While most across the United States are occupied by Independence Day celebrations on Saturday, there are also two intriguing World Cup fixtures coming your way from Houston and Philly, as the round of 16 gets underway. In the day's earlier match, co-hosts Canada will be looking to continue their historic run down in Texas, albeit they are big underdogs to overcome Morocco.
Later on, World Cup favorites France have seemed unstoppable so far, with most forecasting this will continue when they meet Paraguay in Pennsylvania. So, ahead of the day's action, check out our complete guide, featuring kickoff times, TV info, previews and predictions.
World Cup games and predictions for Saturday July, 4
Match | Predictions | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada vs. Morocco | Morocco to win | 1 p.m. ET | FOX |
Paraguay vs. France | France to win | 5 p.m. ET | FOX |
Canada vs. Morocco
- Prediction:Â Canada 0-2 Morocco; Ismael Saibari to score and 3+ cards.
- Watchability rating:Â 3/5 (For the diehards)
Both Canada and Morocco enjoyed late drama to reach the round of 16, but only one will march through to the quarter-finals following this clash at NRG Stadium. Having both won a World Cup match and gone beyond the group stages for the very first time, Canada was in the weird position of being favorites to beat South Africa at SoFi last Sunday. In truth, it was a game that lacked quality, albeit the Canucks were probably the better side and were rewarded right at the death when Stephen Eustáquio lashed home a last-gasp winner. Will that be as good as it gets, or just the start?
Two summers ago, Jesse Marsch's team reached the semi-finals of Copa América, despite this being les Rouges' debut at the tournament, so will believe something similar is possible at the biggest tournament of them all. Captain Alphonso Davies came off the bench for his first minutes of the tournament against South Africa, and while clearly not fully fit, this might just be the boost Canada needs as they aim to upset the odds in the Lone Star State.
As for Morocco, their round of 32 match in Monterrey was far more memorable. The Atlas Lions were the better team against the Netherlands but fell behind with 18 minutes to go, seemingly set to crash out. That was until, in injury time, Chemsdine Talbi's cross was headed in by Issa Diop to save them at the last. A frenetic shootout followed, in which five of the ten spot-kicks were not converted, so after an extraordinary save by Yassine Bounou, Ismael Saibari converted the winning penalty.
This side ousting the Dutch was not a massive surprise. Morocco reached the semi-finals at the last World Cup and were AFCON finalists earlier this year, hence why Mohamed Ouahbi's team is expected to make a deep run here too. In Qatar four years ago, the Atlas Lions beat the Canucks 2-1 during the group stages, with a similar outcome forecast in Houston on Saturday.
Paraguay vs. France
- Prediction: Paraguay 0-3 France; Kylian Mbappé to score 2+ and Orlando Gill 5+ saves.
- Watchability rating:Â 4/5 (Worth your time)
One of the most common questions of this World Cup is: can anyone stop France? Well, so far, the answer has been emphatically no. Les Bleus have won all four matches to date, scoring 13 goals, yet to appear challenged. On Tuesday, Didier Deschamps' team swatted aside Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey; Kylian Mbappé scoring twice, with Bradley Barcola on target in between. That took Mbappé's tally to 62 international goals, including 18 in 18 World Cup appearances, which isn't bad, is it?
Based on the first four matches at this World Cup, France are by far the strongest side, but that does not necessarily mean they're going to go all the way. Tougher tests will await, albeit this might not be one of them, with les Bleus expected to cruise through to the quarter-finals in Philadelphia.
Well, those with tickets to attend Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday evening assumed they'd be seeing a clash between two European heavyweights, but Paraguay had other ideas. In, by far, the biggest shock of the round of 32, Los GuaranĂes dumped out four-time world champions Germany in Foxborough. After taking a shock lead through Julio Enciso, they held on for a 1-1 draw before prevailing on penalties, keeper Orlando Gill the hero, before JosĂ© Canale converted the winning kick.
This is just Albirroja's second World Cup knockout stage victory, also defeating Japan on penalties in Pretoria 16 years ago. Now it's set for a fifth round of 16 appearance. Gustavo Alfaro's team began this summer by being smashed 4-1 by USA, but has exponentially improved since then. Back at France '98, these two teams also met in the last 16, with Laurent Blanc's golden goal in extra time seeing the hosts sneak through. This time, despite Paraguay's recent giant-slaying exploits, this clash is not likely to be close, with France potentially setting up a mouth-watering last eight encounter with Morocco.
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