Andy Schooler previews Friday’s matches at the World Cup 2026, including Scotland’s crucial clash with Morocco.
World Cup 2026: Fantastic Friday Preview
Scotland gained the win they really needed in their opening game against Haiti, although it was rather laboured. Not winning by more than a single goal may come back to bite them as they may struggle to add to their points tally in Group C. Morocco were impressive in their first match against Brazil, who will be Scotland’s final opponents in this pool.
World Cup 2026: Scotland v Morocco
Group C, Boston (ITV, 11pm)
The sliced Brazil open on numerous occasions in the first half and could well have been more than a goal ahead before Vinicius Junior struck back. Steve Clarke will likely set his team up to be much more solid than Brazil were, although I still have doubts over the quality of their defence with the central partnership being veteran Grant Hanley and Saudi Pro League man, Jack Hendry. I’m tempted to back Morocco for the win here but 1.61 is a tad too short for my liking – perhaps you can find a Bet Builder way of pumping that price up towards evens.
Instead, I’m going to side with Achraf Hakimi in the shots markets. He’s the epitome of the modern-day attacking full-back and his surging runs caused Brazil all sorts of problems. He drifted inside and troubled them from central positions too, ending up with three shots to his name. Yes, Scotland will be out to deny him so much space here but we’ve seen Hakimi prove tough to stop in other environments for PSG and I do like the even money about him having at least two shots in this one.
World Cup 2026: USA v Australia
Group D, Seattle (BBC, 8pm)
USA cut through Paraguay with an impressive performance on matchday one, while Australia also won, beating Turkey to move within touching distance of the knockout stage. A draw here would, in that sense, suit both sides, although it’s hard to see them settling for such a result, especially the hosts who will be cheered on strongly at Lumen Field in what is a hotbed of US ‘soccer’.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino will doubtless want his side to continue in the same vein and I think there’s a strong chance that the goals will continue to flow. It’s now eight of their last nine in which both teams have scored, while the USMNT have kept just one clean sheet in 15. The Aussies kept out Turkey but still conceded 30 shots and the US looked much sharper in terms of attacking play.
Going the other way, the Socceroos were excellent on the transitions, always looking to surge forward when they won the ball high up, and they duly scored twice. Nestory Irankunda played a big part in that success and scored the opening goal – the Watford man now has six in 16 internationals. He’s a decent-looking 4.8 to score another in this contest but the bet I’m going to take is the even money about multiple shots.
Irankunda hit two in that Turkey game and has now landed this bet in five of eight starts at this level. With confidence up, expect him to try his luck again here. Finally, I want to mention referee Felix Zwayer, the German who has long been one of the strictest officials in the UEFA Champions League.
The booking points line is set at 35.5 (that’s 10 points for a yellow card, 25 for a red) and that looks too low. In international football, Zwayer has cleared this bar in 11 of his last 13 games, including all four at first only previous senior tournament, Euro 2024. Neither side has played a lot of competitive football of late so there’s not a great deal of useful data to go on from their side of things but I’m more than happy to get on the overs here due to Herr Zwayer.
World Cup 2026: Brazil v Haiti
Group C, Philadelphia (ITV, 1.30am Sat)
As already touched upon, Brazil were too open against Morocco in their group opener and you can expect a few changes from Carlo Ancelotti here with Casemiro’s place looking under threat in the midfield. The thing is, deficiencies can probably be masked in this contest with Haiti looking the weakest team in the group. That said, they still caused Scotland some problems the other day, outshooting their opponents in a 1-0 defeat.
Vinicius Junior was one of the positives that Brazil could take from that first match, the Real Madrid man offering threat and scoring a cracking equaliser. My bet in this one relates to him as he’ll likely be going up against Carlens Arcus down that side of the pitch.
Arcus committed three fouls against the Scots but missed out on a card, although he’s still been booked in three of his last five competitive internationals.At club level last season, he picked up seven cards in 26 appearances for Angers in Ligue 1 and facing the trickery of Vini Jr looks like one of his toughest assignments to date. I’ll back him to be carded at 3.6.
World Cup 2026: Turkey v Paraguay
Group D, San Francisco (ITV, 4am Sat)
Turkey were one of my pre-tournament dark horses but it’s hard to be confident about them at odds-on following their 2-0 defeat to Australia. They managed 30 shots in that game but were pretty toothless in truth. Paraguay were also well beaten by USA so it’s crucial that these sides bounce back now.
Given the situation and the teams involved, this looks to have potential for cards – Turkey received the second-most cards of the European qualifiers for these finals, while only Brazil had more than Paraguay in South American qualifying. Paraguay also picked up five in their opening defeat. Sadly, the layers are wise to this with the cards line set at 4.5 and most players short enough in the player-card market. However, perhaps one way in here is to back a red card.
We haven’t had many at the tournament so far but these are two ill-disciplined sides with plenty to play for. Crucially, we also have a referee – El Salvador’s Ivan Barton – with a strong track record for dismissals in this sort of game. Four of his last seven tournament appointments have featured a red card, those matches coming across Copa America, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Olympics and the 2022 version of his event.
That shows he’s not one for holding back on the big stage and these sides could well pique his interest in disciplinary terms. In the shot markets, I mentioned Julio Enciso the other day and while he missed his shots line by one, I wouldn’t out anyone off backing for 3+ again here, against what is arguably weaker opposition. He’s now hit 3+ shots in 11 of his last 19 internationals ad regularly hit this mark against Premier League defences during his time at Brighton and Ipswich.
World Cup 2026: Best Bets, Friday June 19
Hakimi over 1.5 shots @ 2.0 with kwiff
BTTS in USA v AUS @ 1.86 with kwiff
Irankunda over 1.5 shots @ 2.0 with kwiff
Over 35.5 booking points in USA v AUS @ 1.98 with kwiff
Arcus to be carded @ 3.6 with kwiff
Sending off in TUR v PAR @ 3.5 with kwiff
By Andy Schooler
Please note that the information provided in this FIFA World Cup 2026: Friday Tips article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
