Scotland's first Word Cup for 28 years starts in the early hours on Sunday, before Australia v Turkey, Germany Curacao and Netherlands v Japan complete the first four-game slate of the summer extravaganza.
Day four of the World Cup starts with a 2am (BST) contest between Scotland and Haiti, then punters will be hoping to get a few winks before a 5am meeting between Turkey and Australia.
There is a long break until match three – when Germany take on Curacao at 6pm – before the final match of Sunday sees the Netherlands and Japan collide in Dallas at 9pm.
Below are our four selections in the World Cup betting for Sunday’s acca, which pays 11/2 if successful.
Saturday’s Best Bets
- Scotland to beat Haiti @ 4/7
- Turkey to beat Australia @ 7/10
- Germany-Germany half-time – full-time v Curacao @ 2/9
- Netherlands to beat Japan @ 1/1
Pays out at
11/2
Tartan Army should enjoy their trip
Scotland face a must-win game straight out of the gate in their first World Cup for 28 years. If Steve Clarke’s men fail to beat Haiti, qualifying from Group C suddenly becomes incredibly difficult.
With five-time champions Brazil and reigning Africa Cup of Nations winners Morocco also in Group C, beating Haiti and sneaking through the group in third place is probably the target for Scotland.
Expect Clarke’s troops to get the first job done against an extremely weak Haiti, who are playing in only the second World Cup in their history.
Leg 1: Scotland to beat Haiti @ 4/7
Turkey looking dangerous outsiders
They have had the ‘dark horse’ tag in past competitions, but Turkey fully deserve that status for this World Cup, with some serious talent lurking in a squad which is being expertly led by Vincenzo Montella.
The relatively young Italian manager has created a superb team spirit which can take Turkey deep in the knockout stages.
World Cup co-hosts USA are arguably the toughest Group D assignment for Turkey, who can comfortably see off Australia in their opening contest. Gifted Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler may be one of the stars of the tournament.
Leg 2: Turkey to beat Australia @ 7/10
Germany should crush humble opponents
The biggest mismatch of the first set of World Cup matches is arguably Germany against Curacao – and the four-time champions can quickly assert their superiority. Expect Germany to be winning at both half-time and full-time.
Curacao, ranked 82nd in the world, have 78-year-old Dick Advocaat as manager, but the vastly experienced Dutchman does not have many decent players to work with.
Advocaat will probably flood the midfield and play for a draw, but Germany, with Kai Havertz leading the line, should possess far too much qualify to be repelled.
Leg 3: Germany-Germany half-time – full-time v Curacao @ 2/9
Netherlands can outclass Japan
The Netherlands have a squad bursting with Premier League experience and Ronald Koeman’s side have the potential to threaten World Cup glory.
Liverpool colossus Virgil van Dijk will captain a team that seems well balanced and capable of troubling any side in the competition.
If the Dutch can handle the heat, expect another successful run to the latter stages of a World Cup, and victory over Japan can lay the foundation for a comfortable qualification from Group F.
Leg 4: Netherlands to beat Japan @ 1/1
