Chris Sutton Makes His World Cup Second Group Stage Predictions As Scotland And England Prepare To Face Key Tests
Chris Sutton, BBC Sport’s predictions expert, has shared his score predictions for every second group stage match at the 2026 World Cup.
The opening round of fixtures produced its share of shocks, with Spain’s draw against Cape Verde stunning almost every predictor involved in the competition.
Of more than 37,000 users who played the BBC predictor game, only 61 correctly forecast a draw, while 67 plumped for an outright Cape Verde win.
Sutton got 12 of the 24 opening matches correct, with AI managing 13 and BBC predictor users correctly calling 14 results across the board.
In Group C, Sutton is predicting a 1-1 draw between Scotland and Morocco, admitting he is going with his heart over his head in Boston on Friday.
He expects Scotland boss Steve Clarke to alter his tactics, potentially playing an extra body in midfield or fielding an additional centre-half to deal with the Moroccan threat.
Sutton believes Che Adams will start ahead of Lawrence Shankland, noting Adams offers more variation to his game in attack.
England face Ghana in Group L, and Sutton is predicting a comfortable 4-0 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side, though he urges caution about reading too much into the opening victory over Croatia.
He was full of praise for Elliott Anderson, saying he understands why Nottingham Forest have placed such a big price tag on the midfielder, adding: “he never seems to give the ball away.”
On Harry Kane, Sutton was characteristically blunt, remarking on England’s early corner-taking days before praising his predatory instincts, and noting: “not every team will leave him as much space to score as Croatia did.”
Sutton delivered a scathing assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances for Portugal, saying Ronaldo “killed Portugal against DR Congo and it was like they were playing with a man down,” while stressing he is not criticising the player Ronaldo once was.
He reserved particular praise for Germany’s Jamal Musiala, calling him “an outstanding footballer,” and questioned why Florian Wirtz had not produced similar form for Liverpool throughout the season.
Sutton also criticised Tunisia’s decision to sack Sabri Lamouchi and appoint Herve Renard mid-tournament, calling it “absolute nonsense” given how little time any new coach has to make a difference during a World Cup.
In one of his more eyebrow-raising calls, Sutton is predicting Argentina can only draw 2-2 with Ralf Rangnick’s Austria, believing the European side have the work rate and quality to cause the holders real problems in Dallas.
