It’s good to be the hosts, even more so when you’re a loaded French side that passed its toughest group stage test with flying colors.

Les Bleus fired past the U.S. with a terrific second half on the first day of the tournament, and will advance to the knockout rounds by beating Guinea at 3 p.m. ET.

Both the French and Guinea will have the advantage of knowing the outcome of New Zealand’s match-up with the U.S., too.

Marko Mitrovic’s Yanks have to rebound from a 3-0 loss to France that showcased the limitations of his side against top attacks. Yet the defending won’t be as under the microscope as Mitrovic’s picks to start in attack. Is it Griffin Yow‘s turn?

Those games are later in the day, which is unfair to the tension dripping from the first matches on Saturday. A stung and seething Argentina kicks off the day against an Iraq side playing with house money following a surprise tournament-opening defeat to Ukraine.

Elsewhere, Spain meets the Dominican Republic with a surprisingly familiar vibe given the CONCACAF foes feature no less than a half-dozen players on the books at Spanish clubs. It shouldn’t be an issue for Spain, who will welcome a more free-flowing fixture than the stiff Uzbek test on the first day. Look for Sergio Gomez, Eric Garcia and friends to have themselves a day in Group C.

Japan built itself a solid base with a 5-0 win over Paraguay that featured braces from Shunsuke Mito and Shota Fujio. Mali will be a different test after dominating in a draw with Israel. Paraguay will look to that Israel side as one fortunate to take a point from the first day — out-attempted 25-10 by Mali — and ripe for three points.