The second round of the group stage is nearly over. Tuesday’s games are the final set of Matchday 2 games before things really gets frenetic on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know for Day 13 of the World Cup.
Tuesday, June 23 | 1 p.m. ET | Houston | TV: Fox
Odds: Portugal (-525), Uzbekistan (+1250), Tie (+600)
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Portugal simply has to be better against Uzbekistan than it was against DR Congo to open the World Cup. After João Neves put Portugal up six minutes into the game, a late first-half goal from Yoane Wissa tied it for DR Congo and Portugal’s attack was fruitless in the second half.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, will likely start up front again for Portugal and the pressure is mounting for him to get a goal after the star turns of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane so far. That may not necessarily be a positive if Ronaldo is even more goal-focused than usual.
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Uzbekistan got the game tied in the second half against Colombia but Luis Diaz put the Colombians up five minutes later and a goal late in stoppage time added insult to the team’s goal differential. Uzbekistan can be scrappy, and manager Fabio Cannavaro probably had some takeaways from Portugal’s struggles against DR Congo.
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England vs. Ghana
Tuesday, June 23 | 4 p.m. ET | Foxborough, Massachusetts | TV: Fox
Odds: England (-450), Ghana (+1200), Tie (+550)
England can win Group L with a victory after its win over Croatia to open the World Cup and Ghana’s win over Panama. England’s defense was picked apart by Croatia at times in the first half, but its attack showed why it’s one of the world’s best in the second half. Especially when Jude Bellingham is scoring goals like he did just after halftime.
Ghana will have center back Thomas Partey back for this game after he missed the first match. Partey, the former Arsenal and current Villarreal defender, was unable to enter Canada because of the rape charges he’s facing in England. With Partey likely on the back line, the attacking objective is to get Man City forward Antoine Semenyo more involved in the attack. Semenyo was isolated a lot against Panama.
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Panama vs. Croatia
Tuesday, June 23 | 7 p.m. ET | Toronto | TV: Fox
Odds: Croatia (-190), Paama (+525), Tie (+300)
The last stand of Croatia’s aging stalwarts begins in earnest after the two-goal loss to England. Croatia needs four points against Panama and Ghana over the next two group stage games to feel good about its chances of advancing to the knockout rounds. It’ll be favored to do so, and six points could even be likely.
Luka Modric, 40, came off in the 58th minute in favor of Mateo Kovacic. Can Croatia keep him on the field longer against Panama? Modric should have a more manageable task running the midfield against Panama than he did against England.
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Panama, believe it or not, actually has the oldest squad at the tournament. Croatia, thanks to a lot of younger players on the bench, is only the 17th-oldest team by average age at just under 28. Panama’s team is the only one at the World Cup with an average age of 30. Panama had the ball over 60% of the time against Ghana, but simply couldn’t find a goal.
Colombia vs. DR Congo
Tuesday, June 23: 10 p.m. ET | Guadalajara, Mexico | TV: FS1
Odds: Colombia (-185), DR Congo (+525), Tie (+290)
Colombia can book a spot in the Round of 32 with a win, while DR Congo will be all but assured of its first knockout-round appearance ever with a win.
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Colombia completed over 200 more passes than Uzbekistan and will try to to repeat the feat against a DR Congo side that was perfectly content to let Portugal pass the ball all around its half of the field. Diaz had an assist to go along with his goal, as he was by far Colombia’s most active attacker in the opener.
If you’re looking for a wager on this game, the under at -160 looks like a good play. There have been more than two total goals scored just once in any of DR Congo’s last nine games.
