Belgium vs Egypt opens Group G with Salah carrying a hamstring and a nation. The Red Devils are favourites, but their defence travels with baggage.
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Today is for the dreamers, the heavyweights, and the teams who better not spend 90 minutes admiring the badge across from them.
Spain start Group H against Cape Verde, the World Cup debutants with nothing to lose and the worst possible opening assignment.
Belgium meet Egypt in Group G, which means Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku on one side, Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush on the other.
That is not a soft opener. That is a group-stage exam with no warm-up question.
Saudi Arabia then face Uruguay, before Iran and New Zealand close the day in Group G.
Both groups begin today, so there are no permutations yet. Everyone is on zero.
Everyone has a nice speech. By tonight, some of those speeches will already sound stupid.
World Cups do not care about fairytales unless the underdog has the legs to write them.
Spain vs Cape Verde — Group H — Atlanta, 5pm (UK)
Spain are European champions, tournament favourites, and the team nobody wants to chase shadows against.
Cape Verde are playing their first ever World Cup match. Lovely story. Horrible fixture list.
But this is why Cape Verde matter today.
They are not expected to win, so they can play with the freedom big teams pretend they have.
Vozinha, Ryan Mendes and Dailon Livramento give them experience, edge and a genuine outlet, but if Spain settle into rhythm through Rodri, Pedri and Fabián Ruiz, this can become a rondo with a scoreboard.
For Africa, Cape Verde’s debut is already a win. But be honest, nobody wants moral victory when Spain are passing the ball around like they are charging rent.
Cape Verde need to keep the first 20 minutes boring. If they concede early, this could get long.
Official Spain XI: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Pedri; Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, Gavi.
Projected Cape Verde XI: Vozinha; L. Cabral, Pico, Diney, Moreira; Duarte, Lenini; Ryan Mendes, Monteiro, J. Cabral; Dailon Livramento.
Key absences/team news: Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are back in training after hamstring problems but are expected to be eased in from the bench, with Ferran Torres starting.
Rodri returns to anchor midfield.
Cape Verde have no fitness concerns before their debut.
Prediction: Spain 3-0 Cape Verde.
Tip: Spain to win — banker of the day. Too many technicians for a debutant low block, even with Yamal and Williams rested.
Belgium vs Egypt — Group G — Seattle, 8pm (UK)
This is the biggest game of the day. Not because Belgium are still selling Golden Generation nostalgia, but because Egypt have a real chance to make Group G awkward from the first night.
Belgium have the names.
Courtois in goal. De Bruyne between the lines. Doku and Trossard wide. Lukaku up front.
On paper, that is a serious attack. On grass, Belgium have spent years teaching us that “serious attack” can still become a group-stage therapy session.
Egypt will believe.
Hossam Hassan has already spoken like a man looking beyond Belgium, and I do not hate the arrogance.
Salah and Marmoush on the counter is not a romantic idea, it is a real football problem.
Belgium’s defenders will know exactly where the danger is coming from and may still arrive late.
The Salah fitness question is the annoying part.
He is fit enough to play, but reports say he is not fully sharp after a hamstring issue.
That changes Egypt’s ceiling.
A half-fit Salah can still hurt you, but Egypt need more than one man pretending to carry a whole country on his hamstring.
Belgium should control the ball. Egypt should attack the spaces. That is the match.
If De Bruyne gets time, Egypt suffer.
If Salah and Marmoush get grass in front of them, Belgium start remembering Qatar 2022 and sweating in places they cannot explain.
Projected Belgium XI: Thibaut Courtois; Thomas Meunier, Nathan Ngoy, Arthur Theate, Maxim De Cuyper; Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans; Leandro Trossard, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku; Romelu Lukaku.
Projected Egypt XI: Mohamed El Shenawy; Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim, Ramy Rabia, Ahmed Fatouh; Mohanad Lashin, Hamdy Fathy; Mohamed Salah, Trezeguet, Zizo; Omar Marmoush.
Key absences/team news: Salah is expected to play but may not be at full mobility after a hamstring issue. Lukaku is fit and likely to start, though Charles De Ketelaere is in the mix, and Courtois is back as the clear No.1.
