After a glorious few days it had to come crashing down and Sunday is not a day I’ll look back on with any pride. Fabian Ruiz was a void as he was benched for Spain but Pedri never looked like scoring, while Belgium and Uruguay, two of the big disappointments of the tournament drew with Iran and Cape Verde respectively. Omar Marmoush had a quiet game but huge thanks to Bet365 for their Super Sub promo which meant Trezeguet’s (Marmoush’s replacement) goal was paid as a winner. You can’t keep me from the action though, so we’ll try and hit back with my World Cup Wagers for day 11.
Odds provided by Stake.com.
Argentina v Austria
World Cup Group J, Dallas Stadium, Arlington, USA, 7pm CET, Monday 22nd June
Prices: 1.46 Argentina, 4.30 Draw, 7.00 Austria
I’ll hold my hands up and say I didn’t really expect too much of Argentina at this World Cup. They were impressive winners in 2022, but I just thought they didn’t quite have the same aura about them this time, how wrong I was. Leo Messi was one of the main talking points of the first round of matches (when isn’t he?), and all eyes will be on the magician again as Argentina face a step up against Austria.
I imagine Ralf Rangnick will have a plan for how to stop Messi, potentially putting Konrad Laimer man-to-man with him, but he’ll still find pockets of space to drift into a wreak havoc, not to mention, he’ll also be on free kicks and penalties. To add even more temptation to this, Messi is also now chasing the all time World Cup goalscoring record, he’ll want to seal that here before putting his feet up against Jordan in the final group game.
Austria are a decent side and were well deserving of their win against Jordan, but their main focus is probably already on what looks likely to be a group decider against Algeria, and that might make their afternoon in Texas even more difficult as they contend with the greatest to ever do it.
Tip: Argentina to win & Leo Messi to score anytime @ 2.27. 1 unit.
France v Iraq
World Cup Group I, Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia, USA, 11pm CET, Monday 22nd June
Prices: 1.07 France, 10.00 Draw, 26.00 Iraq
This looks on paper, at least, to be one of the most one-sided contests of the group stage, and while there were many shocks in the opening round of matches, we also know one thing: France are up for this. Senegal were a tough opponent and Les Bleus came through it with flying colours to become outright tournament favourites.
Iraq were admirable against Norway but a 4-1 defeat doesn’t lie and this is another step up for them, so the signs are ominous.
It sounds simplistic, but if Mbappe can score two against Senegal, then there’s every chance he’ll get two here, and I’m even throwing him in to get a hattrick as well. The odds are eyeballing me in what should be a one-sided contest, and I couldn’t see much value in any of the various ways to back France to win comfortably.
The French team is designed to play to Mbappe’s strengths and he looks like he has a point to prove. Having seen Messi hit a treble and possibly scoring for Argentina to break the all-time World Cup scoring record a few hours before this game kicks off, Mbappe will be up for this as he hunts down his own records. It’s a fun bet that won’t be for everyone, but I just find it too tempting.
Tip: Kyllian Mbappe to score two or more goals @ 3.05. 1 unit; Kyllian Mbappe to score a hattrick @ 9.60. 0.25 units.
Norway v Senegal
World Cup Group I, New York New Jersey Stadium, Rutherford, USA, 2am CET, Tuesday 23rd June
Prices: 2.16 Norway, 3.40 Draw, 3.25 Senegal
Norway put Iraq to the sword in the end, winning 4-1, but they didn’t have it all their own way and the scoreline probably flattered them. Senegal will be a stiff test and should have been ahead at half time against France, before the tournament favourites came out and blew them away in the second half. Norway’s attack is so exciting but they conceded against Iraq and that’ll give their opponents encouragement here.
Nicolas Jackson, Ismaila Sarr and Sadio Mane can cause problems for anyone, as they showed against the French, and I think this may turn into a fire fight, so I’m happy to sit on the fence as I think the draw is the obvious way to go here, with both teams a certainty to find the back of the net given their respective attacking riches.
Tip: Draw & both teams to score @ 4.10. 0.75 units.
Jordan v Algeria
World Cup Group J, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, USA, 5am CET, Tuesday 23rd June
Prices: 6.00 Jordan, 4.10 Draw, 1.51 Algeria
Algeria were blown away by Mess… sorry, Argentina, in their first match at this tournament, but they’ll be expecting to bounce back against Jordan, who were fairly comfortably beaten by Austria in the end. Aside from Riyad Mahrez, I can’t say I know a huge amount about these teams, so I’ll avoid giving a tip here, but if I had too I’d be siding with someone it would be the Algerians for this one.
Given I’ve had the discipline to skip the last game of the day, I will provide a fun, little treble to keep us all entertained. Messi, Mbappe & Haaland showed they mean business just under a week ago, they play in back to back games, so let’s have some fun with a little rolling treble of those three to score. LET’S GO!
Tip: Leo Messi to score against Austria, Kyllian Mbappe to score against Iraq & Erling Haaland to score against Senegal @ 5.73. 0.5 units.
Check out Tommy the Punter’s Tipping Record here.