We’ve reached day three of the World Cup, and it’s already a tournament that has delivered a great number of talking points, as well as a healthy number of goals.
What’s occurred thus far will certainly have to be taken into account when it comes to your World Cup betting strategy. Take, for instance, any lingering doubts you may have had about what Gareth Southgate’s side could achieve in Qatar that may have been eased by their opening match display.
England Crush Iran
England were, of course, always expected to defeat Iran in their World Cup opener, but the manner in which they did so will surely have impressed Three Lions fans both in the stadium and watching around the world.
In the attacking third, England were unstoppable, but perhaps the brightest spark on the field of play, aside from two-goal hero Bukayo Saka, came in the form of Borussia Dortmund teenager Jude Bellingham, who put in a superb display that belied his years.
The midfielder opened the scoring with a looping header before Saka struck a beautiful second. Raheem Sterling then fired home from a Harry Kane cross, and the game at half-time was dead as a contest.
Just after the hour, Arsenal wide-man Saka made it 4-0 before Harry Maguire lost his man, and Iran pulled a goal back through Mehdi Taremi. Subs Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish made it 6-1 before a late penalty, amazingly coming in the 13th minute of injury time, gave Taremi and Iran a second.
It was a good display to get England’s campaign up and running, and maybe it’s time to jump all over the 16/1 offered by BoyleSports on Bukayo Saka securing the Golden Boot.
Dutch Courage and Wales Stalemate
In the day’s over games, the Netherlands edged past Senegal 2-0 in a game that won’t live long in the memory. It took Louis van Gaal’s men 84 minutes to break down their opponents, with PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo netting before Davy Klaassen scored a second in injury time.
It’s a win that was expected and came with top striker Memphis Depay coming on as a sub, indicating that perhaps the Barcelona man isn’t in the best condition, which may be a concern for the Oranje.
In marked contrast, the draw between Wales and the United States was real end-to-end stuff that was a great match for the neutral. Timothy Weah, son of legend George, scored the opener with a calm finish, but Wales got the draw they deserved when Gareth Bale fired home a late penalty.
The draw works in England’s favour as they seek to finish at the top of Group B and thereby probably avoid Holland in the Round of 16.
Messi Set for Saudis
Lionel Messi, in his final World Cup, will get his campaign started with what one imagines will be an easy Argentine win over Saudi Arabia in today’s early kick-off. It’s a game that fans from around the world will eagerly be watching.
This is especially true for those who believe that the PSG man is set to go out with a bang. With that in mind, the 16/1 from BoyleSports on a double of Argentina to win the World Cup and Lionel Messi to finish as the top goalscorer is well worth considering.
You can expect Argentina to rack up the goals in this opener as Lionel Scaloni’s side takes no mercy on inferior opposition.
In the group’s other game, Mexico vs Poland, we would suggest banking on a draw, and you can get a healthy 21/10 from Grosvenor Sports on that outcome.
Great Danes and Fantastic France
Group C opens today, and Denmark get things underway with a potentially problematic clash with Tunisia. The Danes should secure all three points, but it will probably come in the form of a narrow win as they get into the swing of the tournament.
Meanwhile, reigning champions France face Australia, and they do so with a large chunk of talent missing from Didier Deschamps’ squad. N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba were ruled out of the squad with injuries, and Karim Benzema has subsequently limped out of contention in recent days.
Any other squad would find it hard to recover from the loss of talents of that calibre, but France have more than enough quality to be a real force in Qatar.
We’d bet on France to thump Australia in their World Cup opener, and Grosvenor Sports has a tasty price boost offering 19/5 on both Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud to find the net, which is very tempting indeed.
