Dave1962

Prior to their last two friendlies, where they earned one win and a draw, Saudi Arabia lost to Egypt, Serbia, and Ecuador. Uruguay have far more experience at this level and are ranked forty-five places higher than Saudi Arabia. They have drawn their last two games, which included a draw away against England.

Charlie Appleby is strongly represented in this race, with the pick of them being Notable Speech, who is the mount of William Buick. On his return to the UK he was a two-length winner of the Lockinge at Newbury. That was over the straight mile, and with this race also being run over the straight mile, Notable Speech should once again prove superior to his rivals.

Plenty of horses in this field are putting their unbeaten records on the line. One of those is the Aidan O'Brien-trained Great Barrier Reef. With Ryan Moore opting to ride another O'Brien horse, Wayne Lordan gets the ride. Both of Great Barrier Reef's wins have come over today's trip of six furlongs. He may not have the best of draws, but hopefully he can overcome them and be another O'Brien-trained winner of this race.

The last two runnings of this race have been won by a horse drawn in stall sixteen and seventeen. Last year's winner, American Affair, is drawn in stall eighteen. He has raced twice this year. His first race was at York, where he finished down the field in a race over six furlongs. The other race he contested was over five furlongs at Haydock, where he finished second, beaten by a neck. Providing the gaps open for him when he needs them, American Affair has every chance to be involved at the finish once again.

Bow Echo has been to a racecourse four times and has won all of his races. His sole success this season came in the 2000 Guineas, where he won by just under three lengths. With the same ground conditions as that race, it is difficult to see him being beaten.

Last season Tom Marquand teamed up with Joseph O'Brien to ride Comfort Zone in this race, and they finished third on very similar ground conditions to those forecast for this race. Since that race, Comfort Zone has been racing back in Ireland over shorter distances and only once finished in the frame. With Tom Marquand in the saddle and the ground conditions he likes, Comfort Zone has every chance of again figuring in the finish of this race.

Haatem has won at Royal Ascot for the last two years. In 2024 he won the Jersey Stakes, and then last year he won this race by just under one length. Providing he comes on from his seasonal debut, Haatem has every chance to win at Royal Ascot once again.

France had an impressive qualifying campaign. They topped their group with five wins and one draw. Since then they have played four friendlies, winning three and losing one. They beat Brazil and Colombia, then very surprisingly lost to the Ivory Coast. Their last friendly was against Northern Ireland, where they had a comfortable win. Senegal's last two friendlies have left much for them to ponder, having lost to the USA and drawn with Saudi Arabia. France are joint favourites with the bookies to lift the trophy, and if playing to their best ability, they should be able to beat Senegal.

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.

Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002, and with no players like Pelé and Ronaldinho they will probably fall short again. They qualified in fifth place with the same number of points as Paraguay. Morocco are ranked two places lower than Brazil in the FIFA rankings. Morocco were awarded the Africa Cup of Nations trophy following the antics of Senegal. If Brazil fail to fire in their opening game against Morocco, then there is every chance Morocco will go on to win the group. Having already selected Morocco to beat Brazil in that game, it is only logical to select them to win the group.

Once again, the English fans will be full of hope that their team can win this tournament for the first time since 1966. They have the players to achieve this. In qualifying they won all eight games, scoring twenty-two goals and conceding none. If they can again be a team that is difficult to break down, the England team have a good chance of winning this competition.

For England to win the tournament, they will probably once again be relying on Harry Kane to be the main goalscorer. In addition to any goals he scores in open play, if any penalties are to be taken he is the player the team look to to take the spot kick. He has been in great form for Bayern Munich, so hopefully he can come away from this tournament as top goalscorer.