2026 World Cup Predictor: Day 23
The World Cup Round of 32 continues to be eventful, with last night's clash between Portugal and Croatia rivalling Belgium vs. Senegal as the most dramatic ending to a tie.
Here's your overview of that game and comfortable wins for both Spain and Switzerland, before a brief look at today's final three Round of 32 ties.
🆕 Before we get into it, a note that the 2026-27 Premier League Predictor is now live! Kick-off is of course still ages away, but we've got the tournament launched so that you can create your leagues or transfer them from our World Cup game now.
One way traffic. This was everything you'd describe when picturing a perfect Spain performance. Austria, who are good at pressing, struggled to get the ball but even when they did, they didn't really know what to do with it.
Both full backs were excellent for Spain while Mikel Oyarzabal continues to play his role beautifully at the top of the pitch. His second goal ruined a lot of Exact predictions on Superbru, but Spain were at least 3 goals better than Austria so 2-0 wouldn't have been a very fair reflection.
I'm still not really sure how to summarise this bizarre encounter. The first half was what I expected, and I'd also say it was probably some of the best football we've seen from Portugal in this tournament. They were controlled but looked to get the ball forward fairly quickly and Rafa Leao was really good off the left flank.
Then, in the second half, Croatia decided to turn up and take the lead which was nice, and then we just ended up with this chaotic end-to-end game which was so unexpected considering the quality of midfielders on the pitch. So many disallowed goals! Some of them were lovely, too - Petar Sucic took his well and Cristiano Ronaldo's touch and finish for his marginally offside goal was sublime.
Anyway, after a cracking late header from Goncalo Ramos, the drama all came down to one final VAR disallowed goal at the death. I'm still unsure what to think about it, but I do know that it's a bit ridiculous that we've reached the stage where we're borrowing 'Snicko' from cricket to determine if a ball has flicked someone's hair and whether or not Croatia should be eliminated from the World Cup as a result.
Ultimately, this is a fantastic result for Portugal. They must be an incredibly frustrating team to support if your Portuguese but eliminating Croatia is a considerable achievement. That's probably the fair takeaway for now, even though there's already huge talk on the upcoming clash with neighbours Spain and how that might go.
Finally, a comfortable night for Switzerland in Vancouver. They let Algeria have the ball a lot of the time, but kept them at arm's length throughout. The Algerian defending for Switzerland's 2nd in particular was shocking. They gave them ball straight back after gaining possession three times in a row in that passage of play leading up to Dan Ndoye's strike.
A good achievement for Switzerland to reach the Round of 16 but it feels as if a likely clash with Colombia next will be their first proper test in this tournament.
These three ties will determine the final places in the Round of 16, but the rest of the fixtures have already been updated so make sure you also begin making predictions for the Round of 16 today.
Today's schedule:
I'm very torn on the opening pick between Australia and Egypt. It feels like there's a good chance of at least extra time there and that penalties should even be considered? Australia aren't great going forward, but they'll fancy their chances of keeping Egypt at bay. That might be my first draw pick of this Round of 32 stage.
Then, I'm really looking forward to watching Argentina vs. Cape Verde. What an occasion for Cape Verde and one they richly deserve to be a part of. I'd be shock if they finish even within a goal or two of Argentina and Messi, but I'm looking forward to watching them give it a go.
Finally, Ghana should be competitive against Colombia, but I think the favourites will get over the line. Colombia could go pretty far in this tournament, I think.
Best of luck to all and especially Vozinha!
Here's your overview of that game and comfortable wins for both Spain and Switzerland, before a brief look at today's final three Round of 32 ties.
🆕 Before we get into it, a note that the 2026-27 Premier League Predictor is now live! Kick-off is of course still ages away, but we've got the tournament launched so that you can create your leagues or transfer them from our World Cup game now.
🇪🇸 Spain 3-0 Austria 🇦🇹
Outcome predicted by 97.3% of users | Scoreline predicted by 14% of usersOne way traffic. This was everything you'd describe when picturing a perfect Spain performance. Austria, who are good at pressing, struggled to get the ball but even when they did, they didn't really know what to do with it.
Both full backs were excellent for Spain while Mikel Oyarzabal continues to play his role beautifully at the top of the pitch. His second goal ruined a lot of Exact predictions on Superbru, but Spain were at least 3 goals better than Austria so 2-0 wouldn't have been a very fair reflection.
