Nobody in Group E has played a single minute of competitive football together yet, and that blank slate makes Monday night's opener between Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Philadelphia as open and uncertain as anything this tournament will serve up. Three points here, on matchday one, could effectively shape the entire group's trajectory before Germany and Curaçao have even settled into their rhythm.
For Ivory Coast, this is the kind of occasion they have been building towards. They arrive at Lincoln Financial Field representing one of West Africa's most consistently competitive squads, a side capable of hurting anyone through the middle and wide. Their record in World Cup group stages has been patchy, which is precisely why getting off the mark immediately matters so much. A stumble in game one against a South American opponent of Ecuador's calibre would leave them chasing points against Germany, a prospect no one in their camp will welcome.
Ecuador, for their part, carry the confidence of a nation that has grown accustomed to World Cup appearances and knows how to grind out results at this level. Physically direct and well organised out of possession, they tend to make group stage life uncomfortable for opponents who rely on technical superiority alone. This is a side that will not simply defer to reputation.
The head-to-head record offers no steer at all. These two nations have never met in a competitive fixture, so there is no precedent to reach for, no psychological edge to claim on either side. Everything begins here, from nothing.
Both squads report no fresh absences ahead of kick-off, which means each manager picks from a full complement and has no ready-made excuse for selection decisions. That, at least, is a clean starting point.
As for how the data leans, it offers almost no guidance at all: home advantage is nominal in a neutral-venue tournament, and the prediction model splits the three outcomes at 33 per cent apiece. Coin-toss territory, in other words. That kind of statistical silence usually means the match itself will have to do the talking, and in a group that also contains Germany, neither side can afford to let this one drift into a quiet draw without at least testing for a winner.