After an entertaining first round of Group Stage games, we arrive at the crucial third round of games with a lot of important matches for most teams that aren’t England (boo) or Spain (arriba)… or Australia (well, at least this is funny for everyone but Jedi)!!
The first round of games brought a profit of +1.00, but the second round of games brought nothing thanks to the shock result in the Brazil/Mexico game leaving the column at -3.00!
We start with the Patriotic Bet again, and this is probably the most depressing bet of the tournament.
Patriotic Bet – England to disappoint again – 1/1000.
Sadly, that obvious bet is not available to place money on, so I will dig a little deeper and this time I offer an unpatriotic bet on the excellent Palace target Joel Campbell to score at anytime against what will most likely be a second string England defence containing Chris Smalling … say no more.
With England expected to start players who haven’t had a chance, one would love to see Lallana get a run out alongside Barkley and Sterling. The Costa Ricans have looked solid in defence, but Lallana had a fine goalscoring season and has a point to prove.
Unpatriotic Bet – Joel Campbell to score at anytime – 29/10 888Sport
Patriotic Bet – Adam Lallana to score at anytime – 5/1 Totesport
Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany all need a result to secure top place in their groups and they should get it as they face (on paper) easier opponents than their previous games.
Brazil really need to kick into gear and if they aren’t going to do it against Cameroon, they aren’t going anywhere in this tournament. France look at ease and will want to continue their form against Ecuador to seal their spot at the top of the group. Argentina have enough depth in attacking quality to still defeat the Nigerians who defeated a poor Bosnia side and needed luck for that to happen. Germany will want to bounce back against the Americans in what could be a tough game.
Banker Accumulator – Brazil, France, Argentina and Germany pays 3.57/1 with Bet Bright
Colombia need a point, but have looked comfortable in their victories against Ivory Coast and Greece, even if the final result hasn’t always looked that way. Greece could play in three World Cups without scoring a goal and having scored as many goals as Moldova in the qualifying stage, and Ivory Coast have goalscorers in their team and need the win to guarantee qualification.
Russia have to win and may need help from Belgium to get themselves into the last sixteen, but they face an Algerian side who looked good in their first game (written prior to last group game!!)
Risky Treble – Colombia, Ivory Coast and Russia pays 7.51/1 with BetVictor
An extra bet here, the two matches named have high quality teams who have something in common with their opponents.
Holland and Chile both have six points and both want a victory to likely avoid Brazil in the last sixteen. Chile need a victory as their goal difference is one behind the Oranje and with their attacking style, I couldn’t see them sitting back anyway, though this may allow the counter attacking pace of Robben to fly forward.
Uruguay and Italy have two things in common. Both have beaten England, and both have lost to Costa Rica. Italy only need a draw to progress whereas Uruguay have to win. Italy settle on a draw if level late on and try to keep out Suarez, Cavani et al.
Draw Double – Holland vs Chile and Uruguay vs Italy pays 10.55/1 with Bet365
This gets a bit more difficult with some teams having qualified and others already out, so to dig a little deeper we will look at some quality teams who are yet to seal their places.
Italy and Uruguay need a victory to guarantee their place in the last sixteen and Uruguay have a world class striker in Luis Suarez and the odds offered on him are high bearing in mind his form last season and his clinical finishing against England. I will double him up with Eduardo Vargas from Chile. The Dutch defence hasn’t really been under huge threat in either game so far, but the Chileans will score goals and Vargas will have chances created for him by the likes of Alexis Sanchez.
Anytime Goalscorer Double – Eduardo Vargas (Chile vs Netherlands) and Luis Suarez (Uruguay vs Italy) pays 7.75/1 BetBright
