15 June 2018
Most of Croatia’s squad know this is their last chance to win the World Cup or any major competition for their nation as several of this generation’s best players are well over 30 years now. Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic, and Ivan Rakitic are among those who are heading towards retirement. The Europeans crashed out of the group stage of the last World Cup, and were eliminated at the round of 16 at…
13 June 2018
The World Cup gets underway in barely 24 hours before we get our very first big game as Spain take on Portugal in the Iberian derby. These two sides are the teams who should go through from this group as games against Iran and Morocco would likely end in wins for them, however, the winner of this match may decide who tops the group. Portugal were more of a defensive team when they went all the…
13 June 2018
Morocco have not participated in the World Cup for the last 20 years and they would be looking to impress in this very tough group that also includes Spain and Portugal. The difficulty in playing the two European heavyweights makes this game a must-win for both of these teams and the loser would most likely be the first team to be eliminated from the competition. The Moroccans have an impressive…
13 June 2018
Mohamed Salah has had a stunning league season with Liverpool, scoring 32 league goals to break the Premier League’s all-time record for a single 38 games season. He has also risen as a star for his national team. However, he may miss this game through injury and the Egyptians seem to suffer without him. Egypt lost 3-0 to Belgium in their last warmup game, that result followed a goalless draw…
13 June 2018
After a four year wait, the World Cup finally returns and this year Russia would be the host. This game is not the most outstanding opener to a competition, but it looks like it would be a close game between not very good teams. The host are the lowest FIFA ranked team in this competition and they face Saudi Arabia who are only three place above them in that ranking. The Russians also have a…
11 June 2018
Poland would be looking to get into the World Cup with a win under their belt. The Poles play Senegal in their opening FIFA World Cup match and that game comes within seven days of this match. With the match against Senegal looking crucial, the Poles would be looking to get to Moscow on the back of a win. Poland could win their World Cup group as their main rival seems to be Colombia, however,…
9 June 2018
Santos head into this game after a positive week and they would be looking to get yet another good result here as Internacional visits them. Just a week ago, it appeared as if Jair Ventura would lose his job as Santos manager after a really poor start to the season. But his players have relieved some of the pressure by beating Victoria 5-2 before earning a respectable 1-1 draw against Corinthians…
9 June 2018
Vancouver Whitecaps did not compete in the midweek US Open Cup and that may have given them some more time to rest, nevertheless, they would have preferred to play a lesser opposition in this game as they try to regain some confidence. The Whitecaps managed to get a win away from home against the Colorado Rapids the last time out, however, before that match, they were winless in five games and…
9 June 2018
This is Brazil’s last warm-up game before the World Cup and they would be looking to head to Russia on a high. More importantly, they would be keen to avoid another injury before the competition begins. Austria have a free summer having failed to qualify for the World Cup and they have less need to avoid injuries, they would be looking to build on their good recent run of form in this game. The…
5 June 2018
This game would be one of the biggest of the week in Brazil as Sao Paolo play host to Internacional. The home side just suffered their first loss of the season and this game offers them the chance to bounce back to winning ways, but that would be easier said than done. That first loss did hurt more because it came at the hands of their archrival Palmeiras, but confidence is still high in their…
5 June 2018
Belgium’s first warm-up game ahead of the World Cup was against Portugal and the game lived up to its expectation somehow with a goalless a good result for the two nations. Considering that Roberto Martinez would be playing against defensive teams in the World Cup, you can understand why they chose to play the Portuguese. Belgium’s next two games would be against Egypt and Costa Rica, a clear…
5 June 2018
Nigeria come into this game after a 2-1 loss to England in another warm-up game. While that scoreline seems like it was a close game, the reality is far from that and the Super Eagles looked really poor defensively and could have been down by four goals in the first half if England had taken all their chances. They did enjoy some attacking play in the second half when Alex Iwobi scored almost…