Tips Hub

It’s quite clear to me that this team is built to maximise the quality of Harry Kane. This is a smart approach by Thomas Tuchel. Kane is England’s only player who is consistently operating at a world class level, and Tuchel has built a squad, particularly an attack, around his strengths.

Kane scored twice from seven shots in England’s opener, seeing three of those efforts find the target. One of those efforts was from the penalty spot, and a few more came from set pieces - including Kane’s second goal, which was a nice header from Declan Rice’s corner, one of many deliveries that looked very dangerous from the Arsenal man.

Kane scored eight goals across eight starts for England during qualifying. He managed 16 shots on target across those games (2.11 per 90) and will definitely be a real threat to this Ghana side, who lack defensive quality. 

Semenyo will be Ghana’s main attacking threat in this game and should feel encouraged by what he saw from England against Croatia at times.

I didn’t like the partnership of John Stones and Ezri Konsa. I think Marc Guehi has to play beside one of those players for England to be at their best defensively, though I did feel secure with Reece James and Nico O’Reilly as the full backs - they looked quite solid.

Semenyo had two shots in Ghana’s opener against Panama and isn’t afraid to take on speculative efforts. He averaged 2.33 shots per 90 across his 37 starts for Bournemouth and Manchester City in the Premier League during the 25/26 campaign, and we need him just to get one effort away here. 

Semenyo registered efforts against Germany and Austria back in March for Ghana and should have enough individual quality to have at least one shot in this encounter. 

I expected Jordan Pickford to be more regularly tested at this World Cup compared to England’s qualifying campaign, where he was a bystander for most of the matches, with England keeping a clean sheet in all eight.

That streak was broken in the first game of the tournament, with England shipping two goals to Croatia, and Pickford called into action on three occasions to keep England in the game. He’s going to have to perform that role often for England if the Three Lions want to go deep. I’m not set on the quality of the backline, so Pickford will likely play a pivotal role. 

Pickford is more than familiar with having to keep his focus through periods of the game where the ball is nowhere near him, but quickly clicks back into gear when he is needed to produce important stops. We’re just looking for the one save from the England keeper here, which could easily come from a speculative Ghana effort. 

I took this for England’s opener against Croatia, and it sailed in with England registering eight corners. It’s clear that Tuchel wants corners and set pieces more widely to be a real weapon of this England side, and it’s easy to see why when you’ve got the quality of someone like Declan Rice managing them.

England averaged 7.50 corners per game during qualifying, winning 5+ corners in 88% of those games. I think they rack up the corner count again here against a side that will be more willing to tighten up central areas and sit deep than Croatia were - suggesting that it could take England a bit of time to break down this Ghana side, and it may not be the free-flowing football we saw in the opener.

Bellingham was fouled once in England’s opener against Croatia, but I expect him to be more routinely targeted by an aggressive Ghanaian midfield who will be well aware of his individual quality.

Bellingham has always been a very strong player when it comes to winning fouls. His large frame and power allow him to shield the ball really effectively, and this shows in his underlying numbers. Bellingham won 10 fouls across just four starts during qualifying (2.54 per 90) and also averaged 2.56 fouls won per 90 across his 22 starts in La Liga during the 25/26 campaign. 

Bellingham will be up against Caleb Yirenkyi and Elisha Owusu, who combine to commit 3.53 fouls per 90 for their club sides and should offer a stubborn block to Bellingham as he looks to build on his performance in the opening game. 

Bellingham found the target twice and scored in England's opener against Croatia.

He's playing quite high up at the moment, usually crashing the box as an extra goalscoring option when Kane drops a bit deeper into pockets and looks to pick out the runs of Madueke, Gordon, Saka and Rashford in behind.

You can back Bellingham to find the target @ 2.0 by clicking the link below 👇

Harry Kane had more shots than any other England player in the win over Croatia (7), with four of these attempts coming in the first 45 minutes of the contest.

Kane saw two of those four attempts find the target in the first half, with both of those efforts also ending up in the back of the net from the penalty spot and a corner.

Kane is as short as 1.14 for a shot on target in this game, you can back him for a first half shot on target @ 2.0 by clicking the link below 👇

Bruno Fernandes registered 31 goal contributions across 37 appearances for Manchester United during the 25/26 campaign.

He's also recorded 53 goal contributions across just 90 caps for his country (0.58 per game).

Portugal must win here after drawing their opening game of the tournament, Uzbekistan lost their opener against Colombia 3-1.

You can back Portugal to win & Bruno Fernandes to score or assist by clicking the link below 👇

Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to get in on the action with Mbappe, Messi, Yamal and Haaland already off the mark at this World Cup.

He was kept quiet in Portugal's opening game, but did manage to have three shots. He was Portugal's top scorer during qualifying, notably averaging over 7 shots per 90.

Ronaldo's international goalscoring record is pretty insane, he's netted 143 goals across 229 caps - many of which have come against nations of a similar ranking to Uzbekistan.

