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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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It looks like The Pharaohs went back to their pyramids prematurely! lol. I took a hit there.
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06-19-18 09:31 PM |
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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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eagleseye, being about 5 yrs older then Egypts goalie, I was pulling for fellow middle ager as well, but Russia was not about to play Michael Moorer to George Foreman for Mr. El-Shenawy. Plus , home teams tend to get a boost and that clearly is case here as I obviously misjudged badly.
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06-19-18 09:53 PM |
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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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Houstonfan,
Chicanery by Mr.Putin, now that is a surprise(tongue firmly in cheek)
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06-19-18 10:46 PM |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Bet to Watch:
Both teams to score +125 (Bookmaker)
It was a day of late goals at the World Cup in Russia last Friday, leaving three sides elated and three bemoaning their inability to keep things tight in the dying moments.
Portugal and Morocco fell into the different brackets, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s 88th-minute free-kick goal earning an impressive point against Spain, while an Aziz Bouhaddouz own goal deprived Morocco one of their own in a match that they would have been desperate to win, let alone draw.
As a result, the two teams approach this encounter with a very different mind-set, and while Portugal are strong favorites, they know that a draw would be enough to leave qualification in their own hands ahead of a favorable final game with Iran. Morocco, meanwhile, would see a point as a positive result in different circumstances but would need to beat Spain and hope that Iran get a result against their upcoming opponents on Wednesday in order to reach the knockout stages. Simply put, this is a must-win game for the underdogs.
With that in mind, you can expect the sort of start that we saw from both of these sides in their opening matches, with Morocco coming out of the blocks quickly and Portugal happy to counter; but if the Atlas Lions fail to make any potential early dominance count, they will be in trouble. Herve Renard’s side seemed to tire after a vibrant start against Iran, and the European champions will be happy to bide their time in this one, so another high-scoring affair seems less likely.
Indeed, anyone expecting Portugal to see the lion’s share of possession may be in for a surprise, with coach Fernando Santos finally settling on a side and a style that gets the best from the attacking players at his disposal. They have been faster and more direct with their passing in recent matches, sitting relatively deep without the ball to prevent teams from exposing the lack of pace at the heart of the defense.
Fortunately for Morocco, they aren’t really a side that looks to play long balls to turn opposition defenders around, instead relying on the creativity and vision of the three behind the striker to pick the lock. In turn this should be an intriguing tactical battle, with the Africans needing to open up at one stage or another.
They will have taken heart from the fact that while main man Cristiano Ronaldo is very much in form, the Portugal rearguard action was still questionable at best against Spain, and while they may not ship another three, this Morocco side are capable of causing problems.
The price on both teams to score is very appealing indeed (+130) and is the best value bet in my mind for Wednesday’s early kickoff.
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06-20-18 08:00 AM |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Bet to Watch:
Uruguay -2.5 +150
In their opening match, it took Uruguay until stoppage time against a Mo Salah-less Egypt team to finally scrape a goal. They did it the old-fashioned Uruguay way, with a towering header from central defender Jose Gimenez. But that undersells just how well the team created chances. They took 15 shots — eight of them from inside the penalty area — and created three big chances. That’s a paddling, even if it didn’t manifest on the scoreboard until late.
Now, they get to go up against a team that is considerably worse than Egypt. Even more troubling for Saudi Arabia is the fact that they aren’t committed to defending. If anything was going to slow Uruguay down it’s the fact that despite the pre-tournament hype about wanting to play attractively, they simply aren’t a particularly creative squad. They bully you, and they’re one of the best in the world at it.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia just got bullied by Russia. They tried to play a possession based brand of soccer and pass the ball around in midfield in the hopes of working it through the Russian lines of defense. Instead they basically kept passing the ball to Russia, which resulted in the hosts running at a woefully exposed, and very poor Saudi back line.
A defensive Saudi side that sat back, stayed compact and didn’t want the ball might be able to hang with Uruguay the way Egypt did. But this Saudi side is setting up to get battered.
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06-20-18 08:00 AM |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Bet to Watch:
Spain -2 +113 (Bookmaker)
Group B is one of the most interesting sets in the World Cup. After one round of matches, Iran sits atop the group with three points while Iberian neighbors Spain and Portugal are tied with one point and Morocco — a popular dark-horse pick — are at the foot of the table with 0 points.
Iran’s 1-0 upset of Morocco came on a stoppage-time own goal, so the Lions of Persia are a bit lucky to be in the pole position but they gave a good account of themselves last week, and to say they lucked out is not fair. While Morocco had most of the ball against Iran, the Persians were organized in the middle of the field and didn’t allow many good opportunities.
Spain, meanwhile, can be forgiven for feeling hard done by in their opener. La Furia Roja dominated the game but were undone by three goals by Cristiano Ronaldo — one from the penalty spot, one that was bobbled in by goalkeeper David De Gea (considered the best in the world by many