World Cup predictions: Portugal vs DR Congo, England vs Croatia and more

The World Cup continues on Wednesday with four more teams getting their tournaments under way.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal take on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while England face Croatia in one of the most anticipated matches of the day. Ghana meet Panama, and World Cup newcomers Uzbekistan face Colombia in the late game.

Away from the action, Ronaldo is chasing another World Cup record, Lionel Messi has made more history, and fans around the world are adjusting to some challenging kickoff times.

DRC have climbed from 56th to 45th in FIFA’s world rankings after securing their place at this year’s edition, but Opta’s supercomputer still favours fifth-ranked Portugal to win this Group K opener.

Based on 25,000 pre-match simulations, Portugal came out on top in 54.6 percent of scenarios, while a draw occurred 22.3 percent of the time.

DRC were given a 23.1 percent chance of victory, suggesting the Leopards are far from without hope. However, Sebastien Desabre’s side could hardly have asked for a tougher assignment on their return to the World Cup.

England and Croatia renew a familiar rivalry in Group L, meeting for the fourth time at a major tournament this century. Croatia won their World Cup semifinal clash in 2018, while England have won both of their European Championship encounters.

The Opta supercomputer has England as clear favourites, with the Three Lions winning 55.9 percent of 10,000 simulations. Croatia were victorious in 20.8 percent, while 23.3 percent ended in a draw.