2026 World Cup Predictor: Day 22
We had two of the most dramatic Round of 32 matches so far in yesterday's World Cup action, but with some even looking ties on paper today, I wouldn't bet against there being just as much drama.
Here's your overview of England's narrow win over DRC, an unbelievable game in Seattle and another solid win for the hosts, as well as a look ahead to today's ties.
A truly magnificent individual display from Harry Kane. Like most England fans, I was starting to panic about 5 minutes before Kane's first goal in this game, because the DRC were brilliant. They caught England cold early on, continued to pose a fairly constant threat when in possession, and Yoane Wissa could have so easily made it 2.
After putting in arguably the worst 22 minutes of any team across the entire tournament before the first hydration break, England did improve and DRC keeper Lionel Mpasi made some great saves; particularly that one to deny Jude Bellingham's second header.
In the end, it was captain Kane that stood up and won this game for England though. His international record is incredible and that second goal yesterday was just phenomenal. With him leading the line, England will always have a chance, albeit on a very difficult path to the trophy from here.
I'm far from confident about getting through the next round, but as an England fan, how can you not be excited? Mexico's record at the Azteca combined with the altitude makes it an incredibly difficult task, but as Thomas Tuchel has said, it's a beautiful fixture, probably a once in a lifetime World Cup fixture for the Three Lions.
I still cannot believe Belgium won this tie. How have they not lost a game yet at this World Cup playing like this!? A very frustrating match for those of us that picked Senegal, and I know there's a lot of very annoyed people that picked 2-2 as well, but I did at least still manage to appreciate the drama when watching the game because it was genuinely remarkable how things played out.
Senegal were excellent for 80 minutes. They could have been even further in front. Yet the game management for those final 10 minutes of normal time was just non-existent and then goalkeeper Mory Diaw, who was in for the injured Edouard Mendy, obviously made a mess of that second Belgium goal.
I don't particularly rate Rudi Garcia as a coach and I think Belgium have played way below par in this tournament as I say, but his substitutions did make a difference and as it turns out, the brave move of removing both Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku before the hour mark paid off.
As you can see on the graphic below, the winning penalty in extra time was a very late one and that's because it took almost 10 minutes for VAR to give it. Personally, I think it probably was just about a penalty, but I was surprised they overturned the original decision having been pretty good in this tournament in not interfering too much in comparison to the top European leagues and Champions League.
Aside from a controversial red card, there was less tension in this one, largely because the US just dominated. Bosnia hardly threw a punch in this game as they were just unable to get a moment to breathe all while the USA had 11 men. The energy in the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Malik Tillman is excellent.
The big talking point is of course Folarin Balogun's red card because he's now going to be hugely missed for the Belgium game. People are understandably drawing comparison with the Lionel Messi incident in Round 1, and my view is that neither should be a red card. While it will clearly have been very painful for Tarik Muharemovic given the angle of his ankle during the contact etc., there was no intention at all and it seems very harsh to have such a big player missing for the Round of 16 now because of an accidental incident. One of those where it's unfair to judge on a slow motion replay.
Today's schedule:
I'm not convinced Spain will be close to as dominant as France were in their Round of 32 tie - Les Bleus seem to have moved a fair bit ahead in terms of being outright tournament favourites - but they should get the job done as they're good enough on the ball to evade the press and I think Austria lack the cutting edge to take the half chances they might get.
Portugal vs. Croatia is tricky. I'm not expecting a thrilling match but I think it'll be tight and we could see extra time at least? I think the Croatia of 4 years ago beat this Portugal side quite comfortably but I'm probably going to go with a 1-goal win for Portugal this time as they just have more players that are likely to find a winner from nothing.
Switzerland vs. Algeria ought to be higher scoring and I'm leaning towards the Swiss, largely because they've had the comfortable preparation time in Vancouver that was meant for Canada if they won Group B.
Good luck to all with your own predictions and feel free to debate each game in the comments as usual!
Here's your overview of England's narrow win over DRC, an unbelievable game in Seattle and another solid win for the hosts, as well as a look ahead to today's ties.
🏴 England 2-1 Congo DR 🇨🇩
Outcome predicted by 95% of users | Scoreline predicted by 19.9% of usersA truly magnificent individual display from Harry Kane. Like most England fans, I was starting to panic about 5 minutes before Kane's first goal in this game, because the DRC were brilliant. They caught England cold early on, continued to pose a fairly constant threat when in possession, and Yoane Wissa could have so easily made it 2.
