The World Cup has officially arrived, and the Ladbrokes blog is your one-stop shop for daily tips ahead of all the key games. From the Group Stages, right through to the World Cup Final, check back each day to find out who our football expert is backing!
Group Stage
Mexico steps out in front of their home fans with full support as they look to continue their dominance on the international stage.
Having kept a clean sheet in eight straight internationals, this shapes as an equally intriguing match up, given South Africa have managed to score in nine of their last 11.
At the same time, this is South Africa’s first World Cup since 2010 and their path to the big stage has been anything but straightforward.
On paper, South Africa lack the talent and depth up forward to trouble Mexico, but eager to prove a point, there’s every chance they still make a dent on the scoreboard.
Tough matchup to get a feel for with both sides likely happy to walk away with split points to start the tournament.
How the Czech Republic play on the world stage for the first time since 2006 is the big question, while the Korean side have made several key changes to their coaching and overall squad.
Stats-wise, the Czech Republic are the in-form team, having won 17 of their last 19 international contests.
Meanwhile, all of Korea’s last seven games have fallen under 2.5 goals.
The Czech side has enough up front in the form of Patrik Schick to challenge, and given their strength from set pieces, they should find the back of the net in most games. In what appears to be an evenly matched game however, the Both Sides to Score market is the safe play.