WORLD CUP THURSDAY: The Ultra previews Thursday’s four World Cup games between SWITZERLAND v CAMEROON, URUGUAY v SOUTH KOREA, PORTUGAL v GHANA and BRAZIL v SERBIA all including a recommended BETDAQ bet.
SWITZERLAND V CAMEROON
10am It’s the end of Matchday One of the Group Stage on Thursday and we have a fascinating day on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We have four odds on favourites, but each come into these games with question marks and they’ll have plenty of layers. Brazil will be the big favourites today, but even then they aren’t trading very short – they are currently 1.45. We kick the day off with Switzerland taking on Cameroon in Group G. Switzerland will be many football fans “dark horses” given the likely draw for them, and they had a very impressive qualifying campaign. They were unbeaten and topped their Group sending Italy to the Playoffs, and the rest is history there. They had a very tough Nations League Group involving Spain, Portugal and Czech Republic but they came through that with their heads held high too – they finished third but just two points behind Group winner Spain. They actually finished the Group very impressively, they beat Portugal and Spain. Everyone will expect Brazil to top the Group but we could see some drama in Matchday Two when Switzerland and Brazil meet.
For this game, Switzerland come into the game odds on currently trading 1.76 at the time of writing. Cameroon made it to the World Cup in very dramatic circumstances! They had a last-gasp win over Algeria in a playoff, but they did have a decent African Cup of Nations – losing at the Semi-Final stage against Egypt on penalties. Cameroon have really struggle against non-CAF opposition – indeed you have to go back to 2014 for their last win but at the same time that’s a small sample because they don’t get many opportunities. Cameroon were very negative in their tactics against Egypt and got the 0-0; I would expect them to employ similar tactics here and it will be up to Switzerland to make the running. Switzerland themselves are very solid at the back, so it’s a tough choice between Switzerland to win at 1.76 and Under 2.5 goals at 1.64. I feel on balance I prefer Under 2.5 goals at the odds – I just feel we’ll see a very cagey game here, and Unders has a lot more chance of winning the way this game is likely to pan out compared to the Switzerland win.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.64 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SwiCam
URUGUAY V SOUTH KOREA
1pm Next we move to Group H for a big game for these two sides as Uruguay play South Korea. Portugal will be expected to top this Group, but Uruguay will still be delighted with their draw. They will really fancy their chances of beating South Korea here and Ghana later in the Group. With all the Ronaldo issues at the moment too, who knows we might see Portugal under-perform and Uruguay top this Group. Uruguay come into the game odds on favourites – currently trading 1.77 at the time of writing. They have made a lot of progress under Diego Alonso as manager, his arrival turning things around in qualifying and finishing third behind Brazil and Argentina. They were a good few points behind the top two, but you’d have to expect that really. They are a very talented side, and they can cause some upsets here – I really wouldn’t be surprised if they topped this Group. South Korea are an average side outside of Son, and he comes into the tournament with major injury worries too. It is hard to know what’s fully going on with the media in South Korea, but from the tournament previews I have read I would suggest the general public haven’t been happy with the team and manager. They finished behind Iran in qualifying, and their Group was pretty weak too – they were in a Group with UAE, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon – really and truly they should be topping that Group, especially given their history and the fact that they have Son too.
Uruguay have been South America’s best side in two of the last three World Cup’s which is an incredible achievement with Brazil and Argentina coming from that part of the world. They seem to have an ideal squad coming into the tournament with the right mix of older and younger members of the squad working together. This will be the last World Cup for the likes of Cavani and Suarez, but they will be huge assets to come off the bench (if they don’t start which is likely). They is basically a must win game for Uruguay – the runners-up in this Group will likely meet Brazil who should top Group G and I think they will deliver. The 1.77 feels very big given Uruguay come into the tournament in an excellent place with a very good midfield and forward line-up. The main worry is how solid they are at the back, but I don’t think South Korea are good enough to take advantage of that. They have been average in qualifying, and their issues seems to be going forward too. The 1.77 on Uruguay is worth a Max Bet.
