The 2014 Brazil World Cup enters its second week and things are hotting up as teams look to seal a place in the Round of 16 or at the very least maintain their interest in the tournament. Any side that wins their second fixture will have a chance of progressing going into the final games so there really is all to play for and, as ever, we’ve got a nice selection of betting tips to help make the games profitable as well as exciting.
Our last batch of tips yielded a profit with three winning tips out of five, our only failures an outsider at 4/1 and the Switzerland v Ecuador draw at 21/10 which was looking great until Switzerland’s stoppage time winner. We’re full of confidence now though and we’re looking to do even better this week.
Friday 20th June 2014
Switzerland v France (20:00) – France to win (4/5 with Bet365)
France were excellent against Honduras and Karim Benzema’s two goals will have given him real confidence. Honduras were poor though and whilst we’re sure that the Swiss will provide a much greater test, France have enough talent throughout their squad to see them to victory. It is likely to a be a close encounter we feel, not least because the underdogs – Switzerland are priced at odds of 17/4 here – would gladly settle for a draw but Didier Deschamps’ men will ultimately prevail. Backing them to win by exactly one goal is a nice long odds option at 29/10 but we prefer to play it safe here.
Honduras v Ecuador (23:00) – Red card (2/1 with Coral)
Honduras are a brutally physical side and have had a man dismissed in their last two internationals, the game with France and a “friendly” against England. Given the numerous borderline assaults they committed in both games three red cards in each would probably have been more fitting and against Latin American rivals we don’t expect their approach to be any different.
Honduras know this is their most winnable game and they will be fully committed and we think backing there to be a sending off looks like great value. Odds of 2/1 with Bet365 look more than fair to us.
Saturday 21st June 2014
Argentina v Iran (17:00) – Argentina -2.5 goals (2/1 with Coral)
Argentina didn’t produce their best against Bosnia and Herzegovina but they got the job done and in the second half Lionel Messi showed his brilliance. In contrast Iran offered nothing against Nigeria and at this level they are out of their depth. They rarely get to test themselves against the best sides in the world and with most of their squad playing in Iranian domestic football they will have never faced anybody like Messi.
We think this is the little magician’s time to shine and we fancy that Argentina might announce themselves at this World Cup with a big win. They are massive odds-on favourites to beat Iran but we think the value here lies in backing them to win by three or more goals. Take them on the Asian handicap -2.5 goals at very fair odds of 10/9 with BetVictor and watch as Messi, Sergio Aguero and co tear Iran’s defence to shreds.
Germany v Ghana (20:00) – Draw at half time (9/5 with BetVictor)
Germany can all-but book their place in the second round – and quite possibly top spot in the group – with a win here and they are massive favourites to do so against an energetic Ghana. The Germans are priced at just 3/10 to get the win with the underdogs out at 11/1 and the draw available at 5/1 but we think it will be a closer match than that. Ghana boss James Kwesi Appiah will know that defeat would end his side’s participation at the World Cup and we feel he is likely to play for a draw and then take his chances in the last game against Portugal.
His side has the workrate and fitness to limit German time on the ball and as long as they don’t over commit going forward they should be able to keep things relatively tight. We’re tempted by draw/Germany in the half time/full time betting but will play it safe and go for the draw at half time instead.
Sunday 22nd June 2014
USA v Portugal (23:00) – USA to win (5/1 with Bet365)
We’re not at all convinced by Portugal for a variety of reasons. They scraped through qualifying largely thanks to the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo but at the World Cup one man is not enough in the modern age. Moreover, Ronaldo’s fitness is in doubt and he cut a forlorn figure against Germany. Throw in the suspension to Pepe and the injury to Fabio Coentrao and we think Portugal are really there for the taking.
USA will play a high tempo game and will be very organised and there is a chance that boss Jurgen Klinsmann may get a little tactical help from German boss Joachim Low. We have to remember that despite Ronaldo, Portugal are not a great side, as home draws in qualification with Israel and Northern Ireland show. 5/1 is a massive price here considering how buoyant the US side will be after their late winner over Ghana and whilst you could play it safe and back Klinsmann’s men with 0.5 or even 1.5 goals start, we’re going to be bold here and go all in!