Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews Round 2 of the Football World Championship 2026 with his unique and insightful commentary.
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Round Two Fixtures-
June 18th
CZECH REPUBLIC (40) v SOUTH AFRICA (60)
17.00 in England
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta USA
The Czech Republic suffered a defeat in their opening game against South Korea.
The Wolves Defender Ladislav Krejci scored the Czech goal, coming via a header from a Vladimir Coufal long throw-in.
South Korea scored an equaliser soon after and then the ultimate winner, to inflict an opening game loss on the Czech’s from a 2-1 scoreline.
South Africa also suffered an opening game defeat against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium, with the Mexican’s getting a win from a 2-0 scoreline.
As predicted in this EveryTip World Championship Round One preview.
The superbly named Yaya Sithole (careful) was shown a straight Red Card early in the 2nd-half, for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, leaving Bafana Bafana a man down.
South Africa then had Themba Zwane sent off when the dreaded VAR got involved and said Themba had slapped a Mexican player, meaning 2-men down.
That wasn’t the end of the Red Cards, with Mexico also seeing a player sent off for, once again, denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
This next paragraph was written as soon as the 3rd Red Card was shown.
‘It doesn’t bode well for the rest of the tournament if players are being shown a Red Card for harmless coming togethers!’
So it was interesting to see that subsequently, there were no further Red Cards shown in the remaining 23 games.
Betfred offer the Czech Republic at slight Odds On 8/13, the Draw at 13/5 and 18/5 for South Africa to come away with all 3-points.
Czech Republic To Win 2-0- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
SWITZERLAND (19) v BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA (64)
20.00 in England
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood California USA
Switzerland gained an unexpected point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Qatar in their opening game in California.
Unexpected, because the Swiss were comfortable throughout the game but didn’t add a 2nd goal to cement the victory when the score was 1-0.
After being awarded the first penalty of this year’s tournament, Breel Embolo converted in the 17th minute, to give Switzerland an early lead.
Switzerland were in complete control but some would say complacent.
The seeming complacency led to Qatar scoring an equaliser in the 94th minute to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Bosnia and Herzegovina also gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score in the opening game against Canada in Toronto.
As predicted in this World Championship Round One EveryTip column.
Jovo Lukic got the B and H goal in the 21st minute which gave them the lead up until the 78th minute when Canada scored an equaliser.
Edin Dzeko was on the bench but never saw game time with the Manager saving the Old Boys’ legs for later in the tournament.
Betfred offer Switzerland at slight Odds On 4/7, the Draw at 3/1 and 5/1 for Bosnia & Herzegovina to come away with all 3-points.
Draw 1-1- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CANADA (30) v QATAR (56)
23.00 in England
BC Place, Vancouver Canada
As mentioned above, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina played out a draw by a 1-1 score in the opening game of Group B in Toronto.
B and H scored first to lead at the break, before Cyle Larin equalised for the home team in the 78th minute, just 2 minutes after being introduced by Jesse Marsch as a late substitute.
The draw was predicted and sets up both teams to progress from the Group, with both having to face Qatar.
After 3 defeats, when being the host nation back in 2022, Qatar finally got a point on the scoreboard following a draw against Switzerland in their opening game.
After conceding a goal via a penalty in the 17th minute, Qatar never looked like scoring and it was just assumed that the Swiss would either score more or at worst, hold on for the inevitable 1-0 victory.
Not so, Boualem Khoukhi, scored an equaliser in the 94th minute to snatch a point from a 1-1 scoreline.
Julen Lopetegui was happy.
Betfred offer Canada at Odds On 3/10, the Draw at 4/1 and 10/1 for Qatar to come away with all 3-points.
Canada To Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 19th
MEXICO (14) v SOUTH KOREA (25)
02.00 in England
Estadio Akron, Zapopan Mexico
Mexico got the opening game of the 2026 World Cup off to a winning start, gaining a victory over South Africa from a 2-0 scoreline.
Julian Quinones and the ex-Fulham Old Boy Raul Jimenez with the goals against Bafana Bafana who eventually finished the game with 9-men.
Mexico sent on a young player called Gilberto Mora who is 17 years old and the youngest at this World Cup, also half the age of Big Raul, who had learned to drive and was splashing on the Aramis then going down the Cancun discos and chatting the birds up before Gilberto was born.
Probably what’s gone under the radar, is that Raul Jimenez has re-signed for Wolves and will ply his trade in the Championship next season.
Wolves have signed Kieran Trippier but have sacked the Manager Rob Edwards, with Cesar Peixoto replacing Big Rob.
Mexico also had a player sent off (Cesar Montes) for, again denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
South Korea came from a goal behind to inflict a defeat on the Czech Republic by a 2-1 score.
After a goalless 1st-half in the Mexican heat, the Czech’s scored the opener just before the hour mark.
