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Seeing Cape Verde score twice against the defending champions will give Egypt hope that they can find success in the final third here.

The African side have found the back of the net in all four of their World Cup matches so far, including against Belgium in round one of the group stages.

However, their main challenge will be keeping Argentina at bay. Cape Verde had an impressive defensive record, having kept clean sheets against Spain and Saudi Arabia in the group stages, but Egypt haven’t been as resolute, having conceded in all four matches.

Argentina have bagged 11 goals in their three World Cup matches so far alone, and goals are a target whenever Lionel Messi is involved.

Egypt are much stronger than Cape Verde on paper, and they will hope to replicate that blueprint which caused Argentina problems in the previous round.

With that being said, Lionel Scaloni’s side were still dominant, and they had 22 shots across the 120 minute match, with ten of those hitting the target. In the end, a heroic display from Vozinha kept Cape Verde in the game, and he finished with eight saves.

If Argentina are even slightly more clinical in the final third, they should have no issues in making it to the quarter-finals. There is a significant gulf in quality between these two sides, and Egypt lack experience at this stage of the tournament.

The 39-year-old wasn’t quite at his clinical best against Cape Verde, as he accounted for nine of Argentina’s 22 shots, but he was unfortunate in the sense that Vozinha saved five of his efforts.

Still, Messi did find the back of the net, meaning he has landed this selection in all four World Cup appearances in 2026.

The Inter Miami man scored a hat-trick against Algeria in round one, before following that up with a brace against Austria.

His tally of seven goals is the joint-most in the competition, but Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have both played an extra game. That should be more than enough motivation for Messi heaving into this clash.

Martinez should find duels against Yasser Ibrahim here, who is the centre back for Egypt. The 33-year-old was fouled once against Australia last time out, meaning this selection has landed in three out of four World Cup appearances for him so far.

In fact, he has been adept at drawing contact for Egypt in recent starts, landing this selection in ten of his last 14 appearances for his national team.

There should be plenty of pressure for Ibrahim to absorb here against Argentina, especially considering he will come up against a player like Lautaro Martinez. Ibrahim can often go down easily to buy soft free-kicks, which bodes well for his selection.

Lautaro Martinez has started all four World Cup matches for Argentina so far, and he has landed this selection in three of those. In fact, his tally of seven fouls is more than any other Argentina player in the competition.

The Inter Milan striker presses intensely from the front, and is always looking to put his opponents under pressure. He also had an average of 1.87 fouls per 90 for Inter Milan during the 25/26 campaign, which highlights his impressive work rate.

Egypt have drawn at least 12 infringements in all four matches so far, which makes this look like a decent matchup to target Lautaro Martinez.

Mostafa Ziko has been one of Egypt's most consistent performers at this World Cup, operating in the forward line. Like Lautaro Martinez, Ziko doesn’t give his opponents even a yard of space, constantly looking to put pressure on them to force an error.

Because of that, he has landed this selection in each of his last three starts for Egypt, with exactly two fouls against Australia, Iran and New Zealand. Ziko has also recorded four tackles in that period, which highlights that commendable work-rate. He should have more defensive work to do than ever against Argentina here, who are likely to control proceedings and dominate possession.

After picking up two yellow cards in the group stages, Mohanad Lasheen was forced to sit out against Australia due to suspension, but he should return to midfield here against Argentina. Lasheen committed exactly one foul against both Iran and New Zealand, but that was enough to earn him a yellow.

A majority of his infringements tend to be quite cynical, meaning he is no stranger to the referee’s notebook.

In addition to his four fouls in the tournament so far, Lasheen has also racked up 13 tackles, averaging 4.33 per 90. He is incredibly combative in the heart of midfield, and this matchup against Argentina promises to be one of the toughest of his career - he will find duels against Messi.

In addition to his strong challenges, Lasheen has also been adept at drawing contact, and he was fouled twice against Iran in his last start.

