The sides have now all played their first round of matches and this World Cup is really starting to take shape. We’ve already seen some major shocks (Holland beating Spain 5-1 for starters!), controversy (Fred’s dive against Croatia), and some fabulous goals (Arjen Robben’s solo effort in the aforementioned hammering of Spain being the pick) and we hope you’ve managed to make a profit out of it all. Our early tipping form has been good, Brazil to win and both to score at 16/5 being a great way for us to start our World Cup betting and we’ve got plenty more action for you to get your teeth into here.
Tuesday 17th June 2014
Brazil v Mexico (20:00) – Brazil to win and both teams to score (14/5 with Coral)
This bet came in nicely for us in the opening match of the World Cup and having seen both sides play we’re happy to go with it again here, even at slightly lower odds. Brazil are strong favourites to beat Mexico and we firmly believe they’ll do so but their defence remains a major flaw. Without really doing too much Croatia troubled Brazil and whilst Thiago Silva is a class act, the rest of the back four are hardly rock solid and goalkeeper Julio Cesar doesn’t inspire confidence either.
Mexico frequently troubled Cameroon in their opener and were surprisingly impressive at times. They won 1-0 but had two goals incorrectly ruled offside and will come into this game full of confidence. Playing the hosts they will feel like they have nothing to lose and so we expect an open game, with Brazil winning by two, three or, perhaps, even four goals to one.
Wednesday 18th June 2014
Spain v Chile (13:30) – draw (10/3 with Bet365)
Spain are odds-on to bounce back from defeat here but we feel they may struggle against a Chile side who could be dark horses of the tournament. As said, Spain were thumped in their opening game and whilst they have the capacity to respond positively, as they did from first game defeat in 2010, their confidence is sure to have suffered. They weren’t as bad as 5-1 suggests, especially when the game was in the balance but they look too short here.
Chile won their opener 3-1 against Australia, talisman Alexis Sanchez getting the first and the Barcelona player will know all about the opposition here. We think Chile can do enough to get a draw out of this one in what could be a cagey game. Chile are an attacking side and whilst they were far from perfect against Australia they should improve for this match in Rio de Janeiro, whilst the champions, sure to be concerned about losing once more, could be uncharacteristically nervy. The draw looks good at big odds as Spain’s World Cup hangs in the balance.
Cameroon v Croatia (13:30) – Croatia to win to nil (8/5 with BetVictor)
Croatia lost 3-1 against Brazil but for large parts of the game they gave as good as they got against the hosts and it could be argued that only a terrible decision from the referee cost them a real chance of grabbing a draw. They are compact, press the ball well and they should prove too strong for a Cameroon side that faces a major battle to avoid winning Group A’s wooden spoon.
This is a must-win game for both sides after opening defeats and we fancy that Croatia will get the job done and Cameroon, as against Mexico, will draw a blank. If you’d rather play things safer the Croatian win is 4/5 and that also offers excellent value but we prefer the higher odds for them to keep a clean sheet too.
Thursday 19th June 2014
Uruguay v England (20:00) – England to win and both teams to score (9/2 with Sky Bet)
Surprisingly both of these sides lost their first game, Uruguay’s result the bigger shock as they went down 3-1 to unfancied Costa Rica whilst England lost 2-1 against Italy. Luis Suarez didn’t feature in that one and the fact he didn’t come on even when they were 2-1 down suggests his fitness is very much in question. There is talk that he will be back for this clash but even if he does feature we don’t think he’ll be as sharp and as quick as his style of play demands and England should handle his threat.
That said, England’s defence continues to be a major worry and we think both teams to score here looks a very good bet in what has been an open World Cup so far. After the respective performances of the sides, England are now clear favourites and we fancy that combining the Three Lions win with both to score is an excellent bet at odds of 9/2.
Friday 20th June 2014
Italy v Costa Rica (17:00) – Italy/Italy half time/full time (11/8 with BetVictor)
Few would have expected Costa Rica to come into this game with three points but after they blew Uruguay away they are in with a real chance of qualifying and they will fight hard here. Ultimately though we expect a relatively controlled win for Italy, putting the Central American side’s previous triumph more down to the poor performance of the opposition than their own brilliance. Backing Mario Balotelli and co to be ahead at the break and go on to win the game looks good to us and you could even consider backing them to win both halves to up those odds further.