It was then the South Korean show, with goals from In-Boam Hwang and Hyeon-Gyu Oh giving the Asian team the victory.
The ex-Tottenham Superstar Son Heung-Min played the opening 70 minutes but was taken off when the score was 1-1.
Betfred offer Mexico at slight Odds On 5/6, the Draw at 12/5 and 10/3 for South Korea to come away with all 3-points.
Draw 2-2- Get 16/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
USA (17) v AUSTRALIA (27)
20.00 in England
Lumen Field, Seattle USA
The USA simply outplayed Paraguay in their opening game.
Christian Pulisic was superb throughout the 1st-half and whilst the ex-Chelsea man didn’t score, Christian was influential in all of the 3, 1st-half goals, before being taken off at half-time and given a rest.
The Paraguayan Midfielder Damian Bobadilla inadvertently kicked the ball past his own ‘Keeper to gift the home team the first goal.
It was then the Folarin Balogan show with the ex-Arsenal and Middlesbrough Striker scoring twice to give the USA a comfortable lead at the break.
Paraguay did pull a goal back in the 73rd minute, to the surprise of most watching as in truth, the South Americans weren’t great.
The Sunderland-born Giovanni Reyna, who is the son of Claudio Reyna and was born in England when Claudio was plying his trade for the Black Cats back in the early 2000s, scored a 4th goal for the USA in the 98th minute, to give the host country an emphatic victory from a 4-1 scoreline.
There was the usual reaction from the TV pundits saying Mauricio Pochettino’s boys could go all the way and win the World Cup (they won’t) and that this was the game of the tournament so far.
Maybe it was but it was only the 4th and John Newsome can categorically say that the USA won’t win the World Cup, the United States did put in a great performance but in truth, Paraguay were rubbish and a better team will give the USA a tougher test.
That said, any team, whoever they are, can only beat the team in front of them.
Australia probably surprised everyone by gaining a victory over Turkey in their opening game.
The Turks were Odds On favourites to beat the Aussies but goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe gave Tony Popovic’s team the win over Vincenzo Montella’s side by a 2-0 scoreline.
That sets up a great Round Two fixture between the Group D leaders.
Betfred offer the USA at slight Odds On 3/5, the Draw at 3/1 and 9/2 for Australia to come away with all 3-points.
USA To Win 3-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
SCOTLAND (42) v MOROCCO (7)
23.00 in England
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Boston USA
‘Scotland have won the World Cup!’
Obviously, that’s not true but one would have thought so following the game against Haiti where the Jocks gained a narrow victory over the Haitians from a 1-0 scoreline.
John McGinn with the solitary winning goal.
After the stunning victory against the team that is ranked 83 by FIFA (only New Zealand at 85 are lower at this World Cup), the Tartan Army all over the Globe went ballistic as if they had actually won the World Cup.
What compounded those exuberant celebrations was the fact that Brazil and Morocco played out a draw, leaving Scotland at the top of Group C.
Joking aside, this will be a lot tougher task against Morocco but if Scotland can get at least a draw, then Round Two looks virtually guaranteed.
Morocco outfought Brazil to gain an opening game point from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Ismael Saibari scored the Moroccan goal after 21 minutes, which was quickly equalised by Brazil 10 minutes later, to take both teams in level at the break.
With no further goals in the 2nd-half, both teams gained a point apiece, from the 3rd out of 6, 1-1 scorelines.
That did prompt CSI Sydney to comment-
‘Too many draws in this World Cup already!’
Which, whilst a correct statement, doesn’t really mean anything as any football game can, inevitably, finish in a draw!
Betfred offer Scotland at 18/5, the Draw at 5/2 and slight Odds On 4/5 for Morocco to come away with all 3-points.
Morocco To Win 2-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 20th
BRAZIL (6) v HAITI (83)
01.30 in England
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia USA
Brazil gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Morocco in New York.
After the Moroccans had scored in the 21st minute, Vinicius Junior got the equaliser 10 minutes later to take both teams in level at the break.
With no further goals in the 2nd-half, both teams shared the spoils in the opener.
From the outside looking in, it did appear that Brazil looked tired and weary playing in the heat, with Morocco being more energetic, which doesn’t really make sense as the conditions should suit the Samba Boys.
Casemiro played in the Midfield and will probably start today, however, the ex-Manchester United star looked slow and off the pace and it just may need Don Carlo (Ancelotti) to be strong enough and give Casemiro a rest.
His Midfield partner, Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes also looked off the pace, so maybe the long Premier League season is taking its toll on some players, which, as the tournament progresses will be a defining factor for the countries that have fewer players who haven’t competed in the English Top Flight.
One of the new rules thrown up by FIFA (and one says ‘thrown up’ as that’s how it seems to be) is-
‘VAR can’t give a corner when a goal kick is wrongly given but can give a goal kick if a corner is wrongly awarded!’
