The Group C clash between Haiti and Scotland in the early hours of the morning is the first of three World Cup matches taking place on Sunday, Australia v Turkey in Group D is also a morning kick off and later in the day Germany and Curacao get Group E underway and the Netherlands take on Japan in Group F
Group C Haiti v Scotland
Brazil and Morocco are the other nations in this group and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Haiti
Since booking their ticket to the final Haiti have played four friendly matches in 2026. In March they lost 1-0 to Tunisia and drew 1-1 with Iceland and earlier this month they thrashed New Zealand 4-0 and then lost 2-1 to Peru.
Haiti’s automatic qualification for these finals under coach Sebastian Migne is all the more remarkable given they didn’t play any of their qualifiers in their home country. Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor is likely to lead the line.
Scotland
Scotland’s prep for the final began in March with two 1-0 home defeats to Japan and Ivory Coast. More recently they were in the goals, beating Curacao 4-1 and then Bolivia 4-0.
Steve Clarke guided Scotland to their first World Cup finals since 1998, qualifying automatically from a group which included Denmark. The midfield contains the likes of John McGinn and Scott McTominay and it’s possible 43 year old goalkeeper craig Gordon will start.
The Betting:
Haiti are priced at around 5/1 to win the game with the draw available at 32/10 and Scotland can be backed at around 11/20.
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 17/20 and it’s 19/20 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
Haiti are largely a unknown quantity to me but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them give a good account of themselves. After this these teams have Brazil and Morocco to come and I fancy both will target victory here. I’m with Scotland to win a game of 3 goals or more in total.
Bets: Scotland to win and over 2.5 total goals at 1.45/1 with Lucky Fish
Note, odds are subject to change
Group D Australia v Turkey
USA and Paraguay are the other nations in this group and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Australia
Australia’s most recent friendly matches delivered a 1-1 draw with Switzerland and 1-0 defeat at Mexico whilst back in March they beat Cameroon (1-0) and Curacao (5-1).
Australia finished as runners up to Japan in their Asian qualifying group, they reached the last 16 four years ago which is as deep as they have ever been in this tournament. Tony Popovic is the coach and he has some lesser known but talented youngsters in the squad.
Turkey
A pair of friendly internationals in recent days saw Turkey tune up for the finals with wins over North Macedonia (4-0) and Venezuela (2-1).
Turkey’s place in these finals was confirmed in March when they came through the European plays off with a pair of 1-0 wins at home to Romania and then away to Kosovo. In their qualifying group they finished as runners up to Spain who beat them 6-0 at home but the return finished 2-2 and Turkey were otherwise foot perfect.
Vincenzo Montella is the coach and he can call on Guler of Real Madrid and Yildiz of Juventus for the creativity and goal threat.
The Betting:
Australia are priced at around 4/1 to win the game with the draw available at 2.83/1 and Turkey can be backed at around 7/10.
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at even money and it’s 19/20 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
Any winner here will be in a rally strong position to reach the knockout rounds, my preference is for Turkey to edge it by a single goal
Bets: Turkey to win by 1 goal exactly at 2.55/1 with Lucky Fish
Note, odds are subject to change
Group E Germany v Curacao
Ivory Coast and Ecuador are the other nations in this group and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Germany
Germany have won all four of the friendly matches in 2026. In March they beat Switzerland (4-3) and Ghana (2-1) and more recently they thrashed Finland (4-0) and beat USA (2-1).
In their qualifying group Germany lost their opening match in Slovakia but then reeled off five straight wins to book an automatic place in the finals.
The most recent of Germany’s four World Cup titles came in 2014 and they fluffed their lines twice since then. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has come out of retirement to take his place in a star studded squad coached by Julian Nagelsmann.
Curacao
Curacao beat Aruba (4-0) in their most recent prep but earlier friendly results saw them lose to Scotland (4-1), Australia (5-1) and China (2-0).
This will be Curacao’s World Cup Finals debut thanks to a CONCACAF qualifying campaign which saw them edge out nations such as Jamaica and Trinidad. Dick Advocaat, now 78 was in charge of qualifying before stepping down for family reasons but has now returned as coach and much of the squad is based in the Netherlands.
The Betting:
Germany are priced at around 1 / 20 to win the game with the draw available at 16/1 and Curacao can be backed at around 40/1.
A game of 5 goals or more is priced at 11/10 and it’s 1.65/1 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
A one sided betting heat and understandably so. I will be content with a small wager on this one and my play will be for the opening goal to come from a header.
Bets: First goal method, by a header at 36/10 with Pokerbet
Note, odds are subject to change
Group F Netherlands v Japan
Sweden and Tunisia are the other nations in this group and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Netherlands
The Netherlands friendly results this month include a 1-0 loss to Algeria followed by a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan. In March they beat Norway 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Ecuador.
The Dutch topped their qualifying group unbeaten with 6 wins and 2 draws. The opposition wasn’t the strongest ad they were held to two 1-1 draws by Poland but they rattled in 27 goals in total across those qualifiers.
Ronald Koeman is the coach and he has some experienced campaigners such as Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay to call upon and there are a whole host of players who play in the English Premier League.
Japan
Japan have played three friendly internationals in 2026 which delivered wins in Scotland and England in March (both 1-0) and most recently they beat Iceland (also 1-0).
Japan are regulars at the WC Finals but have never been beyond the Round of 16. Kaoru Mitoma misses the tournament through injury and coach Hajime Moriyasu remains in charge after seeing his side breeze through qualifying in Aisa.
The Betting:
Netherlands are priced at around even money to win the game with the draw available at 2.53/1 and Japan can be backed at around 27/10.
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 19/20 and it’s 0.77/1 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
I quite like the chances of the Dutch gong deep in this tournament but Japan’s prep has been solid and their win over England at Wembley stands out.
I’ve settled on a corners play and with plenty of decent attacking talent in the side I’m with the Netherlands to be awarded 6 corners or more in total.
Bets: Netherlands total corners over 5.5 at even money with Pokerbet
Note, odds are subject to change