You can back Ronaldo to score or assist against Uzbekistan by clicking the link below 👇

England scored twice in the first half against Croatia in their opening game and this is a great price for Tuchel's men to get on the scoresheet in the first half again.

England won all eight of their qualifying games to nil, scoring in the first half in the majority of these games.

You can back England to score in the first half @ 2.0 by clicking the link below 👇

England started their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia, scoring twice in the first half.

I expect a strong start from Tuchel's men again who are playing some really nice football at the moment, and won all eight of their qualifying games to nil.

You can back England to lead at HT @ 2.0 by clicking the link below 👇

Luka Modric was fouled once in Croatia’s defeat to England last time out, with Croatia drawing 10 fouls from England overall. His replacement in Mateo Kovacic came on to be fouled two times in the final 30 minutes, showing that this leg has a decent angle with Super Sub too.

Modric is still a key player in this Croatia side, he completed 100% of his passes against England and should still be able to set the tempo for his nation against a Panama side that will struggle to offer any meaningful opposition to Croatia’s dominance.

Modric won four fouls across his four starts for Croatia during qualifying (0.90 per 90) and will be up against a Panama side who committed 11 fouls in their opening game. Modric also averaged 1.05 fouls won per 90 across his 32 starts for AC Milan during the 25/26 campaign. 

Croatia should comfortably exceed this corner line, they averaged 9.25 corners per game during qualifying and won 4+ corners in 75% of their matches. 

Panama conceded 3.40 corners per game during their qualifying campaign and will have to sit quite deep here if they want to avoid a blowout from Croatia, which should lead to the European side registering a healthy corner count.

I expect Croatia to dominate the game, though it may take them a while to find a way through the stubborn low block of Panama which should allow for this corner total to be matched or exceeded by Zlatko Dalic’s side.

Croatia scored twice in their opener against England but came away with nothing, making this a very important game for the European side if they want to avoid a very tense clash against Ghana on the final matchday.

Croatia are more than good enough to come away with a comfortable victory here. Panama did ok in spells against Ghana, but ultimately lost the game and conceded an xG of 1.25 from just seven shots. Croatia should exceed that shot count and be able to put a few goals past this Panama side in a comfortable victory.

Croatia scored 26 goals across their eight qualifying matches (3.25 per game) and I back them to get on the scoresheet at least twice against a Panama side that they are comfortably superior to.

Gvardiol is a constant shot threat for club and country, managing one attempt in Croatia’s defeat to England in their opening game. 

His effort in that clash came from a corner, one of only two that Croatia managed in the encounter. I’d expect Zlatko Dalic’s side to have more corners in this clash against a much weaker Panama side, though Gvardiol can also offer a threat from open play - getting forward from his role as the left centre back in a back three.

Gvardiol managed four shots across his four starts for Croatia during qualifying (1.04 per 90), scoring one goal across these games. He also maintained an average of 1.11 shots per 90 across 16 starts for Manchester City during the 25/26 campaign. 

Martin Baturina is a really talented player and scored a brilliant goal against England last time out as Croatia fell to a 4-2 defeat against Thomas Tuchel’s side. 

He didn’t get much of a chance to feature for Croatia during qualifying, but did still manage to get four shots away across 172 minutes of action (2.09 per 90) with three of these efforts coming from outside of the box.

This is relevant as Baturina’s goal against England also came from distance, suggesting that the Como player is not afraid to take on speculative efforts which could be crucial for Croatia as they look to unlock a stubborn Panama side in a must win game.

Baturina scored six goals across just 17 starts for Como during the 25/26 campaign from 28 shots (1.61 per 90). I think he’ll have plenty of confidence to have a few more attempts in this game following his goal against the Three Lions.

Cristiano Ronaldo must be really frustrated right now. 

This has been a World Cup where all the big names have delivered so far, apart from the Al Nassr star who continues to draw criticism from Portugal and wider as to his role as the main striker in this side.

Ronaldo won’t really care about the critics, he’s been dealing with that for a while, but it will irk him that he hasn’t yet managed to make his mark on this World Cup and was limited to three wayward efforts in the opening game against DR Congo. 

This Portugal team is built around Ronaldo. Whatever you think of this strategy from Roberto Martinez, it still platforms the striker as the main vocal point and everything is structured to provide him with the service to score goals.

Ronaldo averaged a ridiculous 7.44 shots per 90 for Portugal during qualifying, seeing 12 of his 31 attempts find the target (2.88 per 90). I can see him taking on ridiculous efforts from distance to try and get on the scoresheet which should lead to another high shot count from the forward. 

Nuno Mendes got forward regularly for Portugal in their opening game against DR Congo, notably having more touches in the opposition box than any other Portuguese player (6). 

This is a nice price for the best attacking fullback in the world to have a single shot on target here. He will push forward as often as he did in the opening game and has a solid shot on target record over the last year for club and country for a fullback. 

