Printable World Cup bracket: Make your Russia 2018 predictions before the start of the group stage

The World Cup is a beautiful time. It's like March Madness , only it happens once every four years and the entire globe is watching. With that in mind, it's time to start making your picks for who's going to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy on July 15. 

Will it be defending powerhouse Germany? The Lionel Messi-led Argentina? Ronaldo's Portugal? Or someone completely different? Pretty much anything can happen, so we have to find out, but you can make your picks for bragging rights later now!

The World Cup bracket is uniquely difficult to predict, because you need the group stage to play out before the bracket is set.  And the beauty of it is that you get to pencil in your group stage picks ahead of time. It's a different, fun challenge.

And if you're wondering where the United States is on the bracket, they aren't on it. We've got you covered to catch up with that. Or maybe you haven't followed enough to know what'll happen in pools. You can see our picks here if you'd like a little cheat sheet. 

So who makes a deep run at the 2018 World Cup? And which nation lifts the trophy? Visit SportsLine  now to get the complete optimal bracket for the World Cup, and see which favorites fail to advance past the quarterfinals, all from the model that's returned an 1800 percent profit on bookmakers' closing odds.

So whether you're in betting pools (it's legal now!) or just looking for bragging rights, you can find the bracket below and print it out to make your picks.