World Cup 2018: Odds and Updated Predictions for Thursday Group's Matches

England's Group G campaign at the 2018 FIFA World Cup will culminate in a winner-takes-all meeting against joint-leaders Belgium at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Thursday.

The two teams are level on points, goal difference and goals scored and conceded heading into the game, with the winner set to face the Group H runners-up in the round of 16, which could be any one of Japan, Senegal or Colombia.

Belgium and England will know prior to their encounter which opponent that will be, with Group H leaders Japan finishing their first-round fixtures against Poland, who are yet to win a point, earlier in the day.

Colombia and Senegal collide in Thursday's other Group H clash, with the South Americans trailing the African side by one point, although a draw could still send both teams through if Poland beat the Blue Samurai.

Read on for a look towards Thursday's schedule, match odds and predictions for how the last two groups at the 2018 World Cup will shape up.

Thursday's World Cup Fixtures/Predictions

Group H

Japan 2-2 Poland, 5 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET 

Senegal 1-2 Colombia, 6 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET

Group G

England 2-3 Belgium, 8 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

Panama 2-2 Tunisia, 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

Thursday's World Cup Match Odds

Group H

Japan (41-10), Draw (27-10), Poland (71-100)

Senegal (12-5), Draw (23-10), Colombia (59-50)

Group G

England (19-10), Draw (43-20), Belgium (31-20)

Panama (23-10), Draw (13-10), Tunisia (21-10)

All odds courtesy of OddsShark.

Current Standings (Goal Difference)

Group G

1. England (a): 6 (+6)

2. Belgium (a): 6 (+6)

3. Tunisia (e): 0 (-4)

4. Panama (e): 0 (-8)

Group H

1. Japan (a): 4 (+1)

2. Senegal: 4 (+1)

3. Colombia: 3 (+2)

4. Poland (e): 0 (-4) 

(a) denotes a team that has qualified for the next round. (e) denotes a team that has been eliminated from the tournament. Visit the official FIFA website for the full standings.

Preview

Rarely in the past 50 years has hope been so high for England approaching the end of a World Cup group campaign, even if it was only Tunisia and Panama they beat to set up a decider with Belgium.

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku were primed for a duel of Premier League hitmen, but Roberto Martinez confirmed on Wednesday that an ankle injury has ruled his top scorer out, per Sky Sports.

That would have been a thrilling encounter to watch on the world stage, and Statman Dave showed just how elite the pair have been in terms of scoring efficiency in Russia:

It's a strange climax to the pool phase for both teams, however, as a second-place finish in Group G could yield the more favourable route in the knockout stages, as noted by football writer Mohammed Ali:

Gareth Southgate touched upon the possibility of disciplinary points playing a factor if England and Belgium draw on Thursday and joked that he could have a hand in deciding where the Three Lions end up, per Goal's Ronan Murphy:

The other Group G clash between Panama and Tunisia is a meeting between the also-rans, with the African representatives under some pressure to take at least one point from a team that has conceded nine goals in two games.

That being said, Tunisia aren't much better off and have leaked seven goals in their first two outings, and Panama have a chance to impress on their last day in Russia.

Group H has a lot more at stake in that three teams can still qualify for the round of 16, and data analyst Ben Mayhew provided a detailed look at the trio's potential progress:

Few might have believed Poland would look like Japan's easiest game at the end of the pool phase, but after showing sound structure in their unbeaten run, the Blue Samurai have a fair chance of gaining a result from the less-than-impressive Poles.

It's also a big opportunity for Colombia after they got their first win of the tournament last time out, when they beat Poland 3-0, and presenter Jason McIntyre has put the onus on them to dazzle where other top contenders have not:

Senegal will have something to say about that, though, and they have the benefit of knowing a draw would be enough to get them into the round of 16.

Colombia were dealt a raw hand when Carlos Sanchez's early red card in their opener with Japan led to a 2-1 defeat, but if their win over Poland is anything to go by, they are still the best team in Group H.