Dave1962 expert Football Tips

Now that England have finished top of their group and reached the knockout stages of this competition, hopefully we will see some clear improvement. Even without playing a great deal better than they have been, they should still be too strong for DR Congo, who finished third in their group.

Following two draws in this competition, things finally clicked into gear for Belgium when they scored five times against New Zealand. That result lifted them to the top of their group. Senegal scrapped through to this round, and with the way these two teams have been playing, Belgium appear the more likely of the two to progress. They are also ranked six places higher than Senegal.

USA topped their group after collecting six points from their three games. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third behind Switzerland and Canada. They conceded four goals in their penultimate match against Switzerland, who are ranked two places lower than the USA. When it comes to rankings, the USA are higher than Bosnia and Herzegovina by forty-seven places. In their opening two games, which the USA won, they scored six goals and conceded once. These two teams have met three times before, with the USA winning two and the other game ending in a draw.

The three games that the USA played in their opening set of three matches saw two of them finish with at least three goals. The same can be said for games played by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Spain are ranked twenty-two places higher than Austria. After a poor opening performance against Cape Verde, Spain went on to beat Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to finish top of the table. Austria took four points from their three matches and finished second in the group thanks to a goal scored with nearly the last kick of the ball in the game against Algeria, which finished in a draw. The last time these two teams played each other was nearly seventeen years ago, when Spain ran out comfortable winners. Having shown improved form in their last two games, I expect Spain to kick on again now that the competition is truly a knockout competition.

Over the years, these two teams have met nine times, and the games have finished with at least three goals seven times. In the opening stage of this competition, these two teams played a total of six games, with three of them finishing with at least three goals.

There does not appear to be a great deal between these two teams. Egypt are the higher-ranked team by two places. In their opening set of three games, both could only muster one win. For Australia, that was against Turkey, who are ranked twenty-two, while Egypt's sole success came against New Zealand, who are ranked eighty-one. The only team in this competition that has been able to break the Australian defence down is the USA. Australia prevented both Paraguay and Turkey from scoring. Egypt have conceded at least one goal in each of their opening three games. If Australia put up a good defensive showing, then it could be them remaining in the competition at the conclusion of this game.

St Patrick's have played one more game than Galway United and are fourteen points ahead of them in the table. They have won four of their last five home games and beat Galway United the last time they welcomed them.

Derry City are currently sixth in the table. Their opponents have played two games fewer and are sitting at the foot of the table. Following four consecutive away defeats, Waterford FC have picked up four points from their last two games. However, with Derry City winning their last two home games, and having beaten Waterford the last couple of times they played when Derry were the home side, I'm going for Derry City to get the win.

What three great performances put in by the players from Cape Verde to earn three draws, which were enough to see them qualify in second place. They kept two clean sheets and only conceded against a South American opponent, Uruguay. No such accolades for the defending world champions, who won all three of their games, scoring eight goals and conceding one in the process. This appears to be a real David and Goliath match. As much as it would be great to see Cape Verde continue their heroics, against another South American team I just can't see that happening. Providing their goalkeeper has an excellent game and they can keep the Argentinians at bay in the early stages of this match, Cape Verde will probably go on to lose but will still be able to leave the pitch with their heads held up.