Hello!
Haiti could consider themselves unlucky after suffering a narrow defeat against Scotland in their opener in Boston.
Scotland scored after half an hour which most assumed would open the Haitian floodgates and see the Scots score more, however, that wasn’t the case as there were no further goals, leaving the Haitian’s with a narrow defeat from a 1-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Brazil at Odds On 1/9, the Draw at 8/1 and 20/1 for Haiti to come away with all 3-points.
Brazil To Win 3-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TURKEY (22) v PARAGUAY (41)
04.00 in England
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara USA
It could be considered that Turkey suffered a surprise defeat against Australia in the opener.
The ‘surprise’ being that the Turks were Odds On favourites to beat the Aussies but as everyone knows, the result comes from the 90-odd minutes on the pitch not in the smoke-filled bookmakers.
After conceding a goal in each half, Turkey suffered the loss from a 2-0 scoreline.
Vincenzo Montella’s team need to win today otherwise it could be back to the Hair and Teeth transplants sooner than expected.
Paraguay were hammered by the hosts USA in the opening game, suffering a defeat from a 4-1 scoreline.
The Brazilian/Paraguayan Mauricio got the Paraguay goal midway through the 2nd-half when the score was 3-0 in favour of the hosts.
Mauricio’s namesake, Mr Pochettino wasn’t happy with the Paraguayans scoring.
In truth, it was a combination of the USA being excellent and the Paraguayans being rubbish.
There needs to be an improvement this morning against Turkey otherwise Paraguay will also be on their way home pretty soon.
Betfred offer Turkey at 11/10, the Draw at 23/10 and 13/5 for Paraguay to come away with all 3-points.
Turkey To Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NETHERLANDS (8) v SWEDEN (38)
18.00 in England
NRG Stadium, Houston USA
The Netherlands gained a point from a draw by a 2-2 score, against Japan on Sunday.
After a goalless 1st-half, Virgil Van Dijk headed the opener for De Oranje in the 51st which was quickly equalised by Japan, 6 minutes later.
West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, who was playing in only his 3rd game for his Country, scored a 2nd in the 64th minute which did appear as if it was going to be the winner, right up until Japan scored a 2nd equaliser in the 89th minute to give both teams an opening game point.
Sweden, under the guidance of Graham Potter, ran riot against Tunisia in the heat of Monterrey, gaining a stunning victory from a 5-1 scoreline.
Yasin Ayari, who has a Tunisian father and a Moroccan mother but was born in Sweden, scored the opening goal after 7 minutes.
Alexander Isak then scored a 2nd for Sweden before Tunisia replied to halve the deficit going into the half-time break.
Viktor Gyokeres scored the 3rd on the hour mark with Mattias Svanberg adding a 4th in the 84th minute.
Yasin then bookended his 1st goal by scoring the 5th in the 96th minute to give Graham ‘Harry’ Potter and his team a magical start to the World Cup.
What was strange about Yasin Ayari’s 2 goals was the fact that after the 1st, Yasin didn’t want to celebrate against the Country of his father, which was admirable considering this is the World Cup and every goal should be celebrated wildly.
Yasin wasn’t as reserved when his 2nd goal went in and did celebrate wildly.
Another strange thing about this group is that although Sweden won emphatically and the Netherlands only managed a draw, the Netherlands are still favourites to win Group F, with Sweden 2nd favourites and Japan 3rd.
A cautionary note, rule out Japan at your peril, as this is a team that has beaten Scotland, England and Iceland prior to the draw against the Netherlands.
Betfred offer the Netherlands at slight Odds On 4/6, the Draw at 11/4 and 4/1 for Sweden to come away with all 3-points.
Sweden To Win 3-1- Get 40/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
GERMANY (10) v IVORY COAST (33)
21.00 in England
BMO Field, Toronto Canada
The predicted scoreline of 5-0 to Germany against Curacao, put in this EveryTip column last time, turned out to be under clubbed, with the Germans actually getting the victory over the Curacao’s by a 7-1 score.
Goals from Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz (2), Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undev, gave Germany the comfortable win.
There was a bit of a scare when the score was 1-0, with Curacao equalising, however, Germany then took control and scored another 6 to win comfortably.
There will be tougher times ahead for Julian Nagelsmann and his team but as mentioned earlier, one can only beat the team put in front of them.
Ivory Coast left it very late to gain a victory over Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday, with the Manchester United Forward Amad Diallo delivering the knockout punch by scoring the winner in the 90th minute, to give Côte d’Ivoire the win from a 1-0 scoreline.
It’s worth adding that Ecuador were on a 19-game unbeaten run going back to September 2024, so the victory for the Ivory Coast was exceptional.
Betfred offer Germany at Odds On 8/15, the Draw at 16/5 and 5/1 for the Ivory Coast to come away with all 3-points.
