2026 World Cup Predictor: Day 16
We're now halfway through Round 3 of the World Cup Predictor and the rest of the round will pass very quickly ahead of the knockouts beginning on Sunday.
Yesterday, Sweden and particularly Ecuador did well to secure progression to the Round of 32 as 3rd-placed teams, though the down side of some 3rd-placed teams progressing was also evident in other matches..
Here's your daily World Cup Predictor round-up.
Lots of exacts for this one as things played out very much as expected with the Ivory Coast too good for Curaçao. It's been a fun debut appearance at a World Cup for Curaçao though and I'm pleased they got their heroic point in Round 2.
The Ivory Coast are a good side and they should be a great watch in the Round of 32 against either France or more likely Norway.
I'm slightly frustrated for not picking this one having warned everyone about this game, but then again, Germany's lineup made it look as if they were going to play far better in this match than they did. However, take nothing away from Ecuador who were excellent and could well be tough to beat in the knockouts now that they've made it. It was fantastic to see how much this result meant to everyone involved.
This match was much less fun than hoped, particularly in the first half, but credit to Graham Potter and Sweden who made themselves much better defensively in order to get the point that they needed. Anthony Elanga's equaliser was a lovely hit and though Japan were probably still the better side overall, this wasn't as good a performance from the Samurai Blue as we've seen in the other rounds so far. A tough clash with Brazil for them next...
A surprise goal for Tunisia in this one ruined quite a few Exacts including my own, but that was a very small consolation in what has been a truly awful Tunisian campaign.
The Dutch weren't quite as explosive as they were vs. Sweden but another encouraging display nonetheless from Ronald Koeman's team. They also have a cracker of a tie in the first knockout round as they'll face Morocco. I'm getting quite excited for the Round of 32!
This is another one that's frustrating in hindsight - I predicted 1-1 like most people but 0-0 makes sense. This was definitely a match where you see the problem with 3rd-placed teams being able to qualify - in the same way the head-to-head tie-breaking is causing dead rubbers, Paraguay didn't have too much motivation to risk losing this game when a draw was always going to be enough to progress with 4pts anyway.
This proved to be a great game to be fair so credit to both teams for really going at it despite nothing being at stake. Türkiye did of course want to end on a high, though this performance and result must make their elimination even more frustrating for their supporters as it proves what so many of us already knew they were capable of.
I'm not sure it damages the USA too much. Clearly, losing to such a late goal isn't great for momentum, but Mauricio Pochettino's selection reflected the status of this game and there were still quite a few positives. I really enjoyed Sebastian Berhalter's goal - love it when a shot skims off the surface like that.
It was confirmed yesterday that the USA will meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Another interesting clash but the US will and should fancy themselves to progress.
Today's schedule:
Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia is the unlikely exciting game of the round, what an opportunity for both sides. I'd love to see Cape Verde win and I think they stand a reasonable chance, so I'll probably be predicting with heart there.
Spain should beat Uruguay, it feels like the Uruguay squad just absolutely hate Marcelo Bielsa at this point so I'm expecting a defeat and then quite a messy post-tournament fallout even though it's already known that Bielsa will leave after the World Cup.
Finally, we have Group G which is set for a very interesting final day. Egypt lead the group by 2 points, but could easily end up 3rd if they lose to Iran. I expect them to get at least a point, though, while Belgium should finally win, right? Not sure any of us feel too confident in the Belgians at this point!
For match previews for each game (and all others in the tournament), upgrade to Superbru Premium.
We've now updated the Superbru Football app. If you head to the World Cup tab, there's an image listing each of the competing players which when tapped will tak you through to a new leaderboard view showing the current standings and the key that each player holds.
DRC key holder 'Jamizzle' and Ecuador key holder 'Hypnotised' currently lead the way.
Enjoy today's action and good luck with your picks.
Yesterday, Sweden and particularly Ecuador did well to secure progression to the Round of 32 as 3rd-placed teams, though the down side of some 3rd-placed teams progressing was also evident in other matches..
Here's your daily World Cup Predictor round-up.
🇨🇼 Curaçao 0-2 Ivory Coast 🇨🇮
Outcome predicted by 90% of users | Scoreline predicted by 36.2% of usersLots of exacts for this one as things played out very much as expected with the Ivory Coast too good for Curaçao. It's been a fun debut appearance at a World Cup for Curaçao though and I'm pleased they got their heroic point in Round 2.
The Ivory Coast are a good side and they should be a great watch in the Round of 32 against either France or more likely Norway.
🇪🇨 Ecuador 2-1 Germany 🇩🇪
Outcome predicted by 2% of users | Scoreline predicted by 0.9% of usersI'm slightly frustrated for not picking this one having warned everyone about this game, but then again, Germany's lineup made it look as if they were going to play far better in this match than they did. However, take nothing away from Ecuador who were excellent and could well be tough to beat in the knockouts now that they've made it. It was fantastic to see how much this result meant to everyone involved.
🇯🇵 Japan 1-1 Sweden 🇸🇪
Outcome predicted by 29% of users | Scoreline predicted by 14.3% of usersThis match was much less fun than hoped, particularly in the first half, but credit to Graham Potter and Sweden who made themselves much better defensively in order to get the point that they needed. Anthony Elanga's equaliser was a lovely hit and though Japan were probably still the better side overall, this wasn't as good a performance from the Samurai Blue as we've seen in the other rounds so far. A tough clash with Brazil for them next...