Mendes took five shots across his four starts in qualifying for Portugal (1.38 per 90) and netted four goals across just 13 starts for PSG during the 25/26 Ligue 1 campaign. He averaged 2.16 shots per 90 and 1.08 shots on target per 90 across these appearances and could be a decent outside option for Portugal to offer an attacking threat.

Bruno Fernandes wasn’t quite at his creative best against DR Congo, creating just one chance and taking three corners, but he’s still the main man in this Portugal side for me and can make something happen with a moment of brilliance. 

Fernandes enjoyed a really strong season for Manchester United, setting up 21 goals from 136 chances created (3.99 per 90). That chances created metric is seriously impressive and clears every other player in the division by some distance.

He set up a similar level of chances for his national team during qualifying, creating 21 chances across just five starts (4.80 per 90). These numbers are ridiculously high and show that Fernandes could be the key to unlock what is likely to be a stubborn and organised Uzbekistan outfit.

Khusanov was booked in Uzbekistan’s opener against Colombia, committing three fouls. I think he’ll have his hands full again in this encounter with a duo of Pedro Neto and Nuno Mendes operating down his side of the pitch.

The Portuguese pair were fouled four times combined in their opener against DR Congo, with Nuno Mendes winning the majority of these fouls (3). 

Khusanov is in quite a unique position as he’s clearly the most talented player in this Uzbekistan side, but is having to adapt to a side that don’t have a lot of the ball and are routinely underdogs - compared to often being on the dominant side of proceedings when playing for Manchester City.

Bruno Fernandes was one of Portugal’s better players in their 1-1 draw with DR Congo last time out, managing two shots - both of which came from outside of the box.

Portugal were successfully blunted by DR Congo, restricted to just seven shots in the contest but I expect that tally to rise significantly here given that Portugal need all three points to avoid a tense final day clash with Colombia who won their opening game. 

Fernandes scored three goals during qualifying across five starts overall, managing six shots on target across these games (1.37 per 90). He also averaged 2.50 shots per 90 across his 35 starts for Manchester United during the 25/26 campaign and should be central to any success that Portugal get here.

Mendes was fouled three times in Portugal’s opening game against DR Congo, accounting for 30% of the total fouls that Portugal drew from the African side. It’s clear that Mendes is a clear outlet for this Portugal side, he got forward regularly in the game - having more touches in the opposition box than any other Portuguese player (6). 

Mendes should continue to fly forward again in this game and now lines up against an Uzbekistan side who committed 14 fouls in their opening match against Colombia, with half of those fouls coming down Mendes’ side of the pitch. Both Karimov and Khusanov committed three fouls each which would indicate that Mendes is going to win a similar volume of fouls, if not more, than he did in the opening game.

Mendes won eight fouls during qualifying across just four starts for Portugal (2.21 per 90), as well as averaging 1.80 fouls won per 90 across his 13 starts for PSG during the 25/26 campaign. 

Portugal racked up five corners against DR Congo in their opening game and I expect them to end this clash with a healthy corner count, slightly exceeding the count they set in the first game. 

During qualifying, Portugal averaged 6.84 corners per game - managing 6+ corners in 67% of their matches. They had at least five corners in 83% of these games, so Roberto Martinez’s side have regularly ended up with a decent corner count over the last year and should be able to produce that again here.

Uzbekistan conceded four corners in their opener against Colombia and are likely to try and keep things tight at the back in this contest, knowing that a point would keep their qualifying hopes alive ahead of a more winnable clash against DR Congo. 

Diogo Costa was tested once in Portugal's opener against DR Congo and I think he can be forced into making at least one save against an Uzbekistan side who generated an xG of 1.16 from just eight shots against Colombia last time out, getting on the scoresheet and forcing a save from Camillo Vargas.

This World Cup has been pretty successful for the underdogs so far, and the root of their success has come from not being afraid to get out of a stubborn shape and take risks in transition. 

There is always space for them to attack against the high lines of nations like Portugal, and they’ll also be aware of the fragility of the European side following their disappointing display in the first game.

Diogo Costa only kept two clean sheets across his seven qualifying matches for Portugal and was called into action nine times (1.50 per 90). 

Portugal saw 27 goals across their six qualifying matches (4.5 per game), scoring 20 of these goals themselves (3.33 per game). They are capable of a much greater attacking output than they showed in their opener against DR Congo and I expect that talent to come to the fore here in a must win game.

Portugal saw 3+ goals in both of their warm-up games for the World Cup against Chile and Nigeria. They’ve also failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last three international matches which is a record that suggests that Uzbekistan could also contribute to the goal tally - as they did against Colombia last time out, losing 3-1.

I highly doubt that Portugal will be as ineffective in forward areas as they were in the opening game, but their defensive vulnerability remains something that can be exploited by Uzbekistan who generated an xG of 1.16 from eight shots on their opener.