Germany vs Ivory Coast

Reasoning

Germany exploded in their opener with a 7-1 win over Curacao, showing devastating attacking quality and depth. However, they are far from solid defensively — they have conceded in 4 of their last 5 matches. When they dominate and push high (as they almost certainly will here), spaces tend to open up for dangerous transitions. Ivory Coast started the tournament well with a 1-0 win against Ecuador and come into this match full of confidence. They are a physical, athletic, and direct side with dangerous forwards (Amad Diallo and others) who can punish teams on the counter. They also showed they can compete with top nations by beating France 2-1 in pre-tournament friendlies. They are unlikely to sit deep and park the bus — they will look to attack and create problems. Germany's explosive attack combined with their defensive openness and Ivory Coast's counter-attacking threat makes this a high-scoring, entertaining match very likely. Excellent value.