Group D features co-hosts USA, Paraguay, Australia and Turkey
The United States face Paraguay in the early hours of Saturday morning
Australia take on Turkey at 5am on Sunday
The United States are aiming to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the fourth time since 2010 and will hope playing on home soil gives them the edge when they meet Paraguay, Australia and Turkey in Group D.
Here we pick out the best bets for the first round of games which sees the USA come up against Paraguay and Australia meet Turkey.
Best Bets:
USA vs Paraguay: Both teams to score - yes @ 10/11
Turkey to win to nil vs Australia @ 13/8
USA vs Paraguay (Saturday, 2am)
The United States will have watched co-hosts Mexico open the tournament with a win and hope they too can put on a show in their first match when they take on Paraguay.
Automatically qualifying for the World Cup, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have played a run of friendlies in the build-up but have lost three of their four games heading into the tournament.
Facing tough opposition, USA have been defeated by Germany, Portugal and Belgium.
However, the Stars and Stripes only failed to score against Portugal, and that was their one blank in nine matches going back to September.
Looking at the other end of the pitch, the US have conceded in each of their last eight matches and so backing both teams to score on Saturday could prove a smart move.
This is backed up by the fact Paraguay have found the net in seven of their last eight matches, conceding in five of those.
When the two sides last met in November, both teams got on the scoresheet as the US earned a 2-1 win.
Score Prediction: USA 2-1 Paraguay
See the latest USA vs Paraguay odds on LiveScore Bet
Australia vs Turkey (Sunday, 5am)
Turkey arrive at the World Cup on an excellent run of form with seven wins in eight.
The last defeat Vincenzo Montella’s side suffered was a 6-0 hammering by Spain in World Cup qualifying Group E but, since then, they have responded positively, going unbeaten since October.
Beating North Macedonia 4-0 in a friendly at the start of June, the Crescent-Stars continued their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 win over Venezuela, coming from behind to triumph in Miami.
Australia, meanwhile, have lost four of their last seven matches including a 1-0 defeat by Mexico at the end of May.
A 1-1 draw with Switzerland on June 6 will have given the Socceroos belief they can compete with teams from Europe but on paper, Montella’s men boast more quality across the pitch.
Australia have failed to find the net in three of their last six matches and so backing Turkey to kick off their World Cup campaign with a win to nil may be a wise choice.
Score Prediction: Australia 0-2 Turkey
See the latest Australia vs Turkey odds on LiveScore Bet
