The central areas are likely to be quite congested here, which should force a lot of the play to the wings, which is ideal for corners.

This is quite a low line for corners; we’ve seen quite an increase in sides utilising set pieces and corners in particular as a route to goal over the opening few days of the World Cup, and I expect that to continue throughout the tournament. 

Panama’s games during qualifying saw an average of 9.70 corners per game. They saw 8+ corners in 90% of these matches, and we’re only looking for seven in this game for this leg of our Bet Builder.

I think this is quite an even contest and could take a while to come to life, but it’s really important for both teams given that the other nations in this group are Croatia and England, who are both expected to finish in the top two.

Ghana’s recent form has been pretty poor, and their struggles actually go back to the start of the year when they failed to qualify for AFCON, which was a real shock. They have a chance of redemption here, but have failed to win any of their last seven matches, seeing 2+ goals in five of these games.

Panama have shown more resolve in their warm-up games for the World Cup, losing just one of their last five matches and seeing 2+ goals in all five of these games.

I think Panama can definitely get on the scoresheet, and possibly even nick a result, in this opening game.

The mood around Ghana is pretty sour; they’ve failed to win any of their last seven matches, also failing to keep a clean sheet in any of these games.

Panama have shown in their warm-up matches that they can carry a decent attacking threat. They scored twice against Brazil, put four past the Dominican Republic, and managed to break down a pretty stubborn Bosnia side in their final preparation game.

I can see this game getting very scrappy, particularly in the early knockings, which should lead to a few cards for both sides.

Panama are quite an aggressive side; they averaged 14.1 fouls per game during qualifying and also picked up 14 cards across their six games (2.33 per game).

As previously mentioned, this is pretty much a straight shootout for who will possibly progress as one of the best third-placed sides, so I expect quite a bit of tension and a few early cautions, which should make this leg a decent one to cheer on.

Antoine Semenyo is the main star in this Ghana side, with Kudus missing the tournament due to injury.

He’s enjoyed a very strong season for Bournemouth and Manchester City in the Premier League and will be one of Ghana’s key attacking threats at the World Cup.

He’s very consistent when it comes to getting shots away, averaging 1.15 shots on target per 90 in the Premier League during the 25/26 campaign and 2.20 shots per 90 in Ghana’s qualifying campaign for AFCON, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

There’s also a decent chance that Semenyo leads the line for his nation here, giving him an even better chance of finding the target.

Look for Czechia to earn a minimum of four corners against South Africa.

The Czechs were strong flag kick performers during World Cup qualification, averaging 7.50 corners per game. In fact, only Belgium (83) recorded more corners than Czechia (75) across European qualification.

A closer look shows that Miroslav Koubek’s side earned at least four corners in each of their eight qualifiers during the regular campaign, as well as their two playoff ties. The case is strengthened by the fact that Czechia also won the corner count 5-4 against South Korea in their opening World Cup game last Friday.

On top of all that, South Africa were forced to defend at least four corners in two of their four outings at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, including nine against Angola.

After losing their opening games, both sides will need to go all out for three points, which should set up an open and entertaining encounter.

Moreover, nine of Czechia’s 10 World Cup qualifiers produced at least two goals, including each of their two playoff ties. That trend also carried over into their two pre-World Cup friendlies, and they opened their campaign last week with a 2-1 defeat to South Korea.

As for South Africa, seven of their last nine games have produced two goals or more, including three of their four outings at the Africa Cup of Nations. That trend also held in last week’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico, and all signs point towards a repeat in Atlanta.

Patrik Schick looks well placed to hit the target at least once against South Africa on Thursday evening.

The Czech forward has long been a talismanic figure for his country, and that was no different during qualifying, when he scored five times across his eight appearances.

He averaged 3.47 shots per game, with 1.60 on target. Indeed, Schick tested the opposition goalkeeper in six of his eight qualifying outings, including a key strike against the Republic of Ireland in a playoff semi-final tie.

On top of all that, Schick averaged a sizeable 1.58 shots on target per game for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga last season.

In what is a must-win game for Czechia, Schick should get ample opportunity to hit the target at least once against a South Africa side that conceded 16 shots against Mexico last time out.

Take Tomas Soucek to be fouled at least once against South Africa on Thursday evening.

The Czech ace was a consistent source of winning free-kicks during World Cup qualifying, drawing an average of 0.81 per game. A closer look shows Soucek was brought down a total of eight times across his ten qualifying appearances.

There is further encouragement in the fact that the towering midfielder drew an average of 0.90 fouls per game in the Premier League last season, earning West Ham eight set-pieces in his final seven outings of the campaign.

Soucek is likely to come into close contact with Teboho Mokoena, who has committed a combined total of seven fouls across his last three competitive appearances for South Africa and was booked against Mexico last Thursday.

Mbekezeli Mbokazi is extremely effective when it comes to drawing fouls.

The South African centre-half demonstrated that trait against Mexico last week when he was fouled on three separate occasions. Mbokazi’s foul-drawing ability was also a feature of South Africa’s qualification campaign, as he drew an average of 1.34 fouls per game.

He has also been reliable when it comes to winning free kicks for club side Chicago Fire in MLS this season, earning an average of 0.94 per game during the early stages of the campaign.

He is likely to come up against Czechia’s Patrik Schick, who leads the line with plenty of aggression and physicality. The Czech forward committed an average of 1.60 fouls per 90 during qualification and was guilty of four fouls against both the Republic of Ireland and Denmark in Czechia’s two playoff ties.