Good Morning ☀️,

It’s Lucas here, your Chief Predictions Officer at What Are the Odds?

Today, we’ve got a fun little story about ranch dressing, tasers, Waffle House, and what happens when you force different cultures to mix. But we’ll get to that soon.

First, here’s what’s ahead.

What’s ahead in today’s edition of What Are the Odds?:

• Did the world’s most divided country just unite the world? 🇺🇸

• Today’s complete match schedule. 🗓️

• Our top pick of the day. ✅

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🇳🇴 Norway vs France 🇫🇷

• Group: Group I

• Time: 15:00 ET

• Venue: Gillette Stadium

• Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts

🇸🇳 Senegal vs Iraq 🇮🇶

• Group: Group I

• Time: 15:00 ET

• Venue: BMO Field

• Location: Toronto

🇨🇻 Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦

• Group: Group H

• Time: 20:00 ET

• Venue: NRG Stadium

• Location: Houston

🇺🇾 Uruguay vs Spain 🇪🇸

• Group: Group H

• Time: 20:00 ET

• Venue: Estadio Akron

• Location: Zapopan, Mexico

🇪🇬 Egypt vs Iran 🇮🇷

• Group: Group G

• Time: 23:00 ET

• Venue: Lumen Field

• Location: Seattle

🇳🇿 New Zealand vs Belgium 🇧🇪

• Group: Group G

• Time: 23:00 ET

• Venue: BC Place

• Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Want to get the best odds on today’s matches?

For those of us who’ve ever spent any time on the internet, it’s easy to get the impression the USA is a hostile, deeply divided place riddled with political violence and hateful “Karens”.

And so it’s no surprise that some people were apprehensive about travelling to the USA for this year’s World Cup. Even less surprising when there were headlines like this one from no less than the New York Times in the lead up:

World Cup visitors to U.S. ‘vulnerable to serious harm’

Still, that didn’t stop some intrepid fans from making the trip. And, for the most part, despite all the grave warnings about “serious harm” to visitors, it seems they’ve all had had a blast discovering everything America has to offer.

And by “everything America has to offer,” we’re absolutely talking about its highest cultural institutions. You know, institutions like Buc-ee's, Waffle House, and Taco Bell, to name a few which have apparently been massive hits with international fans.

In fact, international visitors have fallen so deeply in love with American culture and food that the TSA has even had to start issuing travel advisories in response to some of the souvenirs return travellers were smuggling through airport security.

But as trivial as all this “tasers, Buc-ee's, and ranch dressing” tourism might seem, beneath it all there’s been a deeper story developing. Apparently, international visitors have been forced to completely rethink their opinions and attitudes about America.

True story.

Turns out (if the headlines are to be believed), many international visitors have been finding Americans much more hospitable than they expected, with some now getting the sense that they’ve been “lied to their whole lives.”

To share a couple of quotes:

“America is nothing like what the media tells us. Everyone is so friendly, everyone is so accommodating.”

“I’m gonna say sorry on behalf of all the countries outside America and their media and the narrative they paint about America. The American people welcomed me with open arms, and for that I’ve fallen in love with the USA.”

Looks like one of the world’s most (apparently) divided countries might have just united the world.

And, at a World Cup that has (like most others) been plagued with all the usual culture war drama, upset fans, and a whole lot of other weird tensions, that might just be the best news story to come out of the whole thing so far.

⚽ Uruguay vs Spain
🏟️ 2026 FIFA World Cup
📅 Saturday 27 June; 02:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching:

• Top 3 Stats:

  • Spain is currently #3 in the FIFA rankings and has 1W/1D/0L, 4 goals scored and 0 conceded in 2 World Cup games.

  • Uruguay is currently #18 in the FIFA rankings and has 0W/2D/0L, 3 goals scored and 3 conceded in 2 World Cup games.

  • Spain is undefeated in past head-to-heads against Uruguay, and has won the last three matches by a 2-goal margin.

• CXSports says: This is a real make or break game. Spain’s topping Group H with 4 points. Uruguay is tied for second on 2 points with Cape Verde (while Saudi Arabia trails on 1). So Spain qualify if they get a win or a draw here, while Uruguay needs to beat Spain if they want to guarantee qualification (although a draw might be enough). So, can they do it?
  
  Well, this is one of those matches where things actually look pretty clear, so we’ll cut to the chase. No, we don’t believe Uruguay can take a win here. Unfortunately, everything just seems to be pointing in the opposite direction.
  
  Let’s start with World Cup performance so far. Spain’s currently sitting on a +4 goal difference after scoring 4 and conceding none in the first two rounds. Uruguay, meanwhile, has a goal balance of 0 after scoring and conceding 3. And while we’re on the topic of World Cup performance, notice that Uruguay hasn’t taken a single victory yet?
  
  We’ve also got the head-to-head history here which heavily favors Spain, and not only for the simple fact that they’re undefeated. The last three times these two met, Spain took the victory by a 2-goal winning margin. And while those games are ancient history, each sides respective FIFA rankings were more or less in the same ballpark at the time. So there’s a case to be made that the relative gap hasn’t really changed much since.
  
  But let’s imagine past head-to-heads are irrelevant here and instead look at recent form more generally. This is where Spain start looking especially impossible to beat — they’re unbeaten in 33 games. Uruguay, on the other hand, has been beaten in its last 5, and hasn’t taken a single victory in 7 straight matches, with its last win arriving late last year in a match against Uzbekistan.
  
  So really, there isn’t much of a debate to be had here — Spain is clearly stronger no matter how you look at it. About the only hope Uruguay has is if Spain pulls a repeat of its opener against Cape Verde and draw the game. But with Yamal back in the mix and supposedly “in perfect condition,” even that’s looking like it might be a stretch.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Spain

Bet Option #1

• Bet: Spain Victory

• Odds Range: 1.37-1.65

Bet Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 2.5)

• Odds Range: 1.70-1.96

Make your sportsbook work for you!

That’s a wrap for today. And almost a wrap on the whole group stage at the 2026 World Cup.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back as the group stage enters its final day, and Panama vs England, Croatia vs Ghana, Colombia vs Portugal, DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, Algeria vs Austria, Jordan vs Argentina gear up to do battle decide who qualifies for the handful of remaining places.

Until then, enjoy the football… and the ranch dressing.