The FIFA World Cup 2018 is in full swing. The first round of group stage matches are nearly in the books. Wednesday June 20 will see teams from Group A and B play in their second matches of the tournament. There is a lot to play for as the intensity level gets turned up this week in Russia.
FIFA World Cup June 20
Group A: Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia looked awful in its first match of the tournament. The Saudis lost 5-0 to Russia, which to his point is the biggest defeat at the World Cup 2018. The team was poor, sloppy and never looked likely of scoring a goal.
Uruguay is the best team in Group A despite being held for much of the 90 minutes in its first match against Egypt. The South Americans should get things going against Saudi Arabia.
Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez had an uncharacteristically poor game to start the tournament. He looked slow and his touch eluded him. Suarez should be better for match two and so should the Uruguay national team.
Winner: Uruguay
Group B: Portugal vs. Morocco
Cristiano Ronaldo once again showed why he is the best soccer player in the world during Portugal’s opening match. The forward scored his first ever World Cup hat-trick against Spain as he led the Portuguese to a dramatic last-gasp goal. The fixture ended 3-3 which was a fair result on the night. Now Portugal takes on Morocco, a team which lost its opening match to Iran.
Portugal is the heavy favorite going into the fixture. Ronaldo and company have far more talent than the Moroccans. Portugal needs someone other than Ronaldo to step up and score a goal or two. Although Ronaldo is great, Portugal needs more goal scoring balance if they want to go deep into the World Cup knockout phase of the competition.
A Portugal win will all but seal the team’s progression to the next round depending on the result in Group B’s other match.
Winner: Portugal
Group B: Iran vs. Spain
Spain fired manager Julen Lupetegui just two days before its first World Cup match. The team still played well and was minutes away from gaining a victory over Portugal. The Spanish are in perfect position to progress to the next round. Iran is standing in Spain’s way of gaining four points from six possible, but the Middle East nation shouldn’t pose too much of a threat.
Spain’s bullying center forward Diego Costa scored two goals against Portugal. His bulky, bullish presence was more than Portugal could handle. Iran should have far more difficulty stopping the goal scorer.
Even if Costa isn’t able to get a goal, Spain has more ways to beat Iran. Manager Fernando Hierro can call on a number of talented attacking weapons to score goals for Spain. The team’s defense may have given up three goals in game one, but Sergio Ramos will have his defensive unit in better shape. Goalkeeper David De Gea made have made an error that led to a Portugal goal, but he will be more sure-handed this time out.
Winner: Spain
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