The French know that securing all three points will guarantee them a place in the Round of 16, but Didier Deschamps’ men will need to perform better than they did against Australia if they are to go on and lift the winner’s trophy.
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FIFA World Cup
Argentina vs Croatia Odds
Article posted on Thursday 21 June - 06:45 EDT
Argentina need to perform much better than they did against Iceland otherwise they run the risk of being eliminated at the Group Stage for the first time since 2002. The South Americans failed to create enough clear cut chances in their opening game as they struggled to break down a stoic Iceland defence.
A victory for Denmark would see them progress to the Round of 16 if Peru fail to beat France in the game later on the same day. Australia would no longer be able to progress from the Group if they do not win against Denmark and France take at least a point against Peru. Australia, however, are used to being underdogs and can draw plenty of positives from their defeat to France. If they catch Denmark having another bad day at the office, Australia are definitely worth a point.
Iran’s defense will have to be at its best when they entertain Spain in the second of their three Group B matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Iran have recorded three shutouts from their previous four games, although the opposition was nowhere near the quality of Spain.
Saudi Arabia looked poor in their 5-0 defeat at the hands of hosts Russia, in fact they made an extremely weak Russia team look like world beaters. Saudi Arabia could be onto a real hiding if they perform anything like they did against Russia when they face a Uruguay side that could be the dark horses of the competition.
If Morocco can keep Cristiano Ronaldo from performing his magic, which is easier said than done admittedly, Portugal do not have many options in the final third of the pitch. We would expect Morocco to man mark Ronaldo out of the game, soak up pressure and hope to his Portugal on the counter attack, particularly with balls over the top because the Portuguese central defensive partnership lacks pace.
Russia need to try and not get carried away with their 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia because it was their first victory in eight matches and Egypt will pose a much sterner test. Egypt know that they likely have to beat both Russia and Saudi Arabia if they are to progress to the Round of 16, which will only serve as a catalyst for Mohamed Salah.
The Polish could be the dark horses of the 2018 World Cup because they have a hard-working team and one of the best strikers in the world in Robert Lewandowski. However, if teams learn how to stop Lewandowksi, Poland have very little firepower at their disposal.
It must be frustrating supporting Colombia because they seem to have a squad of players that has a mixture of grit and flair yet they always seem to struggle when push comes to shove and the pressure is on. Colombia reached the quarter-finals at the 2014 World Cup and will be hopeful of a repeat performance four years on, especially as Group H is one of the weaker groups in the tournament.
Tunisia are unlikely to scrape even a point in this game as is evident by their +850 odds on winning and the +400 on the game ending in a draw. An England win, for those of you wanting to take a punt, is priced at -290. England will be hoping to get their World Cup campaign off to a flying start after a dreadful 2014 World Cup where they failed to progress from the group.