🇹🇳 Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands 🇳🇱
Outcome predicted by 97.6% of users | Scoreline predicted by 10.3% of usersA surprise goal for Tunisia in this one ruined quite a few Exacts including my own, but that was a very small consolation in what has been a truly awful Tunisian campaign.
The Dutch weren't quite as explosive as they were vs. Sweden but another encouraging display nonetheless from Ronald Koeman's team. They also have a cracker of a tie in the first knockout round as they'll face Morocco. I'm getting quite excited for the Round of 32!
🇵🇾 Paraguay 0-0 Australia 🇦🇺
Outcome predicted by 45% of users | Scoreline predicted by 3.2% of usersThis is another one that's frustrating in hindsight - I predicted 1-1 like most people but 0-0 makes sense. This was definitely a match where you see the problem with 3rd-placed teams being able to qualify - in the same way the head-to-head tie-breaking is causing dead rubbers, Paraguay didn't have too much motivation to risk losing this game when a draw was always going to be enough to progress with 4pts anyway.
🇹🇷 Türkiye 3-2 USA 🇺🇸
Outcome predicted by 7% of users | Scoreline predicted by 0.3% of usersThis proved to be a great game to be fair so credit to both teams for really going at it despite nothing being at stake. Türkiye did of course want to end on a high, though this performance and result must make their elimination even more frustrating for their supporters as it proves what so many of us already knew they were capable of.
I'm not sure it damages the USA too much. Clearly, losing to such a late goal isn't great for momentum, but Mauricio Pochettino's selection reflected the status of this game and there were still quite a few positives. I really enjoyed Sebastian Berhalter's goal - love it when a shot skims off the surface like that.
It was confirmed yesterday that the USA will meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Another interesting clash but the US will and should fancy themselves to progress.
Today
A fun shootout in Group I, followed by two groups that are still very much in the balance so this should be a fun World Cup day.Today's schedule:
- 🇳🇴 Norway vs. France 🇫🇷 (Group I) | Kick-off 15:00 local, 20:00 UK, 21:00 CET/CAT
- 🇸🇳 Senegal vs. Iraq 🇮🇶 (Group I) | Kick-off 15:00 local, 20:00 UK, 21:00 CET/CAT
- 🇨🇻 Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 (Group H) | Kick-off 19:00 local, 01:00 UK, 02:00 CET/CAT
- 🇺🇾 Uruguay vs. Spain 🇪🇸 (Group H) | Kick-off 18:00 local, 01:00 UK, 02:00 CET/CAT
- 🇪🇬 Egypt vs. Iran 🇮🇷 (Group G) | Kick-off 20:00 local, 04:00 UK, 05:00 CET/CAT
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand vs. Belgium 🇧🇪 (Group G) | Kick-off 20:00 local, 04:00 UK, 05:00 CET/CAT
Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia is the unlikely exciting game of the round, what an opportunity for both sides. I'd love to see Cape Verde win and I think they stand a reasonable chance, so I'll probably be predicting with heart there.
Spain should beat Uruguay, it feels like the Uruguay squad just absolutely hate Marcelo Bielsa at this point so I'm expecting a defeat and then quite a messy post-tournament fallout even though it's already known that Bielsa will leave after the World Cup.
Finally, we have Group G which is set for a very interesting final day. Egypt lead the group by 2 points, but could easily end up 3rd if they lose to Iran. I expect them to get at least a point, though, while Belgium should finally win, right? Not sure any of us feel too confident in the Belgians at this point!
For match previews for each game (and all others in the tournament), upgrade to Superbru Premium.
Superbru 48 league
A few of you have been asking about being able to track the Superbru 48 prize league which 48 users qualified for throughout the second half of the 2025-26 season here on Superbru.We've now updated the Superbru Football app. If you head to the World Cup tab, there's an image listing each of the competing players which when tapped will tak you through to a new leaderboard view showing the current standings and the key that each player holds.
DRC key holder 'Jamizzle' and Ecuador key holder 'Hypnotised' currently lead the way.
Enjoy today's action and good luck with your picks.
Superbru on X
I had a very odd thing happen where I didn't get a single close in the first 16 games of the tournament, then got 5 out of the next 7 games. I guess it was just a statistical anomaly.
But yeah, going well. A long, long way to go, though. 26 Jun 12:07
Iran and Egypt draw
New Zealand qualify hahaha
Like South Africa and Ecuador they just have to go for the win against a higher ranked nation. They can use them as inspiration. 26 Jun 12:59
Norway 1 -2/3 France
Senegal 2-0 Iraq
Cape Verde 1/2-0 Saudi Arabia
Uruguay 0-2 Spain
Egypt 2-1 Iran
New Zealand 1/0-2 Belgium
Haven't decided fully on the ones with choice of goal.
Dare I say I think NZ could beat Belgium? I am kinda playing safe with Belgium as I know they'll be heavily backed. New Zealand have issues defensively and aren't a good side, but they look to have a lot more zip and energy than the Belgians. It might just be enough.
We might even see something like Uruguay beating Spain. 26 Jun 13:41