The 30-year-old currently plays for Pyramids FC in the Egyptian top flight, where he had an average of 1.62 fouls drawn per 90 in the 25/26 campaign.

Lasheen does tend to buy soft free-kicks, and he will operate in the same zone of the field as Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez.

Those two have combined for nine fouls in their three starts together for Argentina so far. The South American side tend to be quite aggressive in their press as a unit, which means Lasheen could have plenty of pressure to absorb.

Egypt are not short of star names in their attacking lineup, but it was Emam Ashour who stole the show against Australia last time out.

He scored the only goal for Egypt in open play, accounting for five of their 14 shots in the 120 minutes. He looked eager to get on the ball at every available opportunity, and was always looking to find the back of the net. Ashour also scored against Belgium in round one, making him currently the top scorer for Egypt in the competition.

Argentina will be a tough matchup for Egypt here, but they weren’t convincing against Cape Verde last time out, and the Pharaohs will hope that they can cause problems on the counter.

Breel Embolo is performing again on the international stage with two goals and two assists across his four starts at the World Cup.

He’s a really reliable striker at this level having netted 26 goals across his 90 caps overall. Embolo has taken nine shots at the World Cup (2.33 per 90), seeing four of these efforts find the target (1.04 per 90).

His experience at international level will be a big benefit for Switzerland in this clash with Embolo showing this experience against Algeria last time out, scoring from two shots in the contest.

Embolo scored four goals across six starts during qualifying, maintaining an average of 1.66 shots on target per 90.

Luis Diaz is the most dangerous forward in this Colombia side and had the most shots of any player against Ghana last time out (5), seeing two of these efforts find the target.

Diaz has taken 16 shots across his four starts at the tournament overall (4.02 per 90), seeing five of these efforts find the target (1.26 per 90). He was just as active for Colombia during qualifying, netting seven goals across 17 starts from an average of 1.28 shots on target per 90.

Switzerland have only managed to keep one clean sheet at the World Cup so far and have notably conceded at least three shots on target in three of their matches. Colombia have the firepower and quality to hurt Switzerland with Diaz being an obvious threat.

Switzerland have been involved in a few end to end game so far, seeing 2+ goals in all four of their matches and only managing to keep one clean sheet across these games which came against Algeria in the Round of 32.

Colombia saw four goals in their opener against Uzbekistan but have seen more cagey games since, though they should have scored more goals in all three of these matches having registered 20+ shots in all three games and an xG of 0.98 or higher.

Switzerland have seen 2+ goals in 29 of their last 31 matches across all competitions, so they’re clearly a side that can get involved in high scoring affairs and I think this will be another entertaining encounter between two sides who will feel as though they can win this tie.

Colombia are a really complete side and I’m not totally convinced by what I’ve seen from Switzerland so far.

The Swiss look to be struggling with the conditions a bit, they tire towards the end of games which is proven by how late they’ve been conceding goals - all three of the goals they’ve conceded have come in the 76th minute or later.

Colombia don’t really have that issue with many players that are used to these playing conditions. Colombia have avoided defeat across their four matches so far, including holding Portugal to a 0-0 draw in a game they really should have won if you look at the underlying numbers.

I backed this selection in Switzerland’s game against Algeria in the Round of 32 and it sailed in with Xhaka being hauled down on five occasions.

I made the point on that occasion that Xhaka doesn’t actually commit many fouls, he’s only committed one foul across his four starts but does win fouls more consistently with nine fouls won across these matches (2.25 per 90).

Xhaka averaged 1.54 fouls won per 90 across his six starts for Switzerland during qualifying and will be up against an aggressive Colombian midfield, including Gustavo Puerta (2.06 fouls per 90) and Jefferson Lerma (0.82 fouls per 90).

Johan Manzambi is such a good player and is already on the radar of some of Europe’s top clubs following his displays at the World Cup and his successful season with Freiburg last year, pretty much leading the Bundesliga side to the Europa League final.

What’s really impressive about Manzambi is how seamlessly he’s adapted to international football.