Germany To Win 4-1- Get 20/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 21st
ECUADOR (23) v CURACAO (82)
01.00 in England
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City USA
As mentioned above, Ecuador were on a 19-game unbeaten streak going into the fixture against the Ivory Coast.
When it looked like that unbeaten run would continue, Ecuador conceded a goal in the 90th minute to ultimately suffer a defeat against the Ivory Coast from a 1-0 scoreline.
Curacao upset a few Germans in their opening game in Texas, by scoring an equaliser when Germany had scored the 1st goal.
‘Houston, we have a problem’, was the cry from the Fatherland, however, despite Livano Comenencia scoring the said equaliser, Germany solved the problem and scored another 6 to inflict the expected defeat on Curacao by a 7-1 scoreline.
Despite the defeat, it was a great debut for the Curacao Nation who were mostly back home on the Sunshine Island, partaking in a few Rum Cocktails.
Betfred offer Ecuador at Odds On 1/9, the Draw at 8/1 and 20/1 for Curacao to come away with all 3-points.
Ecuador To Win 3-0- Get 5/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TUNISIA (45) v JAPAN (18)
05.00 in England
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey Mexico
Tunisia were hammered by Sweden in their opening game on Monday.
Omar Rekik did score to halve the deficit at the break, after Sweden had scored twice, however, the Tunisian’s then conceded 3 more in the 2nd-half, to ultimately suffer a defeat against the Swedes by a 5-1 scoreline.
The result did prompt the Tunisian Football Association to sack the Manager Sabri Lamouchi, which does appear to be strange, not necessarily the sacking as the Nottingham Forest fans will concur but the fact that the TFA allowed Sabri to take the team to the USA instead of getting rid before and giving someone else the chance.
Former Morocco and Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard has been appointed Interim Coach for this game against Japan and is set to remain in charge until the end of the World Cup.
Mondher Kebaier has been listed as the early favourite to succeed Mr Lamouchi in the post on a long-term basis.
Japan gained a point from a draw by a 2-2 score against the Netherlands on Sunday.
After a goalless 1st-half, the Netherlands scored the opener which was quickly equalised by Keito Nakamura.
De Oranje then scored a 2nd, which looked as if it was the winner, however, the Crystal Palace Midfielder Daichi Kamada popped up with another equaliser in the 89th minute to give both teams an opening game point.
It was mentioned in this EveryTip World Championship Round One Preview that Daichi Kamada would be a star player for Japan and could get a move to a so-called ‘bigger club’ following this World Cup.
Japan shouldn’t be underestimated by anyone as the team is organised and have recently beaten Scotland and England at Hampden Park and Wembley, so could be considered as the dark horses of Group F, considering the Netherlands and Sweden are the favourites to finish 1 and 2.
Betfred offer Tunisia at 11/2, the Draw at 3/1 and Odds On 1/2 for Japan to come away with all 3-points.
Japan To Win 2-0- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
SPAIN (2) v SAUDI ARABIA (61)
17.00 in England
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta USA
So Spain’s reserves couldn’t beat Cape Verde on Monday, with both teams gaining a point from a draw by a 0-0 score.
The Odds for that draw were 17/2.
In truth, Luis De La Fuente underestimated the Blue Sharks (as did the majority of the football faithful all over the World).
The 2 influential Wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were left out of the starting eleven but didn’t really change the fortunes of the Spanish when introduced in the 2nd-half.
It’s more than likely that the 2 will be involved from the start today.
One little stat that bobbed up after the draw, was the fact that since Spain won the World Cup in 2010, in the subsequent 3 tournaments since, the Spanish have only won 3 out of a total of 11 games played in 2014, 2018 and 2022, being knocked out in the Group Stage in 2014 and the last-16 in 2018 and 2022.
Those 3 victories were against Australia (2014), Iran (2018) and Costa Rica (2022).
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gained a very credible point from a draw against Uruguay in Miami on Monday.
Abdulelah Al Amri scored first for Saudi Arabia to give the Arabians a lead at the break.
Uruguay then scored an equaliser in the 80th minute to give both teams an opening day point from a 1-1 scoreline.
If Spain play as they did against Curacao, the Saudi’s are in with a chance.
Betfred offer Spain at Odds On 1/10, the Draw at 17/2 and 22/1 for Saudi Arabia to come away with all 3-points.
Spain To Win 3-0- Get 5/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BELGIUM (9) v IRAN (20)
20.00 in England
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood USA
Belgium played out a draw with Egypt in Seattle on Monday, which was the 6th draw out of the 14 games played up to that point.
After conceding a goal and trailing at the break, the Belgian Manager Rudi Garcia, sent on the ex-Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton Striker Romelu Lukaku who made an immediate impact by causing the Egyptian Defender Mohamed Hany to deflect the ball past his own Goalkeeper.
