Day 8 was a bloodbath, there’s no way to sugarcoat it, an unadulterated bloodbath. Czechia are easily the most pathetic European side in the tournament, unable to hold out against South Africa, then Dan Ndoye was anonymous against Bosnia, replaced by a man who scored two goals after coming on – well done if you bet with a bookie that offers a ‘Super Sub’ promo.
Nine-man Qatar then shipped six goals to Canada, so the under 3.5 was done by half time as Canada took control, then in the last match of the day Mexico scraped a 1-0 win when I was on the draw. Typical. There’s no use feeling sorry myself though, day nine is nye and that means more World Cup wagers.
Odds provided by Stake.com.
USA v Australia
World Cup Group D, Seattle Stadium, Seattle, USA, 9pm CET, Friday 19th June
Prices: 1.61 USA, 4.00 Draw, 5.20 Australia
The ease at which USA overcame Paraguay in their opening game was surprising. The co-hosts are quietly fancied at home to go deep into this competition, and they made outsiders sit up and take notice with a dominant display. Folarin Balogun scored two brilliant goals and he’ll give the Socceroos defence much more to think about than Turkey did, despite Arda Guler’s best efforts.
Australia defied the odds to shut down Turkey and deliver a smash and grab victory. They played brilliantly on the counter and big Harry Souttar looks a real threat from set pieces, which may be their key to success against the US. The Stars and Stripes will be buoyed by their win in game one and while they won’t have things all their own way against a dogged and determined Australia side, I think they’ll grind out a win to secure their place in the knockout phase.
Tip: USA to win & under 2.5 goals @ 2.96. 1 unit.
Scotland v Morocco
World Cup Group C, Boston Stadium, Foxborough, USA, 12am CET, Saturday 20th June
Prices: 5.20 Scotland, 3.55 Draw, 1.72 Morocco
Scotland got off to a winning start against Haiti but it was far from convincing and they face a real test against an excellent Morocco side. The Scots have the benefit of staying in the same location as their previous game, but there isn’t much more in their favour as Morocco look to repeat their exploits from 2022.
The African champions were superb in the opening half against Brazil, Ismael Saibari scoring an exquisite goal, and even in the second half as Brazil looked to stamp their authority, Morocco held them at bay quite comfortably I thought. Ayyoub Bouaddi looks a supreme talent at just 18 years of age, and Morocco have flair and pace in attack and real physicality, so it seems like they are a well rounded side.
Scotland will sit in and look to counter themselves, but the truth is this is a big step up and they will struggle to contain a Morocco side who will want to go on and win this group now.
Tip: Morocco to win @ 1.72. 1 unit.
Brazil v Haiti
World Cup Group C, Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia, USA, 2.30am CET, Saturday 20th June
Prices: 1.10 Brazil, 9.00 Draw, 20.00 Haiti
Not too much is expected of Haiti here, but they will draw some confidence from their opener with Scotland. Brazil didn’t impress against Morocco, but Vinicius Jr scored a memorable, brilliant goal and he is clearly the man the Selecao will look to to make the difference again here. I’d be surprised if Matheus Cunha doesn’t come in for Igor Thiago, but the midfield should be the same and that functional unit look to feed the Real Madrid man and Raphinha on the other side as much as possible.
Brazil should be comfortable winners here, and there’s no value in the win-draw-win market, but Vini Jr will have seen the likes of Messi, Mbappe, Kane and Haaland all star for their countries, and will want to throw his name into the Golden Boot mix by adding to his tally against the group’s rank outsiders in Haiti. He looks a fair price to do just that.
Tip: Vinicius Jr to score anytime @ 1.81. 1 unit.
Turkey v Paraguay
World Cup Group D, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, USA 5am CET, Saturday 20th June
Prices: 1.98 Turkey, 3.25 Draw, 3.90 Paraguay
Both these sides will want to redeem themselves after bitterly disappointing results in the Group D openers and it’s a tough betting heat to sort out. Turkey dominated all the metrics against Australia but couldn’t break down their resolute defence once they went behind, while Paraguay were finished by half time against the US. A result here is really tough predict.
Turkey are ranked 26th by FIFA while their opponents are 42nd, which does point to a win for the European side, but they’re difficult to trust after that opener, so I’ll side with their standout player from the first game, Arda Guler, to get on the scoresheet. He was in and around the box all evening against Australia, and was unfortunate to be on the losing side. He had eight shots, with three on target, and should get more chances against the leaky Paraguayans, so he’s a solid bet to bag one to round out the Friday fixtures.
Tip: Arda Guler to score anytime @ 3.50. 1 unit.
Check out Tommy the Punter’s Tipping Record here.