TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 17 – 19 JULY 2026

Soccer

WORLD CUP FINAL AND R8.5-MILLION SOCCER 13

The final two games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup headline the football action this weekend, when TAB soccer customers have no fewer than five carryover pools to bet on including tomorrow’s blockbuster Soccer 13, which kicks off with a R3.2-million carryover and is set to offer all-13-correct players a mega jackpot pool of R8.5 million!

BOTH WORLD CUP CLASHES IN CARRYOVER SOCCER 13

The World Cup final and the third-place playoff clash form M1 and M2 in the carryover Soccer 13, in which the bulk of the games are from Scandinavian leagues including Sweden’s Allsvenskan and Norway’s Eliteserien.

Sunday night’s titanic clash between Spain and Argentina has been almost eclipsed by the massive fallout from England’s semi-final defeat at the feet of Argentina.

England’s inability to defend a 1-0 advantage following Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal is being blamed on everything and everybody with most criticism falling on the shoulders of German Thomas Tuchel, who took over as England’s manager at the beginning of last year following Gareth Southgate’s resignation a few months earlier.

Tuchel and his second-half substitutions have become the villain of the piece and blown up a hurricane of epic proportions. Such is the intensity of the storm that anybody would think England started 1-100 favourites to beat Argentina, instead of simply suffering the same fate that has befallen them every four years since they won the World Cup for the only time 60 years ago.

Reality is Argentina were too good on the night, but that players like centre-back Marc Guehi are now blaming Tuchel for the defeat instead of themselves does not bode well for their chances in the third-place playoff against France tomorrow night.

BANK ON FRANCE TO WIN THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF

France suffered their own disaster in their semi-final clash with Spain. After looking the best team at the tournament, they lost the plot against the slick Spanish and were played off the park. One assumes though that they will go into tomorrow’s match in a better frame of mind than England and best advice is to banker them to win in the carryover Soccer 13.

The final on Sunday night is harder to call. The Spanish were near flawless against France in the first semi-final, but Argentina will go all out in their usual aggressive and disruptive way to destroy the tempo of their rivals.

If they succeed they may well win the World Cup for the second time running, but if Spain can stay focussed and shrug off the distractions they should prove too good for their South American rivals.

There are R125,000 carryover Soccer 10 pools on Friday and Saturday and both should generate bonanza pools with the potential of big payouts. Home victories for Benfica and Hearts look the best bankers for Friday and in Saturday’s pool rely on Zenit to beat Spartak Moscow in the Russian Super Cup and France to get a sliver of compensation by beating England. And Molde should prove too good for Brann in M1 of the bet.

PREVIEWS FOR R125,000 CARRYOVER SOCCER 10 POOLS

Friday 17 July – S10 V2

M1 FC St. Gallen vs Norwich City: Pre-season friendly kicks off this R100,000 carryover pool. Swiss outfit St. Gallen have won seven of their last 10 games and English championship club Norwich are unbeaten in eight of their last 10.

M2 Bradford City vs Accrington Stanley: League One team Bradford City have won their last two friendlies, while League Two outfit Accrington are winless in seven games. All results will qualify in this game.

M3 Benfica vs Villarreal: Friendly. Portuguese giants Benfica are unbeaten in nine of last 10 games. LaLiga club Villarreal won five of last 10 league matches.

M4 Hearts vs Rayo Vallecano: Hearts were pipped by Celtic in last season’s Scottish Premiership and Rayo Vallecano have won six of their last 10 games. Pre-season friendly.

M5 Treaty United vs UC Dublin: Cup clash in Ireland. Treaty have won two in a row while UCD have lost six of last nine. UCD won last meeting 3-0 away in April.

M6 Waterford FC vs Cobh Ramblers: Another cup game with Premier League club Waterford taking on lower-tier Ramblers. Waterford are unbeaten in their last three league games and Ramblers are on a three-game losing streak.

M7 Fylkir FC vs UMF Njardvik: Iceland Division 1. Fylkir are second on the log after winning seven of last 10 matches. Njardvík are seven points behind them, in sixth after winning their last two.

M8 Bahia vs Chapecoense: Brazil Serie B. Bahia on two-game winning streak and sixth in table with 26 points. Chapecoense have lost four of last seven and are 20th with nine points.

M9 Fortaleza EC vs Novorizontino: The visitors are unbeaten in eight of last nine games and are in fourth place with 30 points. Fortaleza have lost five of last nine and are two pints in sixth.

M10 LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles FC: USA MLS. Galaxy unbeaten in last three games and Los Angeles have won last two. Galaxy are ninth and four points behind fifth-placed Los Angeles in the standings.

Saturday 18 July – S10 V1

M1 Molde vs Brann: Eliteserien clash in Norway. Molde winless in last three games and Brann have lost five of last eight. Molde are fifth with 20 points and four ahead of Brann after 12 and 13 games respectively. Molde won last meeting 4-0, their 11th success in the last 15 clashes between the two.

M2 Aberdeen vs Queens Park: Scottish League Cup. Aberdeen have won five of last nine games, while Queen’s Park are unbeaten in last five games.

M3 Zenit St Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow: Russian Super Cup. Zenit unbeaten in last 10 games, while Spartak have avoided defeat in seven of eight. Last meeting ended 0-0 in April. In 15 meetings over four years Zenit have won seven times to Spartak’s twice.

M4 Elche vs Kaizer Chiefs: Friendly. Elche have won five of their last 10 games and Chiefs unbeaten in eight of their last 10 PSL fixtures.

M5 Orlando Pirates vs Cadiz: Friendly. Pirates unbeaten in last 10 PSL games and won the league title last season. Cadiz battled last season and lost seven of last 10 Segunda Division matches.

M6 Criciuma vs Vila Nova: Top-of-the-table clash in Brazil’s Serie B. Criciuma unbeaten in last 10 games and lead second-placed Vila Nova by a point.

M7 Ponte Preta vs Goias: Ponte Preta winless in 10 games and Goias unbeaten in last three. Goias are ninth with 25 points and way ahead of Ponte Preta in 19th with just eight points.

M8 Sport Recife vs Operario PR: Recife winless in last six games, whereas Operario are on a four-game winning streak. Operario are third with 31 points, five ahead of eighth-placed Recife.

M9 Atletico Goianiense vs Athletic Club MG: Goianiense unbeaten in eight of last ten games and Athletic Club unbeaten in seven of last nine Serie B matches. Goianiense are 10th with 24 points, one more than Athletic Club in 12th.

M10: France vs England: World Cup third-place playoff between France, who failed to fire and got played off the park by Spain in the first of the semi-finals, and England, who played too defensively after going one up against Argentina and conceded two goals late. Whoever has the most enthusiasm for this contest wins.