The Ultra Says:
Five points win Uruguay to beat South Korea at 1.77 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/UruKor
PORTUGAL V GHANA
4pm Ronaldo has put the eyes of the footballing world on Portugal as we head into this World Cup, and anything bar a win here over Ghana will see a huge reaction. We could debate all day whether or not it was a good decision for Ronaldo to do that interview with Piers Morgan, but I feel the overwhelming feeling is that it was a very selfish thing to do. It’s put him in an awkward position with Bruno Fernandes who clearly loves Man United, and basically it feels there’s no way back now for Ronaldo. One wonders will it affect how the side play, and their reaction to the whole situation. Portugal have been on a rollercoaster lately too – they won Euro 2016 but then exited the World Cup 2018 and Euro 2020 at the Last 16 stage. That could easily happen here again if they don’t top this Group because the runners-up will face Brazil. Portugal have so much attacking talent, but they have struggled to break sides down at times. It is a strange feeling with them to have such a wealth of talent but a system that doesn’t seem to work – in those situations you have to blame the manager really, but for the time being there doesn’t seem to be an issues.
Portugal had to go through the playoffs to get to the World Cup, but they really shouldn’t have. They were in an excellent position in qualifying, only to draw 0-0 with the average Republic of Ireland. That left them needing a result against Serbia, but they conceded in stoppage time to lose the game. Although the jury is out for Portugal coming into this tournament, they are unlikely to be tested fully by this average Ghana side. They were very poor at the African Cup of Nations and while I expect Portugal to get the job done, the 1.46 does feel a little short here. It’s hard to make the case that they should be shorter given their lack of goals but it’s hard to forget that Ghana only managed one points at the African Cup of Nations in a Group with Morocco, Gabon and Comoros. That’s a very low level, although they have a few talented players in their XI I don’t see them doing well here. I’m keen to keep stakes low here, and I wouldn’t be in a rush to lump on Portugal here at the odds. Under 2.5 goals looks a nice option at 1.76, we should see Portugal grind out a 1-0 or 2-0 win – it’ll be interesting though if Ghana can hold them and how the Portugal side will react going into the final 15 minutes if we get there.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 1.76 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/PorGha
BRAZIL V SERBIA
7pm We finish the day with Brazil taking on Serbia in Group G. This Group looks very tough with Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia in it, with Cameroon expected to finish bottom but still cause sides problems. You’d have to thin Brazil will top the Group and then it’s a big fight between Serbia and Switzerland for second, so from that point of view a draw for Serbia will be a massive result here. Not to mention that they will have one eye on the Switzerland v Cameroon game earlier. Brazil have an endless amount of talent, and they will almost always come into a World Cup as one of the favourites. However, this time they arrive in superb form with a very settled squad. Obviously this World Cup will define Neymar Jr’s legacy, especially given he isn’t achieving much in Ligue 1 these days with PSG. They were unbeaten in qualifying, finishing six points ahead of Argentina (who also finished qualifying unbeaten!) With Brazil, drama is rarely far away and it will be interesting to see how their players react under pressure. Although they have a wealth of talent in their squad, they also have a lot of quick tempers that will be tested at some point. They deserve to be favourites, but they do have a tricky draw, however they definitely have their best squad in a World Cup for quite some time. It’s been 20 years since they won it now!
Serbia qualified in very dramatic circumstances – topping a Group involving Portugal. Aside from Portugal, it was a reasonably easy Group, but things worked out very well for them in the final two Matchdays. Portugal drew 0-0 with Ireland, and then Serbia beat Portugal (away from home) with the winning goal coming in injury time. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that! Serbia are a solid side, but they clearly have issues at the back. They like to attack and play an open game, so that’s going to give Brazil plenty of chances here. What tactics they go with here will be very interesting – a draw is a good result against Brazil, but it’s not really Serbia’s style to sit back and defend. Hopefully we see an early goal here, because we could really see fireworks then. I think Brazil are priced very fairly at 1.45, it’s hard to make the case that they should be shorter, and Over 2.5 goals looks a very nice option at 1.8 or bigger. We should have a very entertaining game here between two attacking sides.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.8 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BraSer
