Haiti - Scotland

USA looked very weak against Bosnia, even though they won 2-0, they didn't have much control over the game against significantly weaker opponents and didn't create many chances. Only 8 shots and 2 on target, which resulted in goals. The most important aspect was that Balogunas, the main striker, received a red card. Although the Belgians are not shining in the championship, they miraculously pulled through against Senegal. They played the end of regular time as a top-level team, and despite being a blank team, they have a better chance of advancing against such a strong USA team.

The USA looked very tough against Bosnia, even though they won 2-0, they didn't control the game very well against significantly weaker opponents, and didn't create many chances. Only 8 shots and 2 on target, which resulted in goals. The most important aspect was that Balogunas, their main attacker, received a red card. Although the Belgians are not shining in the championship, they pulled off a cosmic performance against Senegal. They played the end of regular time as a top-level team and, although it was a scoreless game, they have a better chance to move forward against the USA.

It is very difficult to see any major advantages for the Belgium team against America. The Belgians did not look good in the group stage, but they were lucky and also did not play well in the knockout stage against Senegal, but managed to survive. It is hard to trust them, as their team has not been eliminated due to good performance, but rather luck. On the other hand, America looks very good and stable. They will be missing their attacking leader, Balogun, but their offense still looks strong. Given the Belgian defense and play style, it is hard to believe that they will suddenly start playing well. The chances are significantly higher for the Americans, so this scenario does not seem bad at all.

Although the teams are oriented towards offense, I do not expect a lot of goals. Balogun, the leader of the American team's offense, will not be able to play due to the red cards received, and there are many questions about the Belgian offense. Both teams would only have a goal limit of two out of four matches in the World Cup, but in the playoffs, football is played in a slightly different way, and the Belgian offense appears to be weak while the American team will also not be as strong as they were in previous matches.

Without Balogun, I think it's time for "Captain America" Pulisic to step up as a leader and make a name for himself in this championship, even though it may seem strange, he has not yet done so despite his great performance on the offensive for the American national team. Belgium's defense is not showing any miracles this year, so I believe the Americans will have opportunities and I think Pulisic will have at least one himself, especially since we're talking about a player who carries the weight of the US team on his shoulders year after year, a player who is the 5th highest scorer of all time for this country, so it wouldn't be surprising if Pulisic scores the most goals in this tournament. For me, Pulisic is the most likely to find the net and since I'm expecting a couple of goals from the USA, I'll go with this option.

I was planning to go with the US Team at Nuline at least until Balogun was suspended, but I will take Peru in general after the latest news. It is not clear why (or maybe it is very clear; D) but the US Leader will participate in this championship game because FIFA has changed their decision about his suspension. In the overall context, the hosts definitely seem better to me in this championship, with the only loss being in a meaningless game against Turkey, where a rotated lineup played, and then winning 4-1 against Peru, 2-0 against Australia, and 2-0 against Bosnia with 10 players without any problems. Belgium is struggling, they barely made it through against Senegal, and for 85 minutes they were being dominated, with two last-minute chances securing their win. With this kind of performance, Belgium will not achieve anything and in this championship game, their game doesn't convince me that they will be able to beat the US and overall offer a meaningful chance of achieving something on the road, because to reach any results, they will need to play a decent game as a whole, not relying on miracles two times in a row.

I'm sad, of course, that FIFA once again mixed football with politics and gave a red card to Balogun, but such news mentally prepares the Belgian players even more against the USA. Maybe the Belgians didn't shine until now, but the question is whether they can play worse. Often, such teams improve their performance in the most important matches. The USA surprised with their game, but here the psychological pressure and high expectations come into play. The Belgians were shaken by their friendly matches, so they certainly won't play as boldly, but at least they have a chance to not lose.