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
Spain vs Cape Verde Prediction – Group H (Match 1)
Cape Verde debuts at the World Cup in Atlanta on Tuesday with an unenviable assignment against global powerhouse Spain.
Despite their historic dominance, it’s been a long time between drinks since Spain tasted glory at the 2010 World Cup, but they should have arrive beaming with confidence after annihilating Peru 3-1 in a recent friendly to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games.
Cape Verde have done well to arrive at the biggest stage but their class of top class experience should be evident in this fixture. Only one of their starting players features in one of Europe’s top five leagues, making this an incredibly tough ask against a Spain outfit loaded with weapons from top to bottom.
Belgium vs Egypt – Group G (Match 1)
Egypt are still searching for their first win at the World Cup, and it’s hard to envision The Pharoahs taking all three points against the ninth best team in the world.
Belgium have been humming on the international stage over the last 12 months, topping their qualificationg roup with 18 points, but more importantly scoring 29 goals and conceding only seven.
That said, Belgium has been in this spot many times in the past and managed to underwhelm on each occasion. They boasted a similarly strong side at the 2022 World Cup and failed to reach the final, while their quarter-final exit in the Euros was well short of their expectation.
Egypt has clashed with the Red Devils on four occasions with three of those resulting in surprise victories. Given their history of underperforming, the Draw will be a popular and albeit, sensible play.
Iran vs New Zealand – Group G (Match 2)
The All Whites return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2010 with a tricky first-up assignment against an Iran side ranked significantly higher than them in the rankings.
The Kiwis have struggled to find form over the last calendar year, suffering a blowout 4-0 defeat to Haiti before a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to England over the last four weeks alone.
Since qualifying for the World Cup, the All Whites have managed only two victories, which pales in comparison to an Iranian side that has won twice on the World Cup stage and arrives riding a three-game winning streak.
On the injury front, there are a few key names missing for Iran with midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Torabi absent. Even so, the All Whites still lack the same level of talent in what figures to be a low-scoring Iran win.