With no further goals, both teams gained a point apiece from a 1-1 scoreline.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard, Jeremy Doku, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana all looked off the pace and with the exception of KDB, the others have just finished a long hard season in the Premier League.
Egypt’s Mohammed Salah and Omar Marmoush also looked off the pace, which, again, could stem from the season in the Premier League.
So maybe the team with the fewest Premier League players will be the one to lift the iconic trophy in July.
That said Belgium should be too strong for Iran today.
Iran gained a point from a draw by a 2-2 score, against New Zealand in the early hours of Tuesday Morning.
Ramin Rezaeian scored to equalise New Zealand’s opening goal.
Then Mohammad Mohebi scored a 2nd equaliser after New Zealand’s 2nd goal to give both teams a point apiece.
That was the 8th draw from 16 games up to that point, which those good at Math (as the Yanks would say) showed that 50% of the games (up to then) had finished in a stalemate.
Betfred offer Belgium at Odds On 2/5, the Draw at 7/2 and 7/1 for Iran to come away with all 3-points.
Belgium To Win 2-0- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
URUGUAY (16) v CAPE VERDE (67)
23.00 in England
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami USA
Uruguay came from a goal down to earn a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Saudi Arabia in Miami on Monday.
After the Saudi’s scored in the 1st-half, Maximiliano Araujo got the equaliser in the 80th minute.
As mentioned, that was one of the 8 draws up to now, plus one of 4 straight draws on Monday and Tuesday.
Cape Verde shocked the World (and the current European Champions Spain) by gaining a very well-deserved point from a draw by a 0-0 score.
The Defence were magnificent, with the Irish-born Roberto Lopes being exceptional throughout the game.
Roberto had been sent an email to ask if he was available to play for Curacao, however, because the email was in Portuguese, the lad just ignored it.
It took a further 12 months for an email in English to find its way back into Mr Lopes’ inbox.
However, the main man on the night in Atlanta was the 40-year-old Goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias simply known as Vozinha, who was magnificent and made save after save to deny the Spanish.
Uruguay should still be too good for Cape Verde but no one can take away that point gained from one of the favourites to win the World Cup.
Betfred offer Uruguay at Odds On 4/9, the Draw at 3/1 and 7/1 for Cape Verde to come away with all 3-points.
Uruguay To Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 22nd
NEW ZEALAND (85) v EGYPT (29)
02.00 in England
BC Place, Vancouver Canada
New Zealand took the lead twice against Iran on Tuesday but were pegged back on both occasions to eventually gain a point from a draw by a 2-2 score.
Elijah Henry Just scored both goals (that’s his name not that he just scored both goals) to give the team ranked the lowest at this World Cup an opening game point.
Egypt gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score, against Belgium in the opener in Seattle.
Emam Ashour scored a brilliant goal for Egypt to give the Egyptians a lead at the break.
The unfortunate Mohamed Hany then turned the ball past his own Goalkeeper to gift Belgium an equaliser.
Mo Salah was taken off after 75 minutes with the commentators on the BBC (Danny Murphy) questioning the decision.
Well Danny Boy, it was because Mo didn’t kick the ball in the 2nd-half and needed to be brought off.
As Liverpool found out last season, Mo Salah isn’t the player he was and regardless of what’s been before, the Egyptian Manager Hossam Hassan was right to take him off.
Added to that Hossam is Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 69 goals.
Mo Salah has 67, so obviously HH doesn’t want Mo to get 2 or 3 more goals to match or overtake the Boss.
Betfred offer New Zealand at 5/1, the Draw at 11/4 and slight Odds On 3/5 for Egypt to come away with all 3-points.
Egypt To Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ARGENTINA (1) v AUSTRIA (24)
18.00 in England
AT & A Stadium, Arlington USA
After seeing Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland score 2 goals apiece earlier in the day, Lionel Messi thought to himself,
‘Anything you can do, I can do better!’
The little maestro scored a brilliant hat-trick against Algeria, to give Argentina the win from a 3-0 scoreline.
As predicted in this EveryTip World Championship Round One Preview.
Lionel is now the joint leading goal scorer at World Cups, matching Miroslav Klose’s tally of 16.
The Original Ronaldo, R9 has 15, with Gerd Muller (Germany) and Kylian Mbappe (France) on 14.
Just Fontaine (France) has 13 and the legendary Pele (Brazil) has 12.
England’s leading World Cup Goalscorer is Gary Lineker with 10, which could and should be overtaken by Harry Kane, who now has 10 also, following the 2 against Croatia.
If England are to progress deep into the tournament, then it’s probably on the condition of Harry scoring a few so inevitably, Gary’s record will be overhauled.
Austria gained the expected victory over Jordan in California on Wednesday.
Goals from Romano Schmid, Yazan Al Arab (OG) and a converted penalty from the mercurial ex-Hammer Marco Arnautovic gave Austria the opening game win from a 3-1 scoreline.
