As Wednesday night turns into Thursday morning Ghana and Panama clash in World Cup Group L and shortly afterwards we have a Group K clash between Uzbekistan and Colombia
Later on Thursday the second round of group matches get underway with Bafana Bafana in action against the Czech Republic in Group A and in Group B Switzerland take on Bosnia & Herzegovina and Canada meet Qatar. We will cover all of those matches in separate previews but first let’s look at the only nations who have yet to feature in the tournament so far.
Group L Ghana v Panama
England and Croatia are the other nations in this quartet and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Ghana
Results from four friendly internationals this year have not gone Ghana’s way. They lost in Austria (5-1) and Germany (2-1) in March and prior to these finals they lost 2-0 to Mexico and drew 1-1 with Wales.
Ghana’s qualifying group was not the strongest but they came through with 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat to finish top and qualify automatically.
Ghana didn’t make it to the 2025/26 AFCON Finals and Carlos Queiroz was only appointed as coach in April this year, Antoine Semenyo is the star turn in the squad but Mohammed Kudus and defenders Mohammed Salisu and Alexander Djiku miss the tournament through injury.
Panama
Panama have played 7 friendly matches this year, notable results include a 1-0 loss to Mexico in January and a 6-2 hiding off Brazil at the end of May. They did win in South Africa and most recently they played out a 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Panama qualified automatically from the CONCACAF region ahead of Suriname and they are coached by Thomas Christiansen who has an experienced squad although there are no big names.
The Betting:
Ghana are priced at around 12/10 to win the game with the draw available at 2.42/1 and Panama can be backed at around 5/2.
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 5/4 and it’s even money for both teams to score
The Verdict:
Any loser here will be under big pressure and with a degree of guesswork I’m thinking it could be tight with at least one side failing to score.
Bets: Both teams to sore? No at 17/20 with BetOlimp
Note, odds are subject to change
Group K Uzbekistan v Colombia
Portugal and DR Congo are the other nations in this group and for the latest betting for this group and details of the squads click here.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s two most recent friendly matches both ended in defeat, to the Netherlands (2-1) and Mexico (2-0). In March they beat Venezuela (1-0) and Gabon (3-1).
Uzbekistan lost just one of their Asian qualifiers and finished as runners up to Iran. Fabio Cannavaro, a World Cup winner as a player with Italy is the coach. Young Man City defender Abdukodir Khusanov is in the squad and Eldor Shomurodov is their all time top goalscorer.
Colombia
In March this year Colombia lost to friendly internationals, to Croatia (2-1) and France (3-1) but earlier this month they beat Costa Rica (3-1) and Jodan (2-0).
Colombia started South American qualifying really well including home wins over Brazil and Argentina and they held on to book an automatic place in the finals. They also took Argentina to extra time in the 2024 Copa Final.
Nestor Lorenzo is coach of a squad which includes Luis Diaz of Bayern and James Rodriguez, now 34, is another key man whilst Luis Suarez of Sporting Lisbon is likely to lead the line.
The Betting:
Uzbekistan are priced at around 8/1 to win the game with the draw available at 4/1 and Colombia can be backed at around 4/10.
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 9/10 and it’s 13/10 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
Uzbekistan are something of an unknown quantity to me but the odds suggest Colombia should make a winning start and I’m with their centre forward to score anytime.
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Luis Suarez at 12/10 with BetOlimp
Note, odds are subject to change