He doesn’t seem to be affected by the pressure of representing his country and has been really impactful for the Swiss so far with five goal contributions across just 200 minutes of action at the World Cup (3 goals, 2 assists).

He’s registered a goal contribution in each of his last three games, playing a part in 2+ goals in two of these games.

Granit Xhaka has scored one goal at the World Cup so far, with that goal coming from the penalty spot in Switzerland’s 4-1 win over Bosnia.

Xhaka has taken five shots at the World Cup overall with four of these efforts coming from distance. He’s more willing to step forward into more advanced positions when playing for his country and has always had a speculative attempt in him.

Xhaka scored two goals across six starts during qualifying for Colombia, taking nine shots in these matches (1.54 per 90). He saw five of them find the target (0.86 per 90) and once again saw seven of his nine attempts come from outside of the box.

There’s every chance that Xhaka gets a free kick within shooting range in this one, Colombia are averaging 12.3 fouls per game at the World Cup and committed more fouls than any other side during qualifying (14.1 per game).

Colombia have been shooting for fun at the World Cup, taking 15+ shots in all four of their matches and clearing 20+ shots in three of these games. These shot totals have seen them produce a minimum of 0.98 xG in their matches, registering an xG of 2.04 from 20 shots against Ghana last time out.

Daniel Munoz is a really complete fullback and likes to push on high, which is something that he does regularly for Crystal Palace as a wingback - he scored five goals for the Eagles across all competitions last year with an average of 1.01 shots per 90 in the Premier League.

He’s already scored two goals at the World Cup as a result of his adventurous nature and won’t be afraid to get forward again here. He’s useful as an extra body in the box and usually arrives unmarked due to the excellent timing of his runs into the penalty area.

Lautaro Martinez has started all four World Cup matches for Argentina so far, and he has landed this selection in three of those. In fact, his tally of seven fouls is more than any other Argentina player in the competition.

The Inter Milan striker presses intensely from the front, and is always looking to put his opponents under pressure. He also had an average of 1.87 fouls per 90 for Inter Milan during the 25/26 campaign, which highlights his impressive work rate.

Egypt have drawn at least 12 infringements in all four matches so far, which makes this look like a decent matchup to target Lautaro Martinez.

Egypt are much stronger than Cape Verde on paper, and they will hope to replicate that blueprint which caused Argentina problems in the previous round.

With that being said, Lionel Scaloni’s side were still dominant, and they had 22 shots across the 120 minute match, with ten of those hitting the target. In the end, a heroic display from Vozinha kept Cape Verde in the game, and he finished with eight saves.

If Argentina are even slightly more clinical in the final third, they should have no issues in making it to the quarter-finals. There is a significant gulf in quality between these two sides, and Egypt lack experience at this stage of the tournament.

Switzerland have been involved in a few end to end game so far, seeing 2+ goals in all four of their matches and only managing to keep one clean sheet across these games which came against Algeria in the Round of 32.

Colombia saw four goals in their opener against Uzbekistan but have seen more cagey games since, though they should have scored more goals in all three of these matches having registered 20+ shots in all three games and an xG of 0.98 or higher.

Switzerland have seen 2+ goals in 29 of their last 31 matches across all competitions, so they’re clearly a side that can get involved in high scoring affairs and I think this will be another entertaining encounter between two sides who will feel as though they can win this tie.

Luis Diaz is the most dangerous forward in this Colombia side and had the most shots of any player against Ghana last time out (5), seeing two of these efforts find the target.

Diaz has taken 16 shots across his four starts at the tournament overall (4.02 per 90), seeing five of these efforts find the target (1.26 per 90). He was just as active for Colombia during qualifying, netting seven goals across 17 starts from an average of 1.28 shots on target per 90.

Switzerland have only managed to keep one clean sheet at the World Cup so far and have notably conceded at least three shots on target in three of their matches. Colombia have the firepower and quality to hurt Switzerland with Diaz being an obvious threat.

