One of the biggest dreams of most soccer players is to represent their country in the World Cup. This is by far the most important tournament in the entire sport.
In reality, there are hardly any surprises when it comes to the winner of the competition. Most of the time, one of the best teams ends up lifting the trophy. I already shared my thoughts on the favorites for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and there’s a very good chance that this year’s winner will come from that group of teams.
Link to “Most Likely Winners of the FIFA World Cup blog post” (not currently published but will be when this is)
That doesn’t mean the rest don’t have anything to play for. Quite the contrary. Reaching the knockout stages and making a deep run is a remarkable achievement and more than enough to make the players legends in some countries.
A lot of teams will hope for that, and I believe some have the potential to surprise at the World Cup. Of course, this creates some nice betting opportunities as well.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at the teams that can upset the odds.
Colombia was one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2014 World Cup. The team played great and managed to reach the quarterfinals of the competition, where it lost against the hosts, Brazil, in a tough match.
On top of that, James Rodriguez was one of the stars of the tournament and became the top scorer.
4 years later, Colombia is once again prepared to have a good World Cup and make the fans proud. The country is in a group with Poland, Senegal, and Japan. While none of these teams is a walkover, they are all beatable. In fact, Colombia is considered the favorite to win their group.
There’s basically no weak link.
At the back, they have a hot prospect in Davinson Sanchez, who had a great season with Tottenham, and up front…well, you must be living under a rock if you don’t know who James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao are.
It’s safe to say that Colombia has a lot of potential and should get out of the group by winning it. If the country does that, it will face the second-placed team in group G.
This is most likely England, according to the bookies. Since the other nations in their group are Belgium, Panama, and Tunisia, this looks like a fair assessment.
So, Colombia will probably face England. Another possible option is that the country faces Belgium if one of two nations is second in its respective group.
I believe Colombia is much better than England, as the European country has failed to impress in World Cups ever since winning the tournament in 1966.
Even if Colombia faces Belgium, the team still has a decent chance to go through. The main reason is the inconsistent performance of the Belgian squad that struggled at the Euro 2016 despite being labeled as one of the favorites.
This is why I see two decent betting options that contain some value. For a start, Colombia to win its group is priced around 2.40.
The second one would be for the South Americans to reach the quarterfinals, and the odds are close to 3.00.
Pretty much every European team is considered dangerous at World Cups, and Croatia is not an exception. Some of the players of the country can be considered world-class, most notably Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic.
The whole team is full of guys that are part of the top European leagues, as you will see the likes of Dejan Lovren, Danijel Subasic, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic, and a couple of other talented players who have experience at a high level.
Winning the thing is probably out of their reach, but Croatia will be certainly a team many others would prefer to avoid.
Croatia is in group D and will face Argentina, Iceland, and Nigeria. In my opinion, this is the toughest one in the World Cup. At a first glance, the South Americans are the favorites, but each of the countries has its chances.
In fact, I believe this will help Croatia. The Balkan team is consistent and could actually win the group. Argentina is the one to watch, but the nation has been inconsistent in the qualifications for the World Cup and struggles to find the right balance.
I expect them to slip, and the odds for Croatia winning the group are too good to miss. You can find prices above 3.20, which is definitely worth a shot.
I might raise a few eyebrows here, but I actually think a lot of people are underestimating Peru. The country finished 5th in the qualifications leading to the World Cup and had to beat New Zealand in a playoff.
However, Peru was ahead of current Copa America champions Chile in the final standings, as well as only a point behind Colombia and two behind Argentina. An impressive performance for a team that doesn’t have the star players some of its South American rivals possess in their ranks.
The main reason Peru reached its first World Cup in 36 years is the hard work and team play. This makes them a resilient side that is tough to beat.
I would like to add that Peru had some luck with their group. At a first glance, they will face France, which is one of the strongest teams of this tournament. The European giant should easily win the group.
The other two teams in this group are Denmark and Australia. Both are vulnerable and don’t really have a much better team than Peru.
The Aussies are mostly relying on some younger players and are hardly that much of a threat. At the same time, Denmark doesn’t offer much, either.
I firmly believe that Peru can make it out of the group, especially if somehow banned forward Paolo Guerrero plays in the World Cup.
At the same time, I can’t see anything but a France win in the standings, so I think I will combine both and go for a bit of an unusual bet.
France to win the group and Peru to finish second can be found at prices in the 4.30-4.40 region. This is way too high, in my opinion, as most bookies overrate Denmark and their chances. This is why I believe the value can be found in a France and Peru one-two qualification.
It’s always tough to predict which team will overachieve and shock everyone at the World Cup. However, I believe these are the most likely candidates for a surprising performance this time around.
None of the wagers I’ve put forward above are what I’d consider “safe.” They are all at least SOMEWHAT realistic, though, and they combine solid value with a reasonable probability of success. I feel comfortable advising you to put some money down on them.
The time to do that is probably now, as I wouldn’t be shocked to see the odds shorten as the tournament gets closer. Below are our top two recommended sites for betting on the FIFA World Cup.
BetOnline BetwayThe post Betting Opportunities on Three Teams That Could Surprise at the 2018 FIFA World Cup appeared first on GamblingSites.com.
0 comments