71ST MISS WORLD: AT THE HOMESTRETCH - ""FEARFUL" FORECAST

 With all 112 contestantas accounted for, let me now trot out my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS:  BOTSWANA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, INDONESIA, PERU, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, TURKEY

SHOO-INS:  BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CROATIA, FRANCE, INDIA, LEBANON, MARTINIQUE, NEPAL, NIGERIA, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, TUNISIA, UGANDA, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES, VIETNAM, ZIMBABWE

LIKELIEST:  AUSTRALIA, CANADA, COLOMBIA, CURACAO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GHANA, GIBRALTAR, GUYANA, IRELAND, JAMAICA, KENYA, MALAYSIA, MAURITIUS, MEXICO, MONGOLIA, NAMIBIA, NORTHERN IRELAND, PORTUGAL, PUERTO RICO, ROMANIA, SCOTLAND, SLOVAKIA, SOUTH SUDAN,  SWEDEN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, WALES

PERSONALITY FACTOR:  BELIZE, LESOTHO

HERITAGE FACTOR:  NEW ZEALAND, SRI LANKA

EXCELLENT:  ANGOLA, ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA, CAMEROON, CHILE, COSTA RICA, COTE D'IVOIRE,  DENMARK, EL SALVADOR, ESTONIA, ETHIOPIA, FINLAND, HAITI, ITALY, JAPAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KOREA, MADAGASCAR, MALTA, MOLDOVA, MOROCCO, MYANMAR, NETHERLANDS, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, POLAND, SIERRA LEONE, SLOVENIA, VENEZUELA

VERY STRONG:  BANGLADESH, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CAMBODIA, GERMANY,  GREECE, GUATEMALA, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, IRAQ, PARAGUAY, SENEGAL, SERBIA, SOMALIA, TOGO

STRONG:  BULGARIA, CHINA, ECUADOR,, GUADELOUPE, LIBERIA, MACAU CHINA, MONTENNEGRO, SINGAPORE

VERY GOOD:  CAYMAN ISLANDS, NORWAY, URUGUAY

Now, here is my "Fearful" Forecast:

FINAL FOUR:  BOTSWANA, CZECH REPUBLIC, INDONESIA, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

FINAL EIGHT:  ENGLAND, NIGERIA, PERU, TURKIYE

TOP 12:  BRAZIL, FRANCE, INDIA, PHILIPPINES

TOP 40:  AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, CANADA, COLOMBIA, CROATIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GUYANA, IRELAND ,JAMAICA,  LEBANON, MALAYSIA, MARTINIQUE,MEXICO, NEPAL, NORTHERN IRELAND, PUERTO RICO, SCOTLAND, SLOVAKIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN., TANZANIA, TUNISIA, UGANDA, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES, VIETNAM, WALES, ZIMBABWE

BUBBLING UNDER:  CURACAO, GHANA, GIBRALTAR, KENYA, MAURITIUS, MONGOLIA, NAMIBIA, ROMANIA, SOUTH SUDAN, SWEDEN, THAILAND

STRIKING DISTANCE:  ANGOLA, ARGENTINA, BELIZE, BOLIVIA, CAMEROON, CHILE, COSTA RICA, COTE D'IVOIRE,  DENMARK, EL SALVADOR, ESTONIA, ETHIOPIA, FINLAND, HAITI, ITALY, JAPAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KOREA, LESOTHO, MADAGASCAR, MALTA, MOLDOVA, MOROCCO, MYANMAR, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, POLAND, SIERRA LEONE, SLOVENIA, SRI LANKA, VENEZUELA

Miss World has reverted back to a Continental" format where they select from the best performing contestants per continent before determining the Final Eight and Final Four.  It makes things a bit more brutal as I feel two ladies in the Asia & Oceania Group (INDONESIA and TURKIYE) are Final Four worthy.  Europe seems to feature a rivalry between CZECH REPUBLIC and ENGLAND, wit the former having the upper-hand, but is tis pageant willing to crown another stunning Slavic blonde back-to-back?  BOTSWANA has been nailing the challenge events so it might seem she has the upper hand for the crown, but it is emerging that determining the winner will likely be murky and unpredictable.  May the best woman win!

JUST ME!

JOSEPH

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