World Cup Predictions for 7/1/26

England vs DR Congo 

Score Prediction: England 2, DR Congo 0

 

England have already been surprised by an African nation this tournament when they drew 0-0 with Ghana – and today will be an equally tough test against a team that can be frustrating to break down. I think there’s a key advantage to this game for England though, and it’s the fact that it’s in Atlanta in an indoor stadium. It’s gotten really hot on the east coast this week and if this was an outdoor game I may be picking against the Three Lions here. They need an early goal to remove nerves, and if they get it I think they can cruise to a 2-0 win here. The longer the game stays nil nil, the more that Congo will believe they can pull off the unthinkable. I’m expecting the star power of England to shine through, and if they’re going to advance it will have to be on the back of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. I’ve been waiting for England vs Mexico in Mexico City for over a month – seeing as I bet Mexico to make the Quarter-Finals pre-tournament and now we are one England win away from getting that match-up. Let’s hope. 

 

Belgium vs Senegal

Score Prediction: Belgium 2, Senegal 1

 

Belgium along with Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal were the teams I really wanted to fade coming into this World Cup relative to how the public was treating them. I think if you asked me pre-tournament about this match-up I would be picking Senegal to advance, but I do believe that Belgium found something in their last few group matches in the offensive third of the field. I still don’t trust their defense, however, and I think that Senegal’s speed could really play a role against a sluggish and lazy Belgium defensive front. Ismaile Sarr has been in unbelievable form and should cause tons of problems in this match for the Belgian defense. That being said, Senegal allowed a total of 6 goals in their group matches and that’s where I think they could trip up here. Belgium has no issues trying to outscore opponents and they seem to be humming on offense now. I don’t think that Belgium will be making a deep run in the knockout rounds, but I’m going to back them to at least win one more time here. 

 

USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina 

Score Prediction: USA 3, Bosnia 0

 

This is the biggest United States Men’s National Team match of all-time, and I couldn’t be more excited. Any other time, or year, I would be fading this USA team so hard in this spot but I think this is a clear win in regulation time. I wrote about the home field advantage for Mexico last night in Azteca and while I don’t think the USA crowd will be anything close to that – I do think it will play a factor. Maybe for the first time ever, the USA fans are fully bought into this team and it should create somewhat of a home feel – something these players are not accustomed to playing in front of on the national level. Bosnia are very tough to break down in the back, but Mauricio Pochettino was masterful in his gameplanning for both Australia and Paraguay who can play similarly tough in the back. Bosnia’s xG metrics are terrible through three matches – and shows that they really haven’t been threatening in the offensive third at all. I expect the USA to play on the front foot led by Christian Pulisic. They secured a group win without their Captain for the most part due to injury, but he looked so dangerous in the minutes we did see him. Bosnia really struggled with the speed of Johan Manzambi when they played Switzerland – a game they conceded four times. Pulisic, Flo Balogun and Sergino Dest have the speed to give them fits and create a lot of chances similarly and I’m expecting Pulisic to find the scoresheet in the biggest match of his career.