After matchday 7 completes on Wednesday, June 17th, all 48 teams in the 2026 World Cup will have played their first match of the group stage, including tier 1 contenders England and Portugal. As always, we preview and predict every FIFA World Cup matchup, including England vs Croatia.
Portugal vs DR Congo (Wednesday June 17th at NRG Stadium in Houston)
Portugal will be heavy favorites when they take on FIFA play-in qualifiers DR Congo on matchday 1 of the group stage in Houston. Roberto Martinez men have won their last three competitive matches including a 2-1 win over Nigeria to close out the warm-ups. Portugal’s strength is their midfield with the likes of Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandes able to play off each other. The pressure is on the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rafael Leao to produce goals from their service.
DR Congo are a defensively sound side, they drew Denmark but lost to Chile in warm-ups, and frequently don’t score more than a goal a match. Still, there’s talent in the forward line with Newcastle’s Yoana Wissa and Real Betis veteran Cedric Bakambu. The backline features West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
DR Congo won’t be easy to break down, but they lack an attacking threat to avoid defeat against Portugal. Prediction: Portugal 2-0
England vs Croatia (Wednesday June 17th at AT&T Stadium in Dallas)
Concerns about how England will handle the literal heat, and also pressure of the World Cup remain, but this is a team that was perfect in qualifying and has plenty of talent. Wins over New Zealand and Costa Rica were their warm-up window under Thomas Tuchel ahead of England vs Croatia. Harry Kane still carries the heavy burden in attack for his country, while fitness concerns around Bukayo Saka have Noni Madueke, his Arsenal teammate, set to get minutes on the wing.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham has been handed the #10, ahead of Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa). England’s weakness is in the backline and possibly in goal.
They remain favorites over an experienced and solid Croatia side who lost to Belgium but beat Slovenia in the two warm-up matches. Luka Modric is set to retire from football after this tournament, and they are still running it back with Ivan Perisic (PSV) in the midfield. Josko Gvardiol is a world class defender, and the young Luka Vuskovic (HSV) is set to see minutes in the back.
Under Zlatko Dalic, Croatia should find ways to frustrate England and neutralize Kane, if they can do that, England can be held to a draw in the opening game, a cagey game where both teams want to be on the path to the knockout phase after it’s done. Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Ghana vs Panama (Wednesday June 17th at BMO Stadium in Toronto)
Ghana’s black stars have a talented roster, but they are winless in six matches, including losses to Mexico and Austria, and a draw with Wales in that span. Carlos Queiroz was brought in to salvage the situation after qualifying wrapped up. Queiroz is an experienced international manager, the likes of Inaki Williams and Antoine Semenyo are in the lineup, but given their form, Panama will be full of belief.
The CONCACAF side warmed up with three matches, a 6-2 thumping against Brazil was poor, but they did recover to beat the Dominican Republic and draw Bosnia. Panama’s level is well below the elite nations, but Adalberto Carrasquilla is a great midfielder and under longtime manager Thomas Christiansen they can be quite well organized at the back. This feels like a trap game for Ghana, and the points being shared feels fair. Prediction: 1-1 Draw
Uzbekistan vs Colombia (Wednesday June 17th at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City)
Uzbekistan qualifying from AFC with relative ease came as a surprise to many, but this nation’s youth football development has been rising quickly. Now they aim to put Colombia on upset alert, and continue the trend of CONEMBOL sides struggling in the 2026 World Cup.
They split behind closed doors friendlies with the Netherlands, and lost to Canada in the warm-up matches. Their star player is the Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, while a number of their players are in leagues like the Iranian pro league, Turkish league, and their own domestic league.
Colombia has incredible confidence in their attack, with Sporting CP striker Luis Suarez the target man, Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich) on the wing. Still, the attack is pulled on a string by the aged #10 James Rodriguez, who may retire from football after this tournament. Manager Nestor Lorenzo has bet on an experienced squad, one of the World Cup’s oldest. They looked comfortable in warm-up wins over Costa Rica and Jordan.
Defensively, Colombia with Camilo Vargas in goal is going to struggle to not concede goals against better teams, but Uzbekistan is probably not one of those teams. Look for Colombia to emerge with the three points and dictate proceedings in Mexico City in front of a very partisan yellow jersey clad crowd. Prediction: Colombia 3-1
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