Prediction: Belgium 2-2 Egypt.
Tip: Both teams to score. Belgium’s patched-up defence against Salah and Marmoush on the break, and the Red Devils have the firepower to score whatever happens at the other end.
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay — Group H — Miami, 11pm (UK)
Saudi Arabia know what a World Cup shock feels like. Argentina still have the receipts from 2022.
The problem is Uruguay are not a team built for romance. They are built to turn games into hard labour.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have real defensive headaches, but Valverde, Ugarte, Bentancur and Nunez is still a spine that should bully most midfields.
Uruguay do not need to be perfect here.
They need to be intense, direct, and allergic to Saudi comfort.
Saudi Arabia have Salem Al-Dawsari, and that alone means Uruguay cannot sleep.
But this is a Saudi side led by a manager only two months into the job, and against a Uruguay team that attacks second balls like angry debt collectors, staying compact for 90 minutes is a tall order.
Projected Saudi Arabia XI: Mohammed Al-Owais; Saud Abdulhamid, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Ali Lajami, Nawaf Boushal; Mohammed Kanno, Abdullah Al-Khaibari; Salem Al-Dawsari, Musab Al-Juwayr, Nasser Al-Dawsari; Feras Al-Buraikan.
Projected Uruguay XI: Fernando Muslera; Guillermo Varela, Santiago Bueno, Sebastián Cáceres, Mathías Olivera; Federico Valverde, Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur, Maximiliano Araújo; Darwin Núñez, Federico Viñas.
Key absences/team news: Saudi Arabia are without back-up goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, but No.1 Mohammed Al-Owais is fit and starts.
Uruguay are missing Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Joaquin Piquerez, while Sebastian Caceres (concussion protocol) and Matias Vina are game-time calls.
Prediction: Saudi Arabia 0-2 Uruguay.
Tip: Uruguay to win. Even shorn of Araujo and Gimenez, the Valverde-Ugarte-Bentancur spine is too strong, and Bielsa’s press should suffocate Saudi Arabia.
Iran vs New Zealand — Group G — Los Angeles, 2am (UK, Tue)
This is the match that might decide who stays alive in Group G after Belgium and Egypt start throwing punches.
Iran and New Zealand both know the maths without pretending.
Lose this, and your group starts looking like a locked door with Belgium holding the key.
Iran are more experienced, more battle-tested, and have Mehdi Taremi as the obvious difference-maker.
He remains the reference point. The outlet. The man New Zealand defenders will pretend they are not checking every seven seconds.
New Zealand’s hope is Chris Wood. Simple as that.
He is fit, he gives them a focal point, and he can turn one deep cross into a national incident.
But Iran should have more control and more ways to create chances.
Projected Iran XI: Alireza Beiranvand; Yousefi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Nemati, Milad Mohammadi; Saeid Ezatolahi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Mohebi; Mehdi Ghayedi, Mehdi Taremi, Hosseinzadeh.
Projected New Zealand XI: Max Crocombe; Tim Payne, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace; Marko Stamenic, Joe Bell; Matthew Garbett, Sarpreet Singh, Elijah Just; Chris Wood.
Key absences/team news: Alireza Jahanbakhsh faces a late fitness test for Iran. New Zealand have Chris Wood back fit after a knee injury, which is basically their best news before a game like this.
Prediction: Iran 2-0 New Zealand.
Tip: Iran to win. Taremi is a class above anything New Zealand carry beyond Chris Wood, and Iran have the control to win a cagey one.
Safest Football Call Of The Day
Spain to beat Cape Verde. It is the cleanest call. Cape Verde have a beautiful story, but Spain have Rodri, Pedri, and a passing structure designed to suffocate teams that sit too deep.
Upset Special
Egypt to get a result against Belgium. Belgium have bigger names, but Egypt have the exact weapons to make them uncomfortable. Even a half-fit Salah does not need 90 perfect minutes. He needs one Belgian mistake and one proper pass.
For Africa, today is loud. Cape Verde make history. Egypt chase their first World Cup win and a real Group G statement. One team gets a dream debut. The other gets Belgium. Football is not always kind, but it does give you a stage.
Back any of these? Tell me what you're rolling with today.
