Ray Houghton backs France to win the World Cup and names surprise Player of the Tournament contender

Ray Houghton knows a thing or two about big World Cup moments.

This is, after all, a man who scored one of the most famous goals in Republic of Ireland history against Italy at USA ’94, celebrated as spectacularly as the goal itself, and then spent the next three decades being asked to talk about it.

Thankfully, he still does. But before we got onto that famous goal, Houghton also gave us his thoughts on this year’s World Cup - including his winner, Golden Boot pick and the player who has impressed him most so far.

Ray Houghton was speaking in association with Tonybet. Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection campaign can see Irish customers win up to €100,000, and was clear when asked who he thinks will win the World Cup.

“France, from what I’ve seen,” he said. It's not exactly a wild shout, but that doesn't make it wrong.

France have the squad depth, the pace, the attacking threat and the kind of tournament pedigree that makes them an obvious team to watch.

Houghton also pointed towards France when asked about the Golden Boot.

He admitted the race could be wide open, with several huge names already finding the net.

“Flip any about ten coins of all the players from everyone that’s here,” he said. “Messi’s scoring, Vinicius is scoring, Mbappe’s scoring, Kane, I could go through the list.

“It’s brilliant. Big tournament, big players, they’ve come in. If I think France are going to win, I’d say Mbappe.”

So there it is: France to win it, and Kylian Mbappe to finish as top goalscorer.

Not the most out there prediction in the world, admittedly, but sometimes the obvious answer is obvious because it's probably right.

Where Houghton’s answer got more interesting was on Player of the Tournament.

Rather than instantly going for Messi, Mbappe or another global superstar, he highlighted Michael Olise.

“How good’s Olise?” Houghton said. “He’s gone to a different level since he left Crystal Palace. He’s been absolutely brilliant.”

It's a great shout. Olise has always had the silk, but this version of him looks like a player ready to become one of the defining names of the tournament.

The kind of player who makes everything look casual, even when he's ruining a full-back’s evening in front of millions.

When asked for a surprise team to watch, Houghton mentioned Cape Verde, especially with their strong Irish ties through Pico Lopes. Not as a team who will go on to win the tournament but as an underdog, a great story, and exactly the sort of team neutral fans can latch onto once their own World Cup nerves become unbearable.

Ray Houghton’s World Cup predictions

Category	Ray Houghton’s pick
World Cup winner	France
Top goalscorer	Kylian Mbappe
Player of the tournament	Michael Olise
Surprise team to watch	Cape Verde

Houghton’s overall theme was simple enough: the biggest tournaments are where the biggest players come alive.

He mentioned Messi, Vinicius, Mbappe and Kane as examples of stars already stepping up, but his final logic led him back to France.

If he thinks they're going all the way, then Mbappe feels like the natural Golden Boot pick.

It's hard to argue with that.

France winning the World Cup, Mbappe scoring the goals, and Olise becoming one of the stories of the tournament feels like a very believable route through the summer.

And if Cape Verde do end up being the surprise package, then Houghton may have quietly smuggled in the best prediction of the lot.

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