The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is so close you can almost hear the football-haters running for cover and booking their bird-watching holidays or whatever it is these people do to get away from the wonderful, fabulous, amazing month-long festival of football.
This round of friendly internationals is the final chance for managers and players to prepare themselves for the Big Kick-Off on Thursday 12th June and whilst friendlies are often boring, these are sure to be highly interesting as we get a better idea of how some of the top sides will line-up in Brazil. Of course, the games will be even more interesting with a little bet or two…
Saturday 7th June 2014
Colombia v Jordan (00:00) – Under 2.5 goals (6/4 with Bet365)
Colombia are a strong side and finished second in World Cup qualifying behind Argentina but they have been rocked by the confirmation that star striker Radamel Falcao won’t be fit for Brazil. They have other excellent players, notably rising star Jackson Martinez, but Jordan are no mugs and were only denied their place at the World Cup by Uruguay in the inter-continental play-off game. Jordan nicked a 0-0 draw in South America then and we think they can contain Colombia here, making 6/4 a great bet for under 2.5 goals.
Greece v Bolivia (00:00) – Greece to win (20/23 with BetVictor)
Greece are a solid side who could surprise one or two teams at the World Cup and their strong defence should always keep them in the game, whilst the heat should prove less of a problem for them than for many other sides. Bolivia had some decent results in the tough South American qualifying pool but they all came at home at the crippling altitude of this mountainous country, and away from La Paz (this game is in New York) Bolivia struggle.
Greece look a very solid bet here at 20/23 and if you want to up those odds then taking the European side to win to nil looks very good too as they send out a strong side in their final game before Brazil.
England v Honduras (21:45) – England to win 3-0 (19/2 with BetVictor)
England were poor against Ecuador recently but they will field a much stronger side for this game and, just as importantly, Honduras are nowhere near as competent as the South American side. Honduras – big name player Wilson Palacios of Stoke – are ranked as a 4000/1 shot to win the World Cup: even Iran are “just” 3000/1. The Central American nation were recently dispatched 4-2 by Israel and so England, at full strength as we expect, should have no problem brushing them aside and we like the look of 3-0 here.
Sunday 8th June 2014
France v Jamaica (20.00) – Karim Benzema to score first (13/5 with Bet365)
France, like most of the teams heading to Brazil, are likely to start with a strong side and this game against Jamaica is an ideal opportunity for Didier Deschamps’ men to build confidence ahead of their opening game against Honduras on the 15th June. Jamaica may be good(!) at bobsleigh and they are sure as hell very good at running very fast for around 10 seconds; but football, hmm, not so good. France will start fast and we fancy Benzema, a genuine world class striker and decent outside bet for the Golden Boot in Brazil, will score first here at nice odds.
Ghana v South Korea (20:00) – Ghana to win (9/5 with Ladbrokes)
Ghana are slight underdogs here but we fancy they can cause an upset thanks to their power and strength. Both sides are exceptionally fit but whilst the South Koreans may have the edge in terms of slicker passing, Ghana have more raw physicality and, perhaps, a little more star quality and so they are the call here at 9/5 as opposed to Korea at 8/5 or the draw at 23/10.
Ghana were only just denied a place in the semi final at the last World Cup, Luis Suarez’s late goal-line handball and Ghana’s subsequent penalty miss allowing the South Americans to sneak through. They will struggle to recreate that in 2014 but, like South Korea, they have an outside chance at qualifying from their group. Irrespective, we take them to edge this one and 9/5 is undoubtedly a very fine price.