Tips Hub

Harry Kane can do it all. He scores goals for fun as we know but he also creates them as well as anyone ever.

Kane had a massive seven shots against Croatia but he also created two chances for his teammates. It was similar against Costa Rica in England's last friendly before the World Cup, Kane had three shots and he also created two for others.

Kane having Gordon and Madueke on the wings is allowing him to do his trademark dropping deeper and find them with balls over the top. These are great opportunities from him to create shots, just as it was v Croatia.

There's a lot of heat around Thomas Partey for obvious reasons. I can definitely see him coming into the Ghana team after getting his visa and overstepping the mark, especially if the crowd are on his back.

Direct opponents should include Bellingham, Anderson and Rice who can all cause him problems.

The referee is Héctor Saíd Martínez Sorto from Honduras and referees tend to be stricter from the Americas. He has handed out 3+ cards in each of his last six matches. And there has been 30+ fouls in four of his last five.

Bellingham comes into this on the back of a great performance against Croatia. He had three shots with two on target and he scored England's third goal of the game.

Only Kane and Eze had more shots on target than Bellingham during World Cup qualifying. He averaged 1.28 shots on target per 90 minutes during the qualifying process.

With backing Kane shots created, it could tie into him providing an opportunity for Bellingham to get a shot on goal.

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. 

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 👇

England won all eight of their qualifying matches to nil.

Harry Kane has scored 81 goals across 115 caps for England (0.70 per game) and was top scorer during qualifying.

Ghana have failed to win seven of their last eight matches, losing four of those games to nil.

England have won their last two matches by at least two goals.

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 👇

Both teams to score has been a standard outcome for Switzerland in recent matches, with seven of their eight games dating back to November seeing both sides find the target.

This is a byproduct of a defence that has only managed to keep one clean sheet in its last eight matches. Canada will exploit this. Not only are they high in confidence after scoring 6 against Qatar, but they have also netted in six of their last seven, showing an ability to score consistently.

In competitive action, the Canadians have scored in nine of their last 10. With Switzerland having scored in 10 of their last 12 (including 3+ on 6 occasions), this is a game set up to produce goals.

Yellow cards will be wiped after the group stages, so anyone who is not already on a caution will be able to pick up one ‘free’ when making a tactical foul.

It could change how the Canadian midfield, in particular, approaches this game. With three of their defenders walking a tightrope, it could be that they are protected by fouls from the midfield.

Additionally, Canada will look to get players forward, leaving them exposed on the break and, therefore, forced into conceding the type of foul liable to be punished with a booking.

Canada had been on a four-game run with 2+ cards before Qatar, when a combination of their opponents’ implosion and timidness meant there was no need for them to be combative.

Nottingham Forest winger Ndoye has been Switzerland’s most prolific attacker in terms of shots at the World Cup, with 10 efforts, including a country-high four on target.

He tends to start on the left and drift into the middle, which should suit him in this matchup against Canada right-back Alistair Johnston. An aggressive defender by nature, Johnston sits on a booking and will be suspended for the next round if he picks up another caution.

With Alphonso Davies unlikely to be fit to start, Canada will be weaker than usual down this channel, and Ndoye is perfectly placed to exploit this.

A game-changing presence off the bench for Switzerland against Bosnia, the Freiburg midfielder surely needs to be brought into the starting XI after scoring two in his previous outing.

While he has a massive shot volume at club level (2.21 shots per 90 in the Bundesliga), he tends to be deployed in a far more attacking role with the national team, allowing him to get into better positions while maintaining his strong shooting figures (3.28 per 90 in the qualifying campaign).

He has only played 45 minutes of football in the World Cup but has four shots and two on target, while his contribution last time out should ensure he starts this game. His freshness should play into his hands to get a high shot volume here.

Canada are an excellent price to avoid defeat in this match, particularly given they have home advantage. This is a side that has largely forgotten what it’s like to lose.

Dating back to their 2024 Copa America campaign, they have lost only one game in their last 20 overall through 90 minutes. By contrast, the form of the Swiss has been somewhat unimpressive.

They have only picked up three wins across their last nine games, with two of these coming at home. Their victory over Bosnia last time out ended a run of five games outside Switzerland in which they had failed to win.

Switzerland have a reputation for being a stuffy side, but that hasn’t been evident over the course of the last season.

Indeed, across the 12 games they have played, 10 of these have produced at least two goals (with the other 2 ending 0-0). Canada, who have scored in five of their last six, will take an attacking mindset into this game and will be confident after netting six against Qatar.

The Swiss, meanwhile, have scored 10 goals across their last four internationals but have failed to keep a clean sheet in this time, setting this fixture up to be a thriller.

Jesse Marsch wants his Canada team to play on the front foot, and that means attacking quickly and directly down the wings.

It’s a style that consistently wins them a high corner count, as proven by the fact that they have picked up 14 across their two matches to date. They earned an incredible 19 corners in their last match against Qatar, having won nine in the first half alone against Bosnia.

They have been relentless in the number of corners they have won this year, never dipping below seven corners in any of the seven matches they have played in 2026.

After a disappointing opening game, David roared back to form in the 6-0 win over Qatar, unlocked by being paired with Cyle Larin in attack.

Not only did he score a hat-trick, but he was also a persistent threat to goal, with eight shots and five on target. Even when he disappointed against Bosnia, he had one effort on target and three shots. The Larin factor here should not be underestimated: with the Southampton man the designated link player, David will be left to focus on getting efforts on goal.

Against the weakest teams in the group, Switzerland have allowed a total of seven shots on target, and Canada, and David in particular, should stretch them more.

With three fouls committed during the World Cup, no Swiss player has made more indiscretions than Rodriguez. This should come as little surprise.

He has committed 1+ fouls in five of the last seven competitive matches for the Nati. In this game, he will go face-to-face with Canada’s Tajon Buchanan, who has been on the receiving end of most fouls for the co-hosts, earning 3.13 per 90.

Buchanan has been fouled on at least one occasion in six of the last seven competitive games for club and country when he has played for more than an hour.

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.