We ease into Monday with three more group games, beginning at 2am UK time with New Zealand and Egypt’s clash at BC Place Vancouver.
After matchweek one all four teams in Group G were tied with one point each. New Zealand earned a creditable 2-2 draw with Iran while Egypt were pegged back having taken the lead in a 1-1 draw with Belgium.
Two of the tournament favourites feature in the evening games.
Argentina and hat-trick hero Lionel Messi look to follow up a 3-0 win over Algeria with an equally dominant display against Austria, who beat Jordan 3-1 in their opener. Their Group J showdown at Dallas Stadium kicks-off at 6pm.
That sets us up nicely for the second appearance of France, who have reached the final in the last two World Cups. They tackle Iraq in a 10pm kick-off at Philadelphia Stadium with the world wondering whether Kylian Mbappe can continue the goalscoring form that saw him score twice in the 3-1 win over Senegal.
To help you through a long day of top football action with NetBet Sport, we’ve selected some best picks below for each of the three games based on our latest World Cup betting odds.
*All odds are subject to change
New Zealand vs Egypt: Anytime Goalscorer – Chris Wood @ 4.33
New Zealand’s Elijah Just became one of the World Cup’s latest hidden gems after his double strike in the 2-2 draw with Iran. Both of the Motherwell winger’s goals were assisted by veteran striker Chris Wood. Egypt don’t make it easy when trying to assess their latest form. The 1-1 draw with Belgium was their third draw in the last seven games, with two wins and two defeats. Ziko on the right wing was disappointing in their opening match, especially as he’d scored in each of the last two games leading up to the tournament. Egypt are the heavy favourites to win @ 1.58 but Just may be able to return the favour for Wood to get New Zealand’s all-time record goalscorer (45 in 91 appearances) on the scoresheet.
Argentina vs Austria: Anytime Goalscorer – Lionel Messi @ 1.91
What is there left to say about Lionel Messi? His historic hat-trick on his 200th appearance for Argentina blew away opponents Algeria, tied him as the World Cup’s all-time goalscorer at 16 with Germany’s Miroslav Klose and made him the oldest player to hit a treble in the tournament. That made it eight wins in a row for a very impressive Argentina, with clean sheets in the last four of those matches. Austria showed some decent form of their own in a 3-1 win over World Cup debutants Jordan that made it five wins and a draw from their last six games. But this will be their biggest test in a very long time and keeping tabs on that man Messi may prove to be impossible.
France vs Iraq: France to win, Over 2.5 goals, Kylian Mbappe to score anytime @ 1.80
The expectation here is a landslide win for France on the back of a stunning second-half display in the 3-1 win over Senegal. Kylian Mbappe looked disinterested for over an hour then converted two goals almost for the fun of it. Michael Olise was effervescent yet again, with a stunning assist for Mbappe’s opener. The Bayern Munich winger also created three other chances in the game and powered in two shots on target. Iraq were hammered 4-1 by Norway and looked fragile every time Erling Haaland ran towards goal. That was their fourth defeat in seven games and we honestly can’t see them doing anything here other than confirming their exit with a second heavy defeat. Olise to supply the ammunition for another Mbappe masterclass.
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