{"id":43705,"date":"2026-06-30T09:23:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/43705\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T09:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:23:15","slug":"world-cup-predictions-round-of-32-france-vs-sweden-mexico-vs-ecuador-and-rest-of-matchday-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/43705\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup predictions round of 32: France vs Sweden, Mexico vs Ecuador and rest of matchday 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to The Athletic\u2019s daily World Cup Predictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article gives you the lowdown on all today\u2019s games, with the bonus of some friendly competition\u2026<\/p>\n

Throughout the tournament, we will have two Athletic writers (Andy Jones or Elias Burke \u2014 with help from our experts from each of the 48 countries) pitting our soccer knowledge against a different Athletic subscriber each day and \u2018Algo\u2019, the shiny new algorithm from The Athletic, which is making its computerised debut during the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Oh, and a dog called Stanley and a six-year-old called Wilfred (who some of you may remember from last season\u2019s Premier League predictions).<\/p>\n

Our guest subscriber today is Kenneth, from the United States, who supports Norway, Tottenham Hotspur and Viking FK. Good luck, Kenneth!<\/p>\n

If you would like to apply to be our guest subscriber for a day during this tournament, please follow the instructions in the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app<\/a><\/p>\n

What happened on Matchday 19?<\/p>\n

A late Gabriel Martinelli strike broke Japanese hearts as Brazil progressed to the round of 16 with a 2-1 comeback victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While all five predictors thought Carlo Ancelotti\u2019s South Americans would get the job done, it was clear that the tournament \u2018dark horses\u2019 would make their life difficult. That proved to be the case on the half-hour when Kaishu Sano picked up the ball near the halfway line, drove to the edge of the area and found the bottom corner.<\/p>\n

A shock looked to be on the cards, but minutes after being denied by an incredible goal-line block, Casemiro headed Brazil level from a deep Gabriel cross after 56 minutes. Brazil threw on plenty of attacking talent after that, but the game looked destined for extra time.<\/p>\n

That was until Rayan forced a high turnover five minutes into added time and Bruno Guimaraes\u2019 inch-perfect pass found Martinelli. The Arsenal forward did the rest, and sent the yellow wall of Brazil shirts watching from behind that goal wild.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brazil celebrate their late winner (Lars Baron\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Then, after two close calls, we had our first knockout tie of this World Cup go to extra time and penalties in match three as Paraguay caused the biggest shock so far, knocking out Germany.<\/p>\n

Julian Nagelsmann\u2019s side dominated possession but were toothless in the first half and got sucker-punched just before half-time when Julio Enciso headed Paraguay in front. It did not take long for Germany to respond in the second half as Kai Havertz flicked in Florian Wirtz\u2019s cross. They were unable to find a winner in normal time though, as they faced resilient opponents.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Tah thought he had headed Germany in front in the first period of extra time but the goal was controversially ruled out after a soft foul by Waldemar Anton on goalkeeper Orlando Gill.<\/p>\n

Their misery only increased when Havertz and Nick Woltemade saw their penalties saved by Gill. Paraguay then had two opportunities to win it but Antonio Sanabria (wide) and Fabian Balbuena (saved by Manuel Neuer) missed back-to-back penalties to take it to sudden death.<\/p>\n

Germany had never lost a World Cup penalty shootout, and it looked like fate was with them again\u2026 until Tah stepped up next and blazed his penalty over. It was left to centre-back Jose Canale, who had defined Paraguay\u2019s defensive efforts, to step up and fire his side into the last 16.<\/p>\n

Not even Stanley foresaw that upset, with all of us picking Germany to advance but we did finally have a difference in opinion for the third and final game of the day. Subscriber Samer predicted Morocco would beat the Netherlands while everyone else backed Ronald Koeman\u2019s team \u2014 and he would be the one smiling at the end<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Results from June 29, 2026<\/p>\n

In a pulsating tie, the drama continued. Morocco had more and better chances over the 90 minutes, but it was the Dutch who took the lead through Cody Gakpo on 72 minutes. The Liverpool forward reacted first to a loose ball to score, an incredibly poignant and emotional moment after the personal tragedy he and his family have suffered in recent days<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tie was not over though, and for the third game out of four in this knockout phase, we had a goal scored in added time. Chemsdine Talbi\u2019s cross was headed in by centre-back Issa Diop to take the tie to extra time.<\/p>\n

Nothing could separate the two sides over the additional 30 minutes, but if you thought the Germany-Paraguay shootout was dramatic, this was on another level.<\/p>\n

There were five attempts missed, and one scored via an accidental backheel by Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after he\u2019d made the initial save. It was left to Ismael Saibari to step up and convert the winning penalty for a 3-2 shootout victory, ending another of the big European sides\u2019 World Cup hopes just hours after Germany\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Morocco knocked the Netherlands out on penalties (Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It is as-you-were in the predictor league table, but the subscribers took a step closer to the leaders. This matchday proved that there are no certainties in knockout football.<\/p>\n