Jordan did score to equalise Austria’s 1st-goal.
This will be a tougher ask against Lionel’s Argentina.
That said, Marco, who at 37, is a year younger, will want to match Mr Messi to try and be the Top Old Dog.
Betfred offer Argentina at Odds On 8/15, the Draw at 3/1 and 11/2 for Austria to come away with all 3-points.
Argentina Win 3-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
FRANCE (3) v IRAQ (17)
22.00 in England
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia USA
After a slow start and a goalless 1st-half, France took control of the game against Senegal, getting a victory by a 3-1 scoreline.
Kylian Mbappe scored the opener then a brilliant 3rd for France in the 96th minute.
That was after Bradley Barcola had made it 2-0 in the 82nd minute, then Senegal scored in the 95th minute, giving a bizarre finale to the game.
In truth, even though it was a slow start, Didier Deschamps tweaked a few things at half-time which were evident in the 2nd-half with France being in complete control.
There was a bizarre moment when it appeared that Kylian had been fouled in the area.
The on-field referee, Alireza Faghani, didn’t give the penalty but was then advised to look at the pitch-side monitor.
Everyone and their Auntie thought it was a penalty and were just expecting the referee to change his decision after looking at the monitor.
Not so, Alireza stuck to his guns and said that Kylian Mbappe had dived.
France will be there or thereabouts come the business end of the tournament and will be hard to beat, however, they need to play as they did in the 2nd-half from the beginning, or a better team would have taken advantage of the slow start.
Despite putting in a solid performance against Norway, Iraq suffered an opening game defeat against Erling Haaland and his mates from a 4-1 scoreline.
Aymen Hussein did score a superb header to equalise Norway’s 1st-goal, however, a bad pass from Zaid Tahseen to his Goalkeeper Jalal Hassan allowed that man Erling to score his and Norway’s 2nd before the interval.
Norway then scored 2 more, the 4th being credited to Iraq’s goal scorer Aymen Hussein to ultimately suffer the loss.
This will be another tough ask against the current favourites France.
Betfred offer France at Odds On 1/10, the Draw at 17/2 and 22/1 for Iraq to come away with all 3-points.
France To Win 4-0- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 23rd
NORWAY (31) v SENEGAL (15)
01.00 in England
MetLife Stadium, New York USA
Norway gained the expected victory over Iraq in New York on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland scored twice in the 1st-half to give Norway a lead at the break.
Iraq did score to cancel out Erling’s opener.
A 2nd-half goal from Leo Ostigard, plus a late Own Goal gave Norway the easy victory from a 4-1 scoreline.
Norway are considered a ‘dark horse’ to win the tournament and whilst they will always be a threat with the main man Erling up front, the Defence did look fragile so a better team than Iraq could cause the Norwegian’s some problems.
Another memory springs to mind from the World Cup which is an infamous Qualifier between England and Norway in Oslo back in September 1981.
Norway-
Tore Antonsen, Bjarne Berntsen, Einar Aas, Åge Hareide, Svein Grøndalen, Anders Giske, Roger Albertsen, Hallvar Thoresen, Arne Larsen-Oklund, Pål Jacobsen, Tom Lund.
Substitutes-
Arne Dokken for Tom Lund 76 Minutes.
Trond Pedersen for Arne Larsen-Oklund 87 Minutes.
England-
Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Mick Mills, Russell Osman, PhilThompson, Bryan Robson, Kevin Keegan, Terry McDermott, Glenn Hoddle, Trevor Francis, Paul Mariner.
Substitutes-
Peter Barnes for Glenn Hoddle 61 Minutes.
Peter Withe for Paul Mariner 75 Minutes.
England went to the Norwegian Capital, expecting an easy victory over a team that was on a par with the Norwegian European Song Contest entrants.
Bryan Robson scored after 15 minutes which should have allowed England to push on for the victory.
That wasn’t the case, with Roger Albertsen and Hallvar Thoresen replying for Norway who held on for the win by a 2-1 score.
That then prompted an emotional response from the Norwegian Commentator Bjorge Lillelian, who came out with the following,
‘Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, vi har slått dem alle sammen, vi har slått dem alle sammen! (We have beaten them all, we have beaten them all!)
Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me?
I have a message for you.
As they say in the Boxing World at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Maggie Thatcher, your boys took a hell of a beating!
Your boys took a hell of a beating!’
The way that this year’s draw could develop may see England face Norway in the last-32, however, at the moment it’s difficult to tell who will meet who but it will be interesting to see Erling Haaland up against his Man City teammates John Stones and Marc Guehi.
Senegal put in a decent display against France on Tuesday, shutting out the French in the 1st-half.
Unfortunately, for the watching Senegalese, France took control in the 2nd-half and inflicted a defeat on Senegal by a 3-1 scoreline.