After putting in arguably the worst 22 minutes of any team across the entire tournament before the first hydration break, England did improve and DRC keeper Lionel Mpasi made some great saves; particularly that one to deny Jude Bellingham's second header.
In the end, it was captain Kane that stood up and won this game for England though. His international record is incredible and that second goal yesterday was just phenomenal. With him leading the line, England will always have a chance, albeit on a very difficult path to the trophy from here.
I'm far from confident about getting through the next round, but as an England fan, how can you not be excited? Mexico's record at the Azteca combined with the altitude makes it an incredibly difficult task, but as Thomas Tuchel has said, it's a beautiful fixture, probably a once in a lifetime World Cup fixture for the Three Lions.
🇧🇪 Belgium 3-2 Senegal 🇸🇳
Outcome predicted by 57.5% of users | Scoreline predicted by 1.6% of usersI still cannot believe Belgium won this tie. How have they not lost a game yet at this World Cup playing like this!? A very frustrating match for those of us that picked Senegal, and I know there's a lot of very annoyed people that picked 2-2 as well, but I did at least still manage to appreciate the drama when watching the game because it was genuinely remarkable how things played out.
Senegal were excellent for 80 minutes. They could have been even further in front. Yet the game management for those final 10 minutes of normal time was just non-existent and then goalkeeper Mory Diaw, who was in for the injured Edouard Mendy, obviously made a mess of that second Belgium goal.
I don't particularly rate Rudi Garcia as a coach and I think Belgium have played way below par in this tournament as I say, but his substitutions did make a difference and as it turns out, the brave move of removing both Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku before the hour mark paid off.
As you can see on the graphic below, the winning penalty in extra time was a very late one and that's because it took almost 10 minutes for VAR to give it. Personally, I think it probably was just about a penalty, but I was surprised they overturned the original decision having been pretty good in this tournament in not interfering too much in comparison to the top European leagues and Champions League.
🇺🇸 USA 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦
Outcome predicted by 90.4% of users | Scoreline predicted by 27.8% of usersAside from a controversial red card, there was less tension in this one, largely because the US just dominated. Bosnia hardly threw a punch in this game as they were just unable to get a moment to breathe all while the USA had 11 men. The energy in the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Malik Tillman is excellent.
The big talking point is of course Folarin Balogun's red card because he's now going to be hugely missed for the Belgium game. People are understandably drawing comparison with the Lionel Messi incident in Round 1, and my view is that neither should be a red card. While it will clearly have been very painful for Tarik Muharemovic given the angle of his ankle during the contact etc., there was no intention at all and it seems very harsh to have such a big player missing for the Round of 16 now because of an accidental incident. One of those where it's unfair to judge on a slow motion replay.
Today
Spain face a potentially awkward Austria side, before two quite even looking ties.Today's schedule:
- 🇪🇸 Spain vs. Austria 🇦🇹 | Kick-off 12:00 local, 20:00 UK, 21:00 CET/CAT
- 🇵🇹 Portugal vs. Croatia 🇭🇷 | Kick-off 19:00 local, 00:00 UK, 01:00 CET/CAT
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs. Algeria 🇩🇿 | Kick-off 20:00 local, 04:00 UK, 05:00 CET/CAT
I'm not convinced Spain will be close to as dominant as France were in their Round of 32 tie - Les Bleus seem to have moved a fair bit ahead in terms of being outright tournament favourites - but they should get the job done as they're good enough on the ball to evade the press and I think Austria lack the cutting edge to take the half chances they might get.
Portugal vs. Croatia is tricky. I'm not expecting a thrilling match but I think it'll be tight and we could see extra time at least? I think the Croatia of 4 years ago beat this Portugal side quite comfortably but I'm probably going to go with a 1-goal win for Portugal this time as they just have more players that are likely to find a winner from nothing.
Switzerland vs. Algeria ought to be higher scoring and I'm leaning towards the Swiss, largely because they've had the comfortable preparation time in Vancouver that was meant for Canada if they won Group B.
Good luck to all with your own predictions and feel free to debate each game in the comments as usual!