🇵🇹 Portugal 2-1 Croatia 🇭🇷
Outcome predicted by 64.1% of users | Scoreline predicted by 39.5% of usersI'm still not really sure how to summarise this bizarre encounter. The first half was what I expected, and I'd also say it was probably some of the best football we've seen from Portugal in this tournament. They were controlled but looked to get the ball forward fairly quickly and Rafa Leao was really good off the left flank.
Then, in the second half, Croatia decided to turn up and take the lead which was nice, and then we just ended up with this chaotic end-to-end game which was so unexpected considering the quality of midfielders on the pitch. So many disallowed goals! Some of them were lovely, too - Petar Sucic took his well and Cristiano Ronaldo's touch and finish for his marginally offside goal was sublime.
Anyway, after a cracking late header from Goncalo Ramos, the drama all came down to one final VAR disallowed goal at the death. I'm still unsure what to think about it, but I do know that it's a bit ridiculous that we've reached the stage where we're borrowing 'Snicko' from cricket to determine if a ball has flicked someone's hair and whether or not Croatia should be eliminated from the World Cup as a result.
Ultimately, this is a fantastic result for Portugal. They must be an incredibly frustrating team to support if your Portuguese but eliminating Croatia is a considerable achievement. That's probably the fair takeaway for now, even though there's already huge talk on the upcoming clash with neighbours Spain and how that might go.
🇨🇭 Switzerland 2-0 Algeria 🇩🇿
Outcome predicted by 77% of users | Scoreline predicted by 16.2% of usersFinally, a comfortable night for Switzerland in Vancouver. They let Algeria have the ball a lot of the time, but kept them at arm's length throughout. The Algerian defending for Switzerland's 2nd in particular was shocking. They gave them ball straight back after gaining possession three times in a row in that passage of play leading up to Dan Ndoye's strike.
A good achievement for Switzerland to reach the Round of 16 but it feels as if a likely clash with Colombia next will be their first proper test in this tournament.
Today
The Round of 32 comes to an end.These three ties will determine the final places in the Round of 16, but the rest of the fixtures have already been updated so make sure you also begin making predictions for the Round of 16 today.
Today's schedule:
- 🇦🇺 Australia vs. Egypt 🇪🇬 | Kick-off 13:00 local, 19:00 UK, 20:00 CET/CAT
- 🇦🇷 Argentina vs. Cape Verde 🇨🇻 | Kick-off 18:00 local, 23:00 UK, 00:00 CET/CAT
- 🇨🇴 Colombia vs. Ghana 🇬🇭 | Kick-off 20:30 local, 02:30 UK, 03:30 CET/CAT
I'm very torn on the opening pick between Australia and Egypt. It feels like there's a good chance of at least extra time there and that penalties should even be considered? Australia aren't great going forward, but they'll fancy their chances of keeping Egypt at bay. That might be my first draw pick of this Round of 32 stage.
Then, I'm really looking forward to watching Argentina vs. Cape Verde. What an occasion for Cape Verde and one they richly deserve to be a part of. I'd be shock if they finish even within a goal or two of Argentina and Messi, but I'm looking forward to watching them give it a go.
Finally, Ghana should be competitive against Colombia, but I think the favourites will get over the line. Colombia could go pretty far in this tournament, I think.
Best of luck to all and especially Vozinha!
Superbru on X
4 Jul 00:20
If you mean Croatia got robbed based on balance of play, that's a different story. I think Portugal were the better team for about 30-40 mins, and then Croatia took over and ran the game. They had the ball in the Portuguese net several times and were just slightly offside, hit the post etc. I know Leao hit the bar too. Portugal didn't look like scoring until the penalty that got them out of jail.
So I would say on balance of play, Croatia were very unlucky. 3 Jul 14:09
I have made mistakes too. I promise I am a real guy. 4 Jul 00:58
🇪🇬 Egypt 2-0
🇨🇻 Cape Verde 2-0
🇨🇴 Colombia 1-0
That's my prediction. What do you guys think?
Colombia could definitely be 1-0 even if I have gone for 2-0 3 Jul 15:22
That said, I have a lot of respect for Cape Verde. They drew with Spain and Uruguay, fought hard against Saudi Arabia, and deservedly qualified for the Round of 32. They're a much better team than many people think.
I took think Aus v Egypt could go to penalties.. Im tempted to back the North Africans ever so slightly, though.
Cape Verde aren't a bad team but Argentina should win comfortably. 2 or 3 nil
I rate Colombia so I think I'm gonna go 2 nil or 2 1 there. Probably the former as Ghana don't look like they are a great goalscoring team.
