WORLD CUP MONDAY: The Ultra previews Monday’s World Cup games between ENGLAND v IRAN, SENEGAL v NETHERLANDS and USA v WALES all including a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ENGLAND V IRAN
1pm You could say Monday is when the World Cup really kicks off on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as England start their tournament! It’s going to be a massive day, with 0% Commission on all England and Wales games! England come into this World Cup with plenty of questions to answer, but they have been handed an easy draw. They should easily deal with Iran, USA and Wales, and then it looks like they could meet Senegal in the Last 16 which is a nice path to the Quarter-Finals. There’s definitely question marks about Gareth Southgate coming into the tournament though, and a last place finish with relegation from the Nations League hasn’t helped matters. If they start slowly I can really see the media trying to turn the screw, so there’s a tonne of pressure on England to start well here. The good news for England is they shouldn’t have too many issues beating this Iran side – England currently trade 1.37 at the time of writing and I’m sure they’ll be a popular addition to any Acca this week or today. You could have said the same about their games against Hungary in the Nations League though, and look how they turned out (two losses). It will be fascinating to see what XI Southgate goes with – does he stick with the players he trusts who are under-performing or change things up?
Iran have a reasonably good world ranking, but only because they top their AFC Qualifying and to be honest the sides there are pretty quick. Obviously we have the likes of South Korea and Australia from that qualifying – this time Australia were in a different Group and you have Iran playing the likes of UAE, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It’s a pretty weak standard if truth be told, and if England arrived into the World Cup in good form I think this would be a routine win. The issue is clearly confidence for this England side, they haven’t been creating many chances lately or scoring goals. I know their style of play will suit knockout football, but I do feel they might struggle to impressive in the Group stage. Don’t get me wrong, I still expect them to win but a lot of casual football fans will be expecting a smooth 3-0 or 4-0 win here. I don’t see that; I can see Iran putting XI men behind the ball and England having trouble trying to break them down. Perhaps it’s a sign that the market knows what’s coming here from England with Under 2.5 goals trading 1.7, but I still feel there’s value in that price. I expect a 1-0 or 2-0 win from England without them looking good, and a lot of the UK media moaning that they haven’t “won well enough” but when you look at the Iran style of play plus how England have been lacking creativity I would be surprised to see lots of goals here.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.7 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/EngIra
SENEGAL V NETHERLANDS
4pm Next we move back to Group B where Senegal meet the Netherlands. There’s a lot of interesting talking points at the World Cup on Monday, and how Netherlands get on here might take the headlines. They will be expected to win, they come into the game trading odds on at 1.64 but Senegal are a very solid side and could cause them big issues. However, they’ve been dealt a huge blow in the build-up to the tournament with the injury to Sadio Mane. He’s still be included in the squad, they couldn’t not include him to be honest even if there’s a 1% chance he’ll be OK but the vibes are he’ll miss this game and could play at a later stage. To be honest when the injury first appeared it seemed odds on he would miss the whole tournament. There’s no getting away from the fact that he is the key man for the AFCON winners and they will be much weaker without him. Senegal do have a lot of attacking talent on display, but their main aim has been rock solid at the back. I would expect very negative tactics from them here – they will 100% know a draw here gives them a very good chance of qualifying with Netherlands expected to top this Group so it will be Netherlands chasing the game here. The Dutch missed a few major tournament but they have an exceptional squad now with Louis van Gaal in charge too. He will have them well set up, there’s no doubt about that.
While I expect Netherlands to grind out a win here, they do feel a little short at 1.64. I know losing Mane is a huge blow for Senegal, and perhaps it’s wise to keep stakes low in this fixture. We just don’t know what to expect from Senegal without their star player. However, I do expect them to be very defensive here and while Netherlands like to play a very open and attacking game, they might struggle to do that here. I’m happy to stay away from the match odds market – it’s hard to make the case the Netherlands should be shorter but I don’t want to lay them without Mane either. The bet that catches my eye here is Under 2.5 goals at 1.76. Much like the England game above, I would expect Netherlands to grind out a 1-0 or 2-0 win here against a very cagey Senegal team. You have to consider that a draw here for Senegal is a huge result when you look at the Group, so I don’t expect them to attack much at all – they are usually so solid at the back that’s what they’ll stick to.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.76 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SenNet
USA V WALES
7pm We move back to Group B to finish the day we have a massive game! Obviously this can change depending on the earlier result, but I think it’s fair to say we all expect England to top this Group and Iran to finish last. That boils down to this fixture having a massive impact on who finishes second and gets through to the Last 16. Despite the pressure on this fixture, it’s been 64 years since Wales got to the World Cup so I’m sure the fans and players will fully enjoy the occasion regardless – it’s always nice to win though! Wales were very average in the Nations League campaign, however they did move up to an A Group which is probably a little out of their depth. Wales have built their success on being rock solid at the back, but they have been conceding a lot of goals lately – indeed only one clean sheet in their last ten games – obviously they have stars players like Bale and Ramsey but they also have to rely on everyone else. I would definitely worry for Wales in that regard, and they simply have to improve at the back heading into this tournament. A draw wouldn’t be a worst result here, although we would likely see a goal difference situation as to who finishes second. With that in mind, it’s fair to say we’ll have a pretty cagey game here.
USA had a shocker to not qualify for the last World Cup, but their manager Gregg Berhalter has turned things around with a new young squad. I would expect them to perform reasonably well, but that’s not to say they don’t have issues. They were tough to beat in qualifying, and to be honest everything points to a fiercely competitive game here without many chances. You’d have to worry about both sides at the back, so I’m going to avoid Under 2.5 goals around 1.52 – that’s really a highlight of how close the market expects this game to be! We have a very open market too – USA come into the game as marginal favourites and that’s hard to argue with given Wales have been poor at the back, but really and truly there isn’t much between the sides at all here. The draw is a very appealing bet at 3.05, and I would be tempted by a small bet on 0-0 or 1-1 in the Correct Score market closer to kick off. I really feel we won’t see many chances in this one. Usually I have one point on the draw when I opt for that, but I feel this game deserves two.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Draw at 3.05 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/UsaWal