Superbru on X
Liking you guys' comments. Good to see you getting involved too, Frank. 2 Jul 17:02
Spain 2-0
Portugal 1-1
Swiss 2-1 2 Jul 16:36
Gonna go with
Spain 2-0 Austria. I think Austria can score but Spain have so much of the ball and seem reasonably solid defensively.
Portugal 2-1 Croatia. I actually think Croatia can get through this tie, but going against the wisdom of the crowds and general consensus cost me yesterday in the final minutes of extra time with Belgium, so gonna play safe as I know about 65 percent or so most likely will go for a Portugal win.
Switzerland 2-0 or 2-1 Algeria. Honestly, I have no idea what will happen here. Switzerland are usually a very solid 'level below the superpowers; European side, so I think they'll get through before penalties. Whether or not Algeria will score I am not sure, but they looked dangerous vs Austria. Not sure if I can last for this, especially if it goes to penalties and nearly 7 am lol.
Best of luck to all with your predictions.
You are catching me up. I think I pull away, then you close the gap again a game or two later. I will have to be very careful with you and Fleeto breathing down my neck, lol. 2 Jul 18:15
Neves (Joao not Ruben) back in too, which is about time. I can't believe he didn't start the previous game.
Looks like Croatia are be playing a back four again. They'll need width from their wingers and their wide men to also track back as Mendes especially is a real handful marauding forward from left back.
3 Jul 01:18
It was an interesting game anyway. I do strongly dislike Ronaldo but I think the goal at the end was ruled out correctly if he faintly touched it (though it's really harsh too). Second half was thrilling.
Have given some thoughts below. 3 Jul 01:38
If I am trying to be fair and neutral the goal being disallowed was probably fair. The spike shows he got the faintest of touches. It's really really harsh, though.
Modric absolutely dominated Fernandes when he was on. He will never be fit to lace even 40 year old Modric's boots.
Ronaldo...everyone knows I hate him. Being fair, he did touch and finish exquisitely for his offside goal. Other than that though he was absolutely terrible. Yes, he scored the penalty (he's missed plenty of big pens before, though) but you cannot carry a passenger like him all game.
Leao...said before I am not a fan but above I said let's see what he can do. A mixed bag from him - some comically bad plays but some really dangerous moments too such as his shot that hit the bar and his cross for the winner.
Don't rate Concecaio at all.
The next game is against Spain and they'll run rings around Portugal with their passing. Even if Portugal dramatically improve (as they must) it's a big ask for them to get through Spain. I will be backing Spain in that game for sure.
I said above I was backing Portugal to play safe, but I felt Croatia could get through. That's how it panned out - Croatia really could have won that. But thanks to Portugal for the exact.
You seem to like him (though you're also criticising him, fair play), but the hype around this guy is way too much considering there have been 7-8 better players in history. 3 Jul 02:09
Spanish defence isn't very good? They haven't conceded in four games. Even if you don't rate the players individually they're a well honed unit. They keep the ball so much that the opposition is starved of quality chances.
As I said before the tournament, Portugal are a mediocre team with or without Cristiano Ronaldo. And sorry but Conceicao is crap, why would anyone ever rate he or Felix or Neto etc? 3 Jul 02:26
Anyway not trying to be antagonistic - you seem a decent guy even if I disagree heavily with your username lol.
But in a sense I am defending Ronaldo, too. As I said, I think a lot of his haters are using him as a scapegoat when the truth is even if he wasn't in the squad this coach and group of players would look poor.
I don't like the guy at all, but I am willing to be fair. He's being used as a fall guy so people can slate him relentlessly when Portugal go out. Claiming they have this amazing squad he's holding back. It's nonsense. Other than the three PSG guys and maybe Fernandes (though I think he's terribly overrated), who are their genuine top level players? 3 Jul 02:48
This is a team that struggled against teams likeRep of Ireland and Hungary in qualifiying...
Yet people see their players are rated high on FIFA, and think a bunch of hyped up players thrown together with no real plan ot chemistry are gonna run riot like it's a video game. It's fantasy land.
If they do get past Spain and get to the final, you can guarantee they will do it playing woefui moments football rather than dominating the game.
I respect other opinions but I fully believe what I have said about Portugal. But if they dominate Spain I will hold my hands up and admit I got it wrong.
Peace.