HighSparrow Football Tips

I'd expect Germany won't be threatened by Curaçao, though they will undoubtedly have their fans looking for perhaps the biggest upset of all time in a World Cup. A two-nil result looks the most likely score, so 45% is a good profit if Curaçao fails to score.

I'll take the 20% on this one, with Curaçao unlikely to trouble the former champions in this opening match to kick off their respective campaigns. There might be more nerves in the German camp, as everyone expects them to win by a street, and we know what happened to Brazil.

Nick Woldemade is just the type of player who could sneak through the middle and put one in the back of the net as Germany's opener here. His striker teammates might be well marked, which could leave him with a bit of space on attack.

Basically this bet just means you don't think there is likely to be a draw (highly unlikely) and that Germany will win to nil. Yep, that will do me then.

Germany to have a field day against a very lowly ranked team in the form of Curaçao, whose best hope is probably that Germany don't win 10-0. Germany too strong by far, or they will have a lot to worry about in this tournament.

Japan are a fast-running, dangerous side who could trouble the European powerhouse of the Netherlands in this opening gambit of the tournament. Nerves could play an important role.

I see this as a fairly evenly matched pair of sides who might both be happy to play defensively and get through the pipe opener without anyone being sent off and get safely through to the next round.

Neither of these sides looks like they have the overall firepower and scoring ability when you match them up to suggest one will dominate the other.

I sort of fancy this being a draw, but at the odds I'm looking for an upset from the talented and potentially slippery-on-attack Ivory Coast side to upset the Ecuadoreans.

I can see this one ending in a surprising draw, as you never want to underestimate a side such as Ivory Coast. They have some very good players in their lineup. Ecuador are no slugs either, so I think this could be a fairly tepid 1-1 result and keep both teams happy going into the next round.

Iran to get home against the Kiwis by 2-0 in their opener despite having all sorts of technical problems put in their way by the Trump administration. They are a good side, and if they can get their heads in the right place and not allow the distractions around them to upset their nerve, they should win this.

New Zealand has a very fine goalkeeper, as does Iran. They might play a bit of a cat-and-mouse affair here, and that could keep the scoring contained.

If NZ can get an early goal and then defend it until half time, they might hold out for a good while against a strong side. Ultimately, I'd expect the experience of the Middle Eastern side to come through in the second half, so this appeals as one of those kismet moments for the Kiwis to give their home fans something to hope for.

Senegal would be happy with the draw and taking the point into the next round, while France would be crestfallen given the hype surrounding them coming into this. They have brilliant individuals, but Senegal has that team culture, and sometimes that's enough for David to level the playing field with Goliath.

France won't have an easy way through this match, I suspect. I think Senegal are at good odds and could score. If they do, then anything is possible ??' even three goals in the back of the net overall.

I think Senegal could rattle France here. They have sufficient talent and depth to do so if caught in a Morocco-like frame of mind.

This is a reasonable price for a match-up like this because I don't regard France as that superior to Senegal, and the latter has a terrific striker capable of making France pay for any defensive errors.

Senegal are probably the most underrated of the African teams on display here, and Morocco showed against Brazil that anything is possible when the nerves set in for the big sides.

DR Congo has some of the world's most pressing problems at present, so even getting to this tournament is a win for them. But I doubt they'll trouble the European powerhouse, which is in outstanding form at present.

Portugal would be happy with a 3-0 workout, I think, in their opener??'just to settle the nerves, while DR Congo look likely to live up to their underdog status and struggle accordingly.

Portugal to make a clean sweep of their rivals here, and it's just a matter of what they win by that's the real question for me. Congo has some good players, but all round they should be outclassed.

This looks the more likely option given the differential between the top options with this bet. Yes is at more than 3.00, so that tells you the way the bookies see this, and I agree.

Portugal will want to hammer home their superiority by scoring early on and then try to build further momentum from there. Lead at HT and FT for me. They were the only team in the European competition to go through unbeaten, and that says a lot about their strength.