Should be a relatively straight forward match for the Dutch side, despite Australia showing some fight in their first match vs Chile. Naturally, we’ll be looking around for some value as a Holland win is priced at around 2/9, even Holland -1 is 8/13. I would avoid the corners market, purely because Holland only had […]
Author: firstgoalscorer
Russia vs South Korea
An interesting game between two sides who are maybe expected to not live up to recent performances at previous major international tournaments. Russia appear to still be building for the home World Cup in 2018 and have struggled with injuries before a ball has been kicked. South Korea have one of the weaker squads of […]
Germany vs Portugal
Much has been made about the strength of Germany’s squad at this World Cup, despite the loss of Marco Reus. A few of their players are returning from injury, haven’t played a huge amount of football this season in the positions they expect to play for Germany and they lack a world class striker. It […]
Argentina vs Bosnia-Herzegovina
Argentina will go into the tournament as some people’s favourites to lift the trophy, and with their attacking firepower it will be tough for Bosnia to get in their way in the opening game. Messi, Aguero, Higuain and Di Maria all look likely to join in with the attack, while Gago and Mascherano anchor the […]
France vs Honduras
This is seemingly a game in which many expect France to win, and relatively comfortably at that. Much has been made of their 8-0 defeat of Jamaica in the friendly they played recently, and see that as a benchmark for playing against weaker opposition. I think Honduras have a much better chance of frustrating France, […]
Switzerland vs Ecuador
Switzerland have a relatively young and exciting squad, and will be slight favourites to win the match against an Ecuador side who have an awful record playing outside of Ecuador. Switzerland have the potential to control the midfield and occupy the open space, utilising Behrami and Inler, allowing Xhaka to move forward (or one of […]
England vs Italy
A lot of factors in this game point towards a draw. Its probably one of the closest encounters of all the opening round matches. England look a better team since they met in the Euros when it ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, and Italy look reasonably similar. There are still question marks over certain positions […]
Uruguay vs Costa Rica
Many people would have this down as a relatively convincing win for Uruguay. However, Costa Rica are generally pretty organised defensively and will play very conservatively, trying to shut Uruguay out probably with 3 centre-backs. They will rely on their potential to counter with Joel Campbell and the artistry of Bryan Ruiz going forward. Uruguay […]
Chile vs Australia
Australia will be the big underdogs here, but are unlikely to play defensively to contain their opponents. They will most likely continue their style of fast & attacking football, which could open the game up completely considering Chile’s attacking approach. The match will likely involve lots of counter-attacking and running for both teams. Chile have […]
Spain vs Netherlands
A game that, in many people’s eyes, points towards a Spain win. The relatively unknown quantity of the Dutch defence will be a pretty decisive factor in the outcome – they are inexperienced at this sort of international level and will have to be adaptable in their approach to the game. Whether they play 3 or 4 […]