Welcome to The Athletic’s daily World Cup Predictions.This article gives you the lowdown on all the weekend’s games but with the bonus of some friendly competition…Throughout the tournament, we will have one of two Athletic writers (Andy Jones or Elias Burke — with help from our experts from each of the 48 countries) pitting our soccer knowledge against a different subscriber to The Athletic each day and ‘Algo’, our shiny new algorithm which is making its computerised debut during the 2026 World Cup.Oh, and a dog called Stanley and a six-year-old called Wilfred (who some of you may remember from last season’s Premier League predictions).Our guest subscriber today is Zachary from the United States, who supports the USMNT, Scotland, Manchester United and Westchester SC. Good luck!If you would like to apply to be our guest subscriber for a day during this tournament, please follow the instructions in the article here.What happened on Matchday 33?Lionel Messi and Argentina’s dream of retaining the World Cup is alive after booking their place in the final following a dramatic late comeback to beat England 2-1 with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.The first half was a largely uneventful and even contest as the two sides managed only three combined shots, none of which were on target. There was little flow, and neither England nor Argentina’s key players were able to stamp any authority on the game.The match changed when England took the lead on 56 minutes. Morgan Rogers’ cross found Anthony Gordon at the back post to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the advantage. The rhythm shifted almost immediately with Argentina gaining control and territory as they searched for an equaliser while England began to drop deeper and deeper, defending their lead.That pattern did not change with Tuchel making further defensive substitutions and, combined with the lack of an out-ball, it allowed Argentina to suffocate their opponents and force them into retreat. It was ideal for Messi, who drifted into the right channel and began dictating the game.As Tuchel failed from the bench, Lionel Scaloni used his substitutions to great effect with Nicolas Gonzalez, Rodrigo De Paul, Gonzalo Montiel and Martinez all improving the South American champions.Enzo Fernandez eventually equalised for Argentina (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)It was becoming a matter of when not if Argentina would equalise and the goal came from an excellent Fernandez strike from the edge of the area via a short corner on 85 minutes. Argentina smelt blood and, after playing the pass for the first, Messi provided a second assist with an inch-perfect cross for Martinez to head home from close range in the 92nd minute.England were unable to respond, leaving them heartbroken and Argentina jubilant.We may have to call in the patriotism police for Wilfred and Stanley as they correctly picked Argentina to end England’s dreams — but maybe they did it to ease the pain of an England defeat. While Algo is ‘on the beach’ with the title all but confirmed, there is still a fight for second as Wilfred moved one behind us (the experts).Results from July 15, 2026 TA ExpertsThe AlgoReader PicksWilfred (age 6)Stanley the DogEnglandArgentina ENG ENG ENG ARG ARG In what we might as well call the ‘Silver Final’, our streak of 11 is likely to seal our spot in second unless we both go with different selections for the final two games of the tournament.OverallaccuracyCorrectpicksBeststreakThe algorithm69%7114TA experts67%6911Wilfred (age 6)66%687Reader picks60%625Stanley the dog42%434How do the predictions work?It’s pretty simple: we will give you some background on each game, players to watch and facts on the two teams. Then we will predict the outcome.