Argentina have won each of their last 11 matches across all competitions, winning eight of these games to nil. They have won eight straight World Cup matches against African sides.

Switzerland have seen 2+ goals in 29 of their last 31 matches, they've seen 2+ goals in all four of their World Cup matches and have only kept one clean sheet across these games.

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Aimeric has finished in the top three in 52% of their 23 lifetime races.

Aimeric has not yet raced at Uttoxeter, however, his best form has come on Good to Firm ground, as will be raced on today.

Trainer, Jennie Candlish, has a season strike-rate of 9.9% whilst jockey, Lewis Stones, holds a 7% season strike-rate from 15 runs; a small sample size.

Aimeric will be racing in the Class 4 Novices' Hurdle for horses with no more than one hurdle win. This appears to be a suitable level for him; not too ambitious, not beneath him.

Gaelic Rambler has finished in the top three in 71% of their seven lifetime races.

He has not yet raced at Uttoxeter, however, today's Good to Firm ground will suit him, with his better performances being in these conditions.

Jonjo & AJ O'Neill are today's trainers and hold a season strike-rate of 7% from 69 runs. Jonjo O'Neill Jr. is today's jockey and the son of Gaelic Rambler's trainer. He holds an impressive 15% season strike-rate and has past winners under the father-son duo.

Class 4 appears apt for Gaelic Rambler with five chase starts and three places at this level; winless across his seven races.

Maghlaak has finished in the top four in 63% of their 36 lifetime races.

He recently ran at Uttoxeter in June of 2025, where he finished 4th of nine, not quite placing. He also tends to favour slightly softer ground than the Good to Firm ground he'll be racing on today.

His trainer, Mark Walford, has a season strike-rate of 7% from 204 runs and jockey, Jamie Hamilton, holds a season strike-rate of 6% from 310 and has experience with Maghlaak; winning at Southwell recently.

Class 3 will be a return to higher levels for Maghlaak, his recent hurdle form at this level including a 2nd-place finish at Market Rasen and a 3rd at Ayr.

Tara Iti has finished in the top four in 52% of their 67 lifetime races.

He recently recorded a win at Uttoxeter in a Class 4 hurdle race, the ground conditions then Good, the same as today. Before that, he finished in 2nd in a Class 4 hurdle race on Good to Soft ground.

Both trainer, Barry Brennan, and jockey, James Best, have a season strike-rate of 4% from 26 and 51 runs respectively. Notably low for both; however, Tara Iti's form on this course should prove valuable.

Today's Class 5 handicap is lower level than his previous Uttoxeter places.

Producing the best form of his career of late, SUNRAY SHADOW (9.0) is looking to land a four-timer at Uttoxeter, and given his current mood, his small rise shouldn’t be enough to stop his streak. 

An impressive campaign so far this year, when getting off the mark at Huntingdon in May, he secured his first win in handicap company before racing over fences for the first time at Worcester just nine days later. Following up on his promise, the seven-year-old won going away by 2 ¾ lengths and considering the trailing field were over 27 lengths off the pace, it was an impressive chase debut to say the least.  

Reverting to hurdles last time out, he did extremely well to get up in the latter stages considering his poor position throughout the race, and although he is handed a 4lb rise seeking the four-timer, it doesn’t look enough to halt his progress.

Joining James Owen’s yard in May, PREFER THE SISTER (8.4) has come on leaps and bounds since making the switch, and after a career-best performance over course and distance last week, further improvement looks likely from the six-year-old. 

Racing three times for her new stable, she has improved with every appearance, sporting results of 3, 2, 1 and given her best is still likely to come under her new regime, she holds bold claims even under a penalty. Although handed a 5lb rise for today’s affair, she did dominate her latest outing over course and distance when scoring by an easy 5 ½ lengths, and with the Paddy Bradley partnership remaining intact, the duo hold leading claims on their return today. 

Still racing off a workable mark even with her penalty, Prefer The Sister was beaten by Dion Baker earlier last month but given the improvement next time out, she looks to have his number in today’s affair.