their defense, which was full of inactives, would struggle OR force the team to play worse active players on offense, but I was wrong about that - Rapid Magyar took second place in goals for, goals allowed and, of course, goal differential. It's a pretty distant second in Goals For and Goal Diff, but second place is second place.
4. Rova
Record: 6 - 0 - 6 (18 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 5 - 4 (14 points)
Prediction Grade: C+
FIVE draws when I predicted none. Give me a break. At least I was only a couple points off in total, I guess. I thought they could compete for top 3 off strong tactics despite a TPE deficit, and they weren't TOO far off, so I'll pat myself on the back a bit. But they did finish in fifth after a prediction of fourth, so again, not too far off. They actually managed a positive goal differential, unlike Cape Town (who finished above them), which was nice to see.
5. Montreal
Record: 5 - 2 - 5 (17 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 1 - 8 (10 points)
Prediction Grade: D-
Good News: I didn't think Montreal would be in the top 3. Bad News: I was off by 7 points, and they're actually in relegation instead. I had them competing with the other smattering of mid-table teams, and instead they barely finished with more points than North Shore (sorry North Shore). One win is all that separates them and last place. I think they even got relegated? A bad, bad season for the team and my grading.
6. Cape Town
Record: 2 - 2 - 8 (8 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 4 - 5 - 3 (17 points)
Prediction Grade: D-
Pretty big miss here on all fronts. I thought the team would struggle to compensate for their multiple low TPE players, and didn't quite have the peaks like the other teams. Instead they went out and won four times and drew five (so many?!?!), despite their -2 goal diff. I had them playing in the relegation match, but instead they were pretty solidly fourth.
7. North Shore
PREDICTED Finish: 2 - 1 - 9 (7 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 2 - 8 (8 points)
Prediction Grade: A
I shorted North Shore a point as they manage to finish with 8, converting a predicted loss to a draw. Sorry about that, team. I was pretty dead on with them being last place, though, so that's cool? I guess? We're headed to division 2 next season where maybe the TPE gap will be a little bit smaller. I called out that Mikko Rashford II would have to carry the team to whatever victories they got, and was pretty accurate on that one. Rashford II scored 7 (with 2 assists) of the team's 16 goals. I think. He's in the site as like 4 different players and it's rather confusing.
Division 2
1. London
PREDICTED Finish: 9 - 1 - 2 (28 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 8 - 2 - 2 (26 points)
Prediction Grade: B
Well, SOME team went 9 - 1 - 2 to win the division with 28 points, but it wasn't London. I'm tempted to count that as a success but I won't. London still ended up top 2 and played (won, I think?) their promotion game. They finished just two points behind first place and my predicted points. They cleaned up against the expansions teams like I predicted (3W, 1D) but that one draw instead of a win cost them a share of first place. It's hard to be a great team even with higher TPE, I guess.
2. Athens
PREDICTED Finish: 8 - 1 - 3 (25 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 4 - 5 (13 points)
Prediction Grade: F
After a quick check, I can confirm that 12 points is the most I've been off on any individual team, breaking the previous record of 10. I predicted Athens to finish in second and instead they only managed thirteen points and ended the season 5th. They were only above the two expansion teams! Speaking of, those expansions teams were 2 of their wins and 2 of their draws. So against the rest of the schedule they went 1 - 2 - 5. That has to be a complete let down if you're Athens, or if you're me who really believed in their success. I thought they'd have a stifling defense with multiple high TPE defenders, but they let up 23 goals which is 2nd worst, ignoring CD Alfama's 47 allowed. Their offense really struggled with only 17 goals for - again barely beating out the expansion teams - and the defense just was not elite enough to compensate for it.
3. Cairo
PREDICTED Finish: 8 - 1 - 3 (25 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 9 - 1 - 2 (28 points)
Prediction Grade: B
And Cairo is the team who takes first place and earns the auto promotion! I expected their offense to be very very good, and it was! They scored 45 goals. The surprise, to me, was how good their defense was - tied for the fewest goals allowed at 16. Much like Paris in division 1, Cairo was dominant in division 2 just in terms of GF/GA. Admittedly a lot of that is buoyed by games against the expansion teams (+17 GD), but that can't be taken for granted as some teams did struggle to secure wins against the new squads.
4. Seoul
PREDICTED Finish: 7 - 2 - 4 (23 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 3 - 5 - 4 (14 points)
Prediction Grade: D
Another big miss! I thought Seoul had the offensive firepower to make up for their lack of defense, but that wasn't the case. They managed to end the season with a -2 goal differential, but they at least finished fourth. That's enough to upgrade this F to a D, in my opinion. So many ties for Seoul. Five!
5. Masques
PREDICTED Finish: 4 - 1 - 7 (13 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 4 - 4 - 4 (16 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Masques was a wildcard this season, with a win over London but a loss to Alfama. Anything is possible when you're Masques. They split evenly with wins losses and draws to end up with 16 points, which is good enough for third place in the division... ten points back of second. It was a two horse race this season. Like every other non-promotion team the finished with a negative goal differential, and as expected they had a pretty rough defense. So at least some of my prediction for Masques was right! Gotta take the small wins where you can get them.
6. Guayaquil
PREDICTED Finish: 2 - 0 - 10 (6 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 5 - 5 (11 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Guayaquil managed five draws, sapping points away from the rest of the table and destroying my predictions. Boo. They almost doubled their predicted points, solely off those five draws. Their goal differential was actually respectable, too, sitting at only -8 which is within shouting distance of all the non-promotion teams.
7. Alfama
PREDICTED Finish: 1 - 0 - 11 (3 points)
ACTUAL Finish: 2 - 1 - 9 (7 points)
Prediction Grade: C
Much like Guayaquil, but to a lesser extent, Alfama outperformed my expectations. Which were very very low so not hard to do. They did manage an impressive negative 31 goal diff, but despite that squeaked out 2 wins and a draw. They finished in seventh like I predicted, at least. I had them down for a singular win as their only points, so good on them for outperforming that. As mentioned, though, the downstream effect of them outperforming is all my other predictions being worse :(
