Day 5. Sweden - Korea. Belgium - Panama. Tunisia - England.

Pasamela!

Day 4.

Game 12, 13, and 14.

Sweden- Korea 18th June 13:00

Marcus Berg to Score

Sweden and South Korea will be buoyed by the Mexican performance from last night and the surprise result in the opening game of group F. With Germany looking past their best, Sweden and Korea will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing and upsetting the Germans. Sweden finished 2nd in their qualifying group behind obvious winners France, and faced European giants Italy in the playoff. A shock 1-0 win ensued and the Swedes will go to the World Cup with lots of belief. South Korea on the other hand struggled in qualification, finishing just two points ahead of both Syria and Uzbekistan. The Korean team looks weaker than in recent tournaments, and they will do well to relive their 2002 glory.

Chang to announce himself?

Ones To Watch:
Sweden will be looking to score goals in this group to put an end to the Zlatan era. With many questioning their attacking options, Marcus Berg stepped up an was top scorer in his qualification group with 8 goals. They will be hoping he can continue that good form (an incredible 25 in 21 in the UAE) into the tournament and will be the likeliest Swede to score.
South Korea are unfortunately very much a one man team this tournament. Son Heung-min will be key to the Korean side and will be the out ball on most occasions. The RB Salzburg man Hwang Hee-Chan may offer some support, but the reliable Son will have to have the tournament of his life if Korea are to progress.

Pre Match Predictions:
Sweden should have too much for their Asian counterparts. After an extremely successful qualification process they will be in good spirits and with how poor Korea have been of late, it may be a one sided match. The Swedes don't concede many either, so along with Korea's poor form in front of goal, it may be a low scoring game.

Best Bets: Sweden to WIN - 11/10 (SkyBet)
Marcus Berg to Score - 21/10 (PaddyPower)

Belgium - Panama 18th June 16:00

Flair man Mertens

Next up is group G and we are flying through the games. Belgium carry a huge weight of expectation on their shoulders with some of the biggest names in football in their squad. Panama are at the other end of the spectrum! World Cup debutants and will no doubt be over the moon just to be there. With Belgium looking to top group G expect them to try and give their goal difference an early boost against Panama.

Ones To Watch: Belgium have a side full of big names and therefore almost all of their players could be discussed here. The man who will be pivotal to their progression and chances of topping group G is Manchester United front man, Romelu Lukaku. Despite being questioned on his ability to make a difference in the bigger games Lukaku has had a fairly fruitful year with the Red Devils scoring 16 in 34 premier league games. Expect to see his name on the score sheet at least once against a weak Panama side. Another front man who will cause panama all sorts of problems is Napoli’s Dries Mertens. The Pacey forward has scored 46 goals across the past two Serie A seasons and will be looking to take that form into the World Cup. From Panama’s point of view there aren’t many, if any major names among their team. Los Canaleros come to Russia with the aim of going home with some pride and therefore not conceding too many goals may be a priority. A key man in doing that will be Roman Torres. The MLS defender has spoken to the press recently about being motivated to stop the best players in the world from scoring and after scoring the goal that secured Panama’s place in the finals he is considered somewhat a national hero.

Tough job for Torres

Pre Match Predictions: No doubt Belgium will take control of this game early on and will be looking to wrap up a comfortable win. Expect to see them score a few goals with little chance of a reply from Panama. The strikers should be queuing up to score, so a goalscorer bet is the best value.

Best Bet: Dries Mertens to Score - 13/8 (PaddyPower)

England - Tunisia 18th June 19:00

A youthful England side take on inexperienced Tunisia in the second match of group G. England and Belgium should be confident of qualifying for the next round and will know that a win today will all but ensure it happens. England, after an unbeaten qualifying campaign, and conceding just 3 goals, will know that the Tunisians may settle for a draw. Attacking will be vital for the English, against a Tunisia side who qualified with only one more point than DR Congo.

Lingard to start?

Ones To Watch:

England will be focusing on their attacking talent in their first match of the tournament. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling, and Jesse Lingard will all be on the lookout for goals, and they should receive them tonight. Perhaps a shock choice to start, Lingard will be Englands main man with the ball at his feet. He has been impressive for England in his 12 previous games, and will want to steal the headlines and prove Southgate right with his inclusion.

Sliti Tunisia's biggest threat

For Tunisia, Naim Sliti may provide the attacking threat. After an impressive season in Ligue 1 with Dijon, he will be looking to announce himself to the world with a shock against England. Tunisia do not boast a squad full of household names like their European counterparts, but were solid in qualification and will fancy their chances after a few shock results so far this World Cup.

Pre Match Predictions:

England should see large amounts of the ball in this match. This England side have been far more effective at keeping possession unlike sides of the past, and will surely find a way through the inexperienced Tunisia defence. With the young attacking talent in the side, England should score goals to get them off to a good start.

Best Bet: England to WIN to NIL - 11/10 (BetVictor)


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