Ibrahim Mbaye did score in the 95th minute which at the time, halved the deficit, however, France scored a 3rd immediately after the restart to get the win.
Betfred offer Norway at 5/4, the Draw at 5/2 and 21/10 for Senegal to come away with all 3-points.
Norway To Win 3-1- Get 16/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
JORDAN (63) v ALGERIA (28)
04.00 in England
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara USA
After conceding an Austrian goal to trail at the break, Ali Olwan scored for Jordan in the 50th minute to level the score.
Unfortunately, for all connected with the Jordanians, Austria scored a further 2 goals to inflict the defeat on Jordan from a 3-1 scoreline.
Algeria suffered an opening game loss against Argentina on Wednesday.
The Algerians came up against an inspired Lionel Messi who scored a superb hat-trick to inflict the defeat by a 3-0 scoreline.
The unfortunate Algeria Goalkeeper, who saw Lionel hit the ball past him 3 times, is Luca Zidane, the Son of the Legend who is Zinedine Zidane.
Even Zizou must have been happy seeing Lionel Messi’s treble.
Zinedine by the way, will take over as the France Manager after this World Cup when Didier Deschamps leaves the position.
Betfred offer Jordan at 5/1, the Draw at 3/1 and Odds On 4/7 for Algeria to come away with all 3-points.
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PORTUGAL (5) v UZBEKISTAN (50)
18.00 in England
NRG Stadium, Houston USA
Portugal, with the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup, along with the Premier League’s Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Pedro Neto, played out the 9th draw at this year’s World Cup, gaining a point from a 1-1 scoreline against DR Congo in Houston.
After Joao Neves had scored the opener for Portugal, Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa got an equaliser for DR Congo on the stroke of half-time to take both teams in level at the break.
With no further goals in the 2nd-half, both teams went back to their base with a point apiece.
CR7 did play the full 90-odd minutes but didn’t produce much, so it will be interesting to see if the Portugal Manager Roberto Martinez has the cojones to drop Cristiano.
One suspects the ex-Wigan and Everton Boss, hasn’t.
Uzbekistan suffered an opening game defeat against Colombia on Wednesday/Thursday.
After conceding a goal and trailing at the break, Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored an equaliser on the hour mark.
Unfortunately for the Uzbekistanis in attendance, the parity didn’t last long, with Colombia scoring a 2nd, 5 minutes later, then a 3rd and the ultimate winner in the 99th minute to inflict the defeat on Uzbekistan by a 3-1 scoreline.
Uzbekistan did include the Man City Defender Abdukodir Khusanov in the starting lineup.
This will be another tough ask against a star-studded Portugal team.
Betfred offer Portugal at Odds On 1/5, the Draw at 11/2 and 14/1 for Uzbekistan to come away with all 3-points.
Portugal To Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ENGLAND (4) v GHANA (73)
21.00 in England
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough Boston USA
After nearly a week of warm-up games at the World Cup, England finally came to the party.
Thomas Tuchel chose the following starting lineup for the opening game against Croatia-
Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.
Substitutions-
The 1st-half in Dallas produced 4 goals, with Harry Kane getting 2 which gave England the lead twice but on both occasions the Croatians equalised to leave the score level at the break.
Harry’s 1st-goal came via the penalty spot, however, HK had his first effort saved but the Croatian Goalkeeper had come off his line, added to Josko Gvardiol encroaching meaning Harry got another chance to score, which he made sure the 2nd time.
It was evident from the 2nd-half performance, that Thomas Tuchel got into his boys in the dressing room and gave them a, well there’s a word to use but not appropriate in this EveryTip column.
Rollicking is something similar.
England were superb in the 2nd-half, with Jude Bellingham scoring immediately after the restart.
Jude, along with a few others, was poor in the 1st-half but the talk from TT definitely made a difference.
Marcus Rashford came off the bench and scored a great 4th for England to give the Three Lions the victory from a 4-2 scoreline.
All in all, despite a dodgy 1st-half, which remember, France had, Spain had and so did Germany.
England were worthy winners and set up now for the remaining 2 games.
Remember also, Norway struggled in the 1st-half, only getting a lead from a mistake by the Iraqis.
Brazil only managed a draw, so did Uruguay.
So did Belgium and Portugal.
Germany had a scare before taking control.
So before everyone judges Thomas Tuchel and the Three Lions, the performance, whilst sketchy in places, ultimately produced a victory over a team that has been a thorn in England’s side for a while now.
Croatia prevented England and the Wally with the Brolly from qualifying for Euro’2008.
Everyone remembers the heartbreak from the 2018 World Cup Semi-Final, when Croatia got the victory in Extra-Time.
So to beat the Croatians in this tournament and for that matter, the 3rd victory in a row, is simply brilliant for the Three Lions faithful.
Whilst it’s early days, there’s nothing John Newsome has seen to suggest that England can’t win the World Cup.
