USA and Mexico both scrambled through their CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals but El Tri have been more impressive overall during this tournament. Home advantage will also mean nothing for the Stars and Stripes as their opponents are assured of strong support in Nevada.
Spain found their shooting boots just in time to see off Ivory Coast and can build on that by beating Japan in the Olympics semi-finals. The hosts did well during the group phase but failed to impress when only getting past New Zealand on penalties.
The last two Olympic champions face off in this summer’s first semi-final and holders Brazil get the nod to edge out 2012 winners Mexico. El Tri have been great to watch in Tokyo but their next opponents are a class apart on paper and possess far more big-match experience.
Australia showed great spirit to edge out Great Britain but Sweden have been the stand-out team at the Tokyo Olympics. The Scandinavians prevailed 4-2 when these sides met during the group stage and are fancied to come out on top in another high-tempo semi-final clash.
USA have all the pedigree but Canada are fancied to be competitive in their women’s Olympics semi-final on current form at this tournament. Both teams had to go all the way to penalties at the last-eight stage and we feel this tie is destined to be another close encounter.
Man City have claimed two Community Shield victories under Pep Guardiola but the Spaniard seems less fired up for this year’s clash with Leicester. Guardiola has declared he will have to “play with a second team” due to star names returning late from international duty.
With 23,000 fans allowed into Ibrox, Rangers can begin the new Scottish Premiership campaign by again celebrating last season’s stunning title triumph. Steven Gerrard’s side ended Celtic’s dominance north of the border when topping the table by 25 points.
Celtic can put a heart-breaking Champions League exit behind them to start their Scottish Premiership campaign with a win at Hearts. The Jambos easily earned promotion from the Championship and have done well in the Premier Sports Cup but now step up in class.
South Korea and Mexico have both done well at recent Olympics and again impressed during the group stage of this summer’s tournament. All the signs are that a cracking quarter-final is on the cards in Yokohama and the feeling is this tie could go to extra time at least.
Defending Olympic champions Brazil made smooth progress through the group stage and should prove too hot for Egypt in the quarter-finals. The underdogs have looked organised and efficient so far but lacked a cutting edge up front versus Spain and Argentina in their pool.
Japan were the only team to win all three group-stage games at the Tokyo Olympics and look worthy favourites to see off New Zealand. The Kiwis did look defensively sound in two of their matches, though, so we’re not expecting this to be a blow-out now the pressure is on.
Ivory Coast battled their way through a tough group at the Tokyo Olympics and are fancied to give Spain a stiff test in the quarter-finals. La Rojita look equally determined to make up for a moderate recent record in this event but have had trouble scoring goals so far.
Mexico have been crowned CONCACAF Gold Cup champions four times in the last six renewals and look on course to reach the final again. Canada head into this semi in good spirits but are 59 spots lower down the FIFA rankings and that gulf in class is expected to tell in Houston.
Qatar have been entertaining guests at the CONCACAF Gold Cup but face a tough test when taking on USA in the semi-finals in Texas. The hosts have reached the final 11 times in 15 renewals of this tournament, including when narrowly beaten by Mexico in the 2019 decider.