- Egypt 1-0 (could also go on penalties on a 0-0 or 1-1 but I expect a low scoring affair nonetheless)
- Argentina 3-0
- Colombia 2-0
I've been on fire as of lately on this Ro32 with 5 Exacts scorelines and 5 Closes over the 10 last games but I definitely expect one of my predictions to go sour ending that streak, especially for the Australia-Egypt game.
And wow, nice work mate with 5 exacts and 5 closes - will need to check your profile. Brilliant stuff. 3 Jul 14:01
These second guessing myself have definitely changed more than a few exacts into closes. For Argentina and Colombia tonight I am rigidly sticking to 3-0 and 2-0 respectively.
I might tinker a bit with Australia-Egypt, though. I think it's a tough call and I could pick various scorelines so won't beat myself up if I get it wrong, or just miss an exact.
I know that three European sides were eliminated in all-Euro clashes in this round, but then Sweden, Croatia and Portugal could have did better in their groups, so they didn't meet each other or France. I will give Austria a pass as they finished second to Argentina but even they almost went out against Algeria in the group.
Australia seem to be a team - as at the last World Cup - who are built on defensive solidity first and foremost, with Harry Souttar and his height being especially important for them. I would say Egypt would like to sit in and break on transition with Salah, Marmoush and Zico, but they likely will be forced to make more of the play here. I don't think they'll utterly dominate the ball but I do think they might have more of it. This maybe plays into Australia's hands as do Egypt have the guile to break down a lower block? We will see, you can argue they did against New Zealand but still.
I think, as Fleeto says, 1-1 is a good bet here. If Australia score first, they will likely retreat into a very low block, which makes things harder for Egypt in one sense. It's also a risk however to retreat deeper towards your own goal, even if they have the height to head crosses out. The Egyptians have some guys with quick feet so m
If Egypt score first, Australia will have to attack at some point, and this might open gaps going the other way. That might lead to the 2-0 Egyptian score predicted by AU.
I think 1-1 is more likely if Australia score first. if Egypt score first I think it might be more difficult for Australia to equalise coming out of their shape than vice-versa. I feel Australia will find it harder to break down a rigid Egypt defence than vice versa. This could be nonsense but just a read on the game.
It's a tough game to get right so best of luck to all.
I just really enjoy talking about football (and films) and mulling over the different possibilities. I will give some thoughts on the latter two games later too.
Bear in mind though that I am not a professional coach so my thinking might sometimes be wrong, even if I try to back it up well. Definitely don't take everything I say as extremely likely. As I said before, go with your gut instinct - that's my best advice. If you disagree with me, such as with Egypt, then stick to your own pick.
I am sure we will keep talking here during the tournament, but I hope things go well in life for you too, man. 3 Jul 17:05
The other two games aren't easy to call but we will see - could be a lot of movement in the Superbru leagues tonight, lol. Best of luck to all with your picks. 3 Jul 17:59
Cheeky penalty by Salah.
I think over the piece Egypt just about did more and deserve it.
Bringing on Ryan too - probably better off keeping Beach on as he was playing well, as you say. Ryan didn't get close to any of them.
Looks like Cape Verde will try to play with a very low block and throwing bodies on the line, as they did v Spain. I am sure they will have a few attacks but they'd surely snap your hand off if you offered them penalties right now.
Spain were feeling their way into the tournament at the time. Argentina look red hot and I cannot imagine that the Cape Verdeans will be able to get through. It will be interesting to see how they approach the game, though.
Argentina just have to respect Cape Verde - take nothing for granted, play their usual nice passing, 100 percent commitment to the cause style of game, and do the work for Messi to provide the magic.
One thing is for sure - if they eliminate Argentina, the World Champions, it will be biggest shock in World Cup history.
Ghana have shown they can be stubborn opponents, they've definitely demonstrated that. They will look to defend and hit on the counter I expect, but just think the Colombians will have too much.
Good analysis. Colombia should be able to sustain pressure and attacks and Ghana will likely find it difficult to cope with their energy and technique and pace. 3 Jul 21:16
However, you just cannot defend against that. Lisandro Martinez with a beautiful ball over the top right into the corner of the six yard box, Messi with the move off the shoulder. And then that touch and finish - just wow. If you play football you know how difficult it is to control a ball coming over your shoulder just as it's bouncing, especially with the outside of the foot. He kills it just as it bounces, instantly and perfectly, and he's set a split second later to have the presence of mind to just lift it over Vozinha.
Just beautiful football.
Messi with two moments since, but just couldn't score.
And, again, should make football fans think twice about assuming teams are already through on paper. Paraguay showed that, too.