Predictions World Cup- Day 14-15

Netherlands vs United States | World Cup

03.12.2022 15:00

Prediction: 1-0

The Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan will be the scene of the first round of 16 match at the World Cup in Qatar. Holland, coached by Louis Van Gaal, will compete on one side, and the United States of America, coached by Gregg Berhalter, will compete on the other, teams that finished the first phase in first place in Group A and second place in Group B, respectively. The match is scheduled for Saturday, December 3.

The Netherlands come into this confrontation undefeated in the World Cup. The “Oranje” representative beat Senegal 0-2 on their debut thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo of PSV Eindhoven and Davy Klaassen of Ajax, then drew 1-1 against Ecuador, again with Gakpo scoring. Finally, they won 2-0 against Qatar in the last match of the group stage. Needless to say, Gakpo put his third personal stamp on the World Cup, and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong completed the job. The Netherlands are in brilliant form and have not lost a match since June 2021, when they were beaten 2-0 by the Czech Republic at the European Championships.

The Americans are also unbeaten in the tournament and secured their ticket to the round of 16 thanks to a 1-0 win against Iran, thanks to a goal by Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic. Before that match, they had drawn 1-1 against Wales with a goal from Lille’s Timothy Weah and had managed to stop England at 0-0, one of the teams candidates for possible final success.

The Netherlands have won 4 of their previous 5 games against the United States.

However, it was the Americans who won the last previous match, a 2015 friendly match that finished 3-4 at the Amsterdam Arena (now the Johan Cruijff Arena).

• The Netherlands boast an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions, with 13 wins and 5 draws.
• In their last 18 games across all competitions, the Netherlands have scored at least one goal.
• The United States is unbeaten in this World Cup.
• The USA are unbeaten in 4 straight games in all competitions and have drawn 3 times.
• The Netherlands and the United States boast, respectively, 5 and 6 under 2.5 in their recent games played in all competitions.

Argentina vs Australia | World Cup

03.12.2022 19:00

Prediction: 3-1

A great classic of the oval ball from the southern hemisphere is also being repeated for the eighth time in football, even if it is an absolute first in the final stage of the World Cup. We are talking about Argentina-Australia, which will be played at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, with coach Scaloni’s Argentines clearly favored after the last head-to-head victory.

The news of Argentina’s 1-2 defeat against Saudi Arabia on their World Cup debut, despite Leo Messi’s opening goal, had created some upsets, but Lionel Scaloni’s Selección knew how to maintain calm and steadfastness, and in the following two matches, they beat the unfortunate Mexico and Poland 2-0, in the first of the two wins with goals from Messi and Enzo Fernandez, and in the last match of the group with goals from Alexis MacAllister and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez.

Despite a goal from Craig Goodwin of Adelaide United in a 4-1 defeat against France, the Australians bounced back to win 1-0 against Tunisia and Denmark, thanks to goals from Mitchell Duke of Fagiano Okayama and Mathew Leckie of Melbourne City. As a result, both teams finished the first phase with six points, but if Argentina won Group C, Australia finished second (by goal difference) in Group D.

• Argentina has won five of the previous seven games, with one draw and one victory for Australia.
• Argentina has won the last three head-to-head meetings, with two of them taking the lead early in the first half.
• They played each other twice in the fall of 1993, and the Argentines won the intercontinental playoff to go to the USA in 1994.
• Argentina has scored the first goal of the match in the last 8 consecutive games.

France vs Poland | World Cup

04.12.2022 15:00

Prediction: 2-0

On Sunday, December 4, France and Poland face off in the round of 16 of the World Cup. The Transalpines, despite the defeat against Tunisia, took the lead in group D after the successes with Denmark and Australia, while Poland finished second in group C with a draw with Mexico, the victory with Saudi Arabia, and the knockout with Argentina. It goes without saying that the stakes are extremely high; at the Al Thumama Stadium, it is a direct match; whoever wins advances to the quarterfinals and faces either England or Senegal; whoever loses is eliminated. France has something more, but Poland is a compact, solid, and surly team, so overcoming them for the Gallettis might not be so easy.

Deschamps’ France is in great shape for the round of 16. The defeat against Tunisia was certainly just a small hiccup that didn’t hurt since the qualifying pass was already detached and even first place wasn’t in danger. With six goals scored against Australia and Denmark, the Transalpines have the second-best attack of the tournament and are the team still in the running that shoots the most on goal, with 18 attempts on average towards the opponent’s goal.

A very offensive team that will face one of the most defensive formations seen in this World Cup: Poland. With Szczesny in great shape, the defense is the real secret of the selection, which in fact did not concede a goal against Saudi Arabia and Mexico and fell only in the second half against Argentina (0-2). However, this sinks the attack. It is no coincidence that only Costa Rica and Japan shot less than Lewandowski and his teammates in Qatar and that Poland only averaged 33% of ball possession in the first three games; only Costa Rica and Japan did worse.

• All of Poland’s matches in this World Cup ended with a score under 2.5.
• The Polish side has twice left the field with clean sheets, as they have already done four times in their last five games.
• There are seven consecutive matches for Poland that finished with fewer than three goals on the final scoreboard.
• All five of the last matches between the two teams have ended with the Under 2.5 team.
• There are six of the last eight matches in which France has scored under 2.5.
• Poland has had the fewest shots on goal in this World Cup, with an average of 6.3 per game; only Costa Rica (3.7) has done worse. 

England vs Senegal    | World Cup

04.12.2022 19:00

Prediction: 2-0

England and Senegal face each other this Sunday night, at Al Bayt Stadium, in Al Khor, in a game counting for the round of 16 of the Qatar World Cup. The English team won group B, finishing with seven points, while the African title holders were second in group A, with six points, just behind the Netherlands. England ended this phase with nine goals scored and only two conceded, leaving a serious warning for the competition. But Senegal will certainly be a tough nut to crack.

England got off to a flying start, thrashing Iran by an unexpected 6-2. It was a full display of the mighty English attack, with Saka, Bellingham, and Kane truly demonic. But the next game ended with Gareth Southgate’s side drawing 0-0 with the troublesome United States. Even so, the English were only a few steps away from the round of 16, a goal they easily achieved in the third round with a 3-0 victory over neighboring Wales. England is doing well and sees itself as a candidate.

Senegal, the current African champions, have overcome the bad news they received in Qatar: the unavailability of Sadio Mané, undoubtedly their best player. The Lions of Teranga turned weakness into strength, and, despite having started with a 0-2 defeat against the Netherlands, they won the next two matches, imposing themselves on the hosts of Qatar (3-1) and Ecuador (2-1). In this duel with the South Americans, Senegal showed a demonstration of mental strength, running after the triumph after the Ecuadorian draw and finally securing the three points.

• England scored 9 goals in the group stage.
• In 2 of the 3 games for the English, there were more than 2 goals.
• In the 3 games against the Senegalese, there were 2 or more goals.
• In the last two games, Senegal has scored five goals.
• The African team conceded goals in all matches.