\tOverall
accuracyCorrect
picksBest
streakTA experts64%4911The algorithm63%486Wilfred (age 6)62%477Reader picks59%455Stanley the dog38%294 <\/p>\n

\t\tHow do the predictions work?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty simple: we will give you some background on each game, players to watch and facts on the two teams. Then we will predict the outcome.<\/p>\n

We will maintain a leaderboard of how everyone gets on with their predictions (ranked by the percentage they get correct) but we\u2019ll also keep a record of \u201cstreaks\u201d \u2014 the number of predictions everyone gets right in a row. These streaks also form a crucial part of The Athletic\u2019s interactive Soccer Pick\u2019ems feature<\/a>, allowing you to make your own picks every round as well.<\/p>\n

So come along and get involved, and check back each day to see how we are getting on in the leaderboard \u2014 and probably more importantly, whether you, the subscribers, or Stanley or Wilfred are beating us.<\/p>\n

Or, worst of all, whether \u2018Algo\u2019\u00a0can prove data and statistics know all when it comes to predicting.<\/p>\n

Good luck, and enjoy!<\/p>\n

Why not try The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0World Cup Tracker<\/a>, where you can find a forecast projecting the likelihood that each team will progress through each stage of the tournament, along with a bracket<\/a> projecting the most likely round-of-32 matchups, current standings<\/a>, and a bunch of other neat forecasts and scenarios.<\/p>\n

Predictions for Matchday 20Ivory Coast vs Norway, round of 32, kick-off 1pm ET, 6pm BST<\/p>\n

Where to watch: FOX (U.S.), BBC (UK)<\/p>\n

Streak Risk Factor: 5\/5. Erling Haaland may prove the difference maker, but Ivory Coast have attacking stars of their own.<\/p>\n

Watch Rating: 5\/5. Among the most exciting ties of the round of 32. Expect plenty of dynamic attacking play from two forward-thinking, talented sides.<\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts say: \u201cBefore Stale Solbakken rested 10 of his starting XI for their 4-1 defeat by France in their final group game, Norway were impressive with two wins from two.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir 3-2 defeat of Senegal demonstrated that they can go toe-to-toe with highly fancied sides at this World Cup, and they will likely need to reach a similar level of performance against Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cYan Diamonde has been a revelation<\/a>, establishing himself as one of the game\u2019s brightest forward talents. His electric pace and creative ability were on display throughout the group stages, starring in wins against Ecuador and Curacao, and providing an effective outlet on the break in the loss to Germany.<\/p>\n

\"Ivory<\/p>\n

\n Yan Diomande has carried his fine RB Leipzig club form into the World Cup with Ivory Coast (Mauro Pimentel\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cAs well as Ivory Coast\u2019s ability to handle Haaland\u2019s constant goalscoring threat, the key battle of the game will be between Diomande, Amad, and the Norwegian full-backs. If Solbakken can build a plan to protect Julian Ryerson (providing he is fit after an injury against Senegal) and David Moller Wolfe, Norway\u2019s chances of reaching the round of 16 and equalling their best-ever finish are boosted, but that\u2019s easier said than done. Expect goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts: NORWAY WIN<\/p>\n

Guest subscriber Kenneth: NORWAY WIN<\/p>\n

Six-year-old Wilfred: NORWAY WIN<\/p>\n

Stanley the dog: IVORY COAST WIN<\/p>\n

Algo: NORWAY WIN<\/p>\n

Our picks for June 30, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\tFrance vs Sweden, round of 32, kick-off 5pm ET, 10pm BST<\/p>\n

Where to watch: FOX (U.S.), ITV (UK)<\/p>\n

Streak Risk Factor: 2\/5. Sweden\u2019s talent in the final third cannot be ignored, but France should have too much for them.<\/p>\n

Watch Rating: 4\/5. France have a strong argument for being the most impressive side at this World Cup. Tune in to see if they can continue building momentum through the knockouts, or if Sweden\u2019s expensive attackers can cause a major upset. <\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts say: \u201cFrance justifiably sit top of The Athletic\u2019s World Cup rankings heading into Matchday 20, owing to an impressive group stage and an enviable array of attacking quality. Betting against a front line of Kylian Mbappe (arguably the best player in the sport), Ousmane Dembele (the current Ballon d\u2019Or holder), Michael Olise (a contender to win that same award this year) and Desire Doue (surely a Ballon d\u2019Or contender in years to come), backed up by Rayan Cherki and Bradley Barcola, quite frankly, seems a bit ludicrous.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like manager Didier Deschamps\u2019 side have only scratched the surface of their attacking potential in the opening three matches. They have scored 10 goals in what, heading into the tournament, many described as its toughest group.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