No one’s getting carried away, well not at the moment, that’s no doubt for the future but England will be there or thereabouts come the business end of the tournament.
(Come on England!)
When it appeared Ghana v Panama was going to finish in a goalless draw, Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi scored in the 95th minute to give the Ghanaians the victory over Panama from a 1-0 scoreline.
There wasn’t much skill on show but Ghana, who included Man City’s Antoine Semenyo and Leicester’s Jordan Ayew prevailed and matched England with an opening game win.
Leicester, who have been relegated to League One, have just appointed the ex-Southampton and Rangers Manager Russell Martin.
Some folk don’t learn do they?
Betfred offer England at Odds On 1/4, the Draw at 9/2 and 11/1 for Ghana to come away with all 3-points.
England To Win 3-0- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
June 24th
PANAMA (34) v CROATIA (11)
00.00 in England
BMO Field, Toronto Canada
Panama suffered a narrow defeat against Ghana in Toronto on Wednesday/Thursday.
After the game entered the 90th minute goalless, it appeared a draw was on the cards, however, unfortunately for the Panamanians in attendance, Ghana scored in the 95th minute to inflict the defeat on Panama from a 1-0 scoreline.
The game was pretty drab and it’s difficult to see either team finish in the Top Two, with a 3rd place finish the best to hope for.
Panama included Norwich’s Jose Cordoba in the starting lineup.
Martin Baturina and Petar Musa scored Croatia’s 1st-half goals, both to equalise England’s goals and make the game level at the break.
The 2nd-half was mostly England who scored another 2 to inflict the defeat on the Croatians from a 4-2 scoreline.
Luka Modric, who is 40 now, looked 40 and probably won’t have many games left in a Croatian Jersey, however, he should be afforded tremendous respect for the career he has had.
Betfred offer Panama at 11/2, the Draw at 3/1 and Odds On 8/15 for Croatia to come away with all 3-points.
Croatia To Win 2-0- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
COLOMBIA (13) v DR CONGO (46)
03.00 in England
Estadio Akron, Zapopan Mexico
Colombia gained a victory over Uzbekistan in Mexico’s Azteca Stadium on Wednesday/Thursday.
Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz scored the opening goal to give Colombia a lead at the break.
Uzbekistan did score an equaliser on the hour mark, however, the ex-Liverpool man Luis Diaz scored 5 minutes later to re-establish Colombia’s lead.
Jaminton Campaz scored a 3rd for Colombia, in the 99th minute to cement the win from a 3-1 scoreline.
DR Congo gained an admirable point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Portugal on Wednesday.
After conceding a Portuguese goal, Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa scored the equaliser in the 5th minute of 1st-half added on time.
With no further goals, both earned a point apiece.
After losing against Scotland (2-0), Yugoslavia (9-0) and Brazil (3-0) in the Congo’s only other appearance in the World Cup back in Germany’74 (under the DR’s previous name of Zaire), the point gained against Portugal was exceptional.
The Manager included Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe, West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Watford’s Edo Kayembe and Yoane Wissa in his starting eleven.
Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki was sent on as a substitute in the 2nd-half.
Betfred offer Colombia at Odds On 1/2, the Draw at 3/1 and 13/2 for DR Congo to come away with all 3-points.
Colombia To Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Group Standings After Round One-
Group A Standings-
Pts
1. Mexico 3
2. South Korea 3
4. Czech Republic 0
4. South Africa 0
Group B Standings-
Pts
1. Switzerland 1
2. Canada 1
3. Qatar 1
4. Bosnia & Herzegovina 1
Group C Standings-
Pts
1. Scotland 3
2. Morocco 1
3. Brazil 1
4. Haiti 0
Group D Standings-
Pts
1. USA 3
2. Australia 3
3. Turkey 0
4. Paraguay 0
Group E Standings-
Pts
1. Germany 3
2. Ivory Coast 3
3. Curacao 0
4. Ecuador 0
Group F Standings-
Pts
1. Sweden 3
2. Japan 1
3. Netherlands 1
4. Tunisia 0
Group G Standings-
Pts
1. New Zealand 1
2. Iran 1
3. Belgium 1
4. Egypt 1
Group H Standings-
Pts
1. Uruguay 1
2. Saudi Arabia 1
3. Spain 1
4. Cape Verde 1
Group I Standings-
Pts
1. Norway 3
2. France 3
3. Senegal 0
4. Iraq 0
Group J Standings-
Pts
1. Argentina 3
2. Austria 3
3. Jordan 0
4. Algeria 0
FIFA missed a trick here, they should have put all these in Group A.
Predicted Group K Standings-
Pts
1. Columbia 3
2. Portugal 1
3. DR Congo 1
4. Uzbekistan 0
Predicted Group L Standings-
Pts
1. England 3
2. Ghana 3
3. Panama 0
4. Croatia 0
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