Every team has had their first run-out in the competition, and now it’s time for sides to play their crucial second fixtures in the group stages.
Portugal face Morocco looking to build on Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics which saw them pick up a point in their group opener against Spain, while Uruguay look to effectively secure their spot in the round of 16 when they face Saudi Arabia.
Iran left it late to secure a win over Morocco in their maiden fixture but have it all to do against Spain this time round.
Our betting expert looks through the best World Cup betting odds ahead of all three fixtures.
Portugal v Morocco
Portugal were involved in arguably the game of the tournament so far when drawing 3-3 with Spain last Friday night.
They had that man Ronaldo to thank as his 51st career hat-trick sealed a share of the spoils in the opener.
This time they come up against Morocco, who lost out late on to Iran, and their task this time should be more straightforward.
Whether complacency creeps in against a weaker side remains to be seen, but I still fancy them to pick up the win on the night, and a Portugal half-time/full-time win looks the bet for me at 13/8.
Uruguay v Saudi Arabia
There’s been plenty of late goals already in the tournament and Uruguay needed one to beat Egypt 1-0 in their opening game.
They had struggled to break down the African nation until that moment when they popped up with the late winner, however, their task should be much more straight forward against Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis struggled massively in their opener against hosts Russia and looked a very poor side who were easily dispatched.
As much as you expect that they surely cannot be as bad second time round, their chances are very slim, and I fancy Uruguay to run riot and a win by three or more goals at 11/10 looks like a good shout.
Iran v Spain
Iran netted in stoppage time to secure their first World Cup win since 1998 over Morocco in their first game but have it all to do against the 2010 champions Spain at the Kazan Arena.
Spain, despite all the chaos off the pitch with Fernando Hierro replacing Julien Lopetegui as boss 48 hours before the Portugal game, showed their resolve, and minus an uncharacteristic error from David de Gea in goal, could well have won their first group match.
I still fancy Spain to have too much for Iran on this occasion and a combination bet of Spain to win, have more shots on target and to cover most distance looks an attractive bet at 7/2.
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