\n The outstanding Michael Olise goes close against Norway (Buda Mendes\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut France were given a let-off of sorts against Norway<\/a>, with so many players rested, so we are yet to see how well-equipped their defence is to face a top-level centre-forward. In France\u2019s opening game, Senegal demonstrated that the tournament favourites are far from indestructible and probably should have gone in ahead at half-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, Sweden have two of the best No 9s at this World Cup, and should coach Graham Potter devise a game plan to get the most out of them, they could test a French back line that can look shaky.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, France can outscore anyone, and Sweden are far from solid. There is a chance of a goalfest, but expect the favourites to come out on top.<\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts: FRANCE WIN<\/p>\n

Guest subscriber Kenneth: FRANCE WIN<\/p>\n

Six-year-old Wilfred: FRANCE WIN<\/p>\n

Stanley the dog: SWEDEN WIN<\/p>\n

Algo: FRANCE WIN<\/p>\n

Mexico vs Ecuador, round of 32, kick-off 9pm ET, 2am BST<\/p>\n

Where to watch: FOX (U.S.), ITV (UK)<\/p>\n

Streak Risk Factor: 5\/5. With no pressure to score goals within 90 minutes in the knockout stages, Ecuador are well-positioned to do what they do best: defend. Mexico will have the backing of a fervent home crowd at Estadio Azteca, which will level the playing field against a slightly more talented Ecuador side, but Mexico City\u2019s altitude should not trouble Ecuador \u2014 their capital Quito is the world\u2019s second-highest city, behind La Paz in Bolivia. <\/p>\n

Watch Rating: 3\/5. Ecuador will likely try to make the game as slow as possible, while Mexico will be encouraged to attack from the outset. If Ecuador are allowed to play the game on their terms, it could be cagey, but a goal for the co-hosts will spark it into life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts say: \u201cThe group stage was always going to be a challenge for Ecuador, who scored just 14 goals in 18 games in South American qualifying, fewer than Bolivia (17) and Venezuela (18). The former last made the World Cup in 1994, the latter are yet to appear in the finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cEcuador finished second, above Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, despite being docked three points for fielding an ineligible player, thanks to their outstanding defensive record. Five goals conceded in 18 tough qualifying games shows how formidable the unit led by midfielder Moises Caicedo, and defenders Willian Pacho and Piero Hincapie, who met in last month\u2019s Champions League final as Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal players respectively, can be.<\/p>\n

\"Aleksandar<\/p>\n

\n Ecuador will look to rely on a formidable defence at the Azteca (Al Bello\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys proved to the world that they can score goals, beating Germany 2-1 to earn qualification for the last 32<\/a>, but their defence-first strategy is better suited to the knockout rounds, where there is not the same urgency to win a game in 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in front of huge support in their nation\u2019s capital, Mexico have their eyes set on history. A win here takes them to \u2018el quinto partido\u2019 (the fifth game of a World Cup), which has eluded them since reaching the quarter-finals, also on home soil, in 1986. As the only team to take nine points from nine without conceding once in the group stage, Mexico are in a strong position to realise that ambition in front of a crowd who will expect their team to progress on home soil. Let\u2019s see if an attack which looked impressive in group play can carry that form into the knockouts against one of the best defensive sides at this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Athletic Soccer Experts: ECUADOR WIN<\/p>\n

Guest subscriber Kenneth: ECUADOR WIN<\/p>\n

Six-year-old Wilfred: MEXICO WIN<\/p>\n

Stanley the dog: ECUADOR WIN<\/p>\n

Algo: MEXICO WIN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to The Athletic\u2019s daily World Cup Predictions. This article gives you the lowdown on all today\u2019s games,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4725,1239,356,25436,606,29678,223,514,26090,69,29677,16,26091,786,22675,1528,1527,191,5,65,445,4882,192,50,432,9795,558,1251,26087,189,594,357,330,26088,26089,1240,129,423,422,9918,190,193,562,1407,230,9090,450,21325,3277,1980,1526,15],"class_list":["post-43705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-algeria","tag-argentina","tag-australia","tag-austria","tag-belgium","tag-bosnia-herzegovina","tag-brazil","tag-canada","tag-cape-verde","tag-colombia","tag-congo-dr","tag-croatia","tag-curacao","tag-czech-republic","tag-ecuador","tag-egypt","tag-england","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-france","tag-germany","tag-ghana","tag-haiti","tag-international-football","tag-iran","tag-iraq","tag-ivory-coast","tag-japan","tag-jordan","tag-mexico-mens-national-team","tag-morocco","tag-netherlands","tag-new-zealand","tag-norway","tag-panama","tag-paraguay","tag-portugal","tag-premier-league","tag-qatar","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-scotland","tag-senegal","tag-soccer","tag-south-africa","tag-south-korea","tag-spain","tag-sweden","tag-switzerland","tag-tunisia","tag-turkey","tag-uruguay","tag-us-mens-national-team","tag-uzbekistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}