Buckle up for a busy Sunday as we power through a World Cup test of endurance with four games in a day.
Scotland make their first appearance at the finals since France 1998 with a 2am kick-off UK time against Haiti at Boston Stadium, Foxborough. If Steve Clarke’s men want to progress from a tough Group C, they need to be pushing for a decent margin of victory against opponents who sit 83rd in FIFA’s rankings.
The seriously committed World Cup fans can then enjoy a 5am kick-off at BC Place, Vancouver, where Australia tackle Turkey in Group D. The Socceroos are making their sixth straight appearance at a World Cup finals while Turkey booked their place via the playoffs, having finished just three points behind Spain in their European qualifying group.
Four-time winners Germany are favourites to top Group E and begin their campaign against Curacao. The action gets underway in Houston Stadium at 6pm with Germany aiming to reach the knockout stage for the first time since being crowned champions in 2014. Curacao are led by former Rangers and Sunderland coach Dick Advocaat and are the smallest nation to have reached a World Cup.
The day rounds off with Netherlands and Japan going head-to-head in a 9pm kick-off at Arlington’s Dallas Stadium. Group F is a tough one to call but part of that is down to the Netherlands not being at their best. A draw with Ecuador in March – achieved with an own goal – was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by Algeria and a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan thanks to two penalties.
Japan became the first team to qualify for World Cup 2026, excluding the hosts, and a 3-2 win over Brazil last October was the start of a six-game winning run leading into this tournament.
Check out our full online betting previews below for each of Sunday’s games, where we have picked out some tips based on the latest World Cup odds.
Haiti vs Scotland: Bet Builder – Scotland to win, over 2.5 goals & Lawrence Shankland to score anytime @ 3.80
Going this early with a Bet Builder may seem adventurous, but there’s some solid reasoning behind this shout. Scotland’s other Group C opponents are Brazil and AFCON champions Morocco. With that in mind, the Scots’ best chance of reaching the knockout stage probably rests with securing a healthy win against Haiti to stand a chance of being one of the eight best third-placed teams who will qualify from the group stage. Their preparation certainly suggests that’s the plan. Their last two games coming into this tournament were against Curacao – who topped Haiti’s qualifying group – and Bolivia. Clarke set his team up with two strikers in both games and the goals flowed. Curacao were put to the sword 4-1 before Bolivia were brushed aside 4-0. Striker Lawrence Shankland started both games and bagged three goals, so should have cemented his place in the team. A Che Adams double against Bolivia has made him Shankland’s likely strike partner. So a win by a few goals is the target and in-form Shankland is the man to lead the charge.
Australia vs Turkey: Half-time/Full- time – Turkey/Turkey @ 2.45
Turkey always seem to carry the label ‘dark horses’ into major tournaments and did their best to live up to that billing at Euro 2024 in Germany, where they reached the quarter-finals. Vincenzo Montella’s side certainly have momentum here, as they are presently enjoying an eight-game unbeaten run that began with a 6-1 win in Bulgaria last October. They do lack an out-and-out striker, but their 17 goals in qualifying were scored by 12 different players, showing the team’s versatility. Real Madrid’s Arda Guler pulls the strings in midfield, while Turkey are hoping wide man Kenan Yildiz will be fit for selection for this game. The Juventus star recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 47 games for Juve in 2025-26 and has been linked with a summer move to Chelsea. Australia finished second behind Japan in the third round of Asia qualifying. Their surprise package is striker Mohamed Toure, who joined Championship Norwich City in January and netted 10 goals and provided three assists in just 12 games for the Canaries. But the group outsiders have struggled defensively, keeping just one clean sheet from their last seven games. Turkey have won four of their last six games to nil and will be looking to put this game to bed early on.
Germany vs Curacao: Germany total goals – Over 4 @2.02
Germany’s preparation could not have gone better, as they have racked up nine straight wins since September last year, including their last four World Cup qualification games. In the last six of those matches they have scored at least two goals. But there is still a question mark over who should fill the striker’s role. Nick Woltemade has fallen out of favour since being employed as a midfielder by Newcastle, while Kai Havertz has stepped up from midfield to fill the striker’s spot when needed, much as he has done for Arsenal. Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav has staked a late claim, scoring three goals in his three appearances this year, including a double in the 4-0 rout of Finland in May. After recent heavy defeats by Australia and Scotland, Curacao had a confidence boosting 4-0 win over Aruba last weekend – but bear in mind you could fit three quarters of Aruba’s entire population inside the Houston Stadium, where this game is being played. Since November, Germany have pumped six goals past Slovakia and four against both Switzerland and Finland. It is reasonable to expect more of the same against the team 82nd in FIFA’s world rankings.
Netherlands vs Japan: Match result – Japan @ 3.29
Netherlands have been losing finalists at three World Cups and kick off here as group favourites. But three recent results have sounded alarm bells. The loss of Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber just a few days ago will not have helped either. Head coach Ronald Koeman acknowledged that not scoring a goal from open play in the last three games has been a headache. In their last outing, a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan, the Netherlands amassed 15 shots but it took two Cody Gakpo penalties to seal the victory. It’s not a good time to face a Japan side who have kept five consecutive clean sheets during a six-game winning run. That sequence began with humbling Brazil 3-2 in October and included impressive 1-0 victories over both England and Scotland in March. We have the potential here to witness one of the early shocks of the 2026 World Cup.
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