Dave1962

Having won the opening two legs of this tie when playing at home, Zhejiang Lions will be looking to do the same now that they are playing away from home. Those two home wins were by seven and nine points. Zhejiang Lions have won four of their last five away games.

The world number one is by far the highest-ranked player in this tournament. In his last event, the PGA Championship, he opened with a three-under-par round. With another solid opening round, Scheffler could well be the first-round leader.

As one of the hosts of this tournament Mexico play in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup. Their last two friendlies saw them draw with Belgium and Portugal. They have ranked forty-five places higher than their opponents. With tougher opponents to come, the hosts will be wanting to collect all three points from their opening game.

South Korea finished top of their group to qualify for the World Cup, while Czechia had to go through the play-offs. South Korea are ranked sixteen places higher than Czechia. South Korea have equipped themselves well in previous World Cup campaigns, and there is every chance they will cope with the conditions better than Czechia. They last met in 2016, and South Korea won.

Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second in their group and had to come through the play-offs. Their two opponents were Wales and Italy. In each of those games, at the end of ninety minutes, each side had scored once. They finally came through both games on penalties. If they can get a result against Wales and Italy, then there is every chance they can beat Canada.

When Scotland needed to win, they beat Denmark to qualify for the World Cup. They have since played two friendlies, which they lost. They are ranked forty places above Haiti in the FIFA rankings. Scotland need the win to get their campaign up and running. With games against Brazil and Morocco to come, Scotland will be looking to secure all three points as a foundation for progressing in the competition.

England return to competitive football, and with a full-strength team they should do much better than their last game, which was a friendly at home against Japan where they lost. England are ranked seven places higher than Croatia in the FIFA rankings. The last two times England have played Croatia they have won by a single goal. This could be another closely fought game. In qualifying, England won all eight games, while Croatia won seven and drew one. Another England win by a single-goal margin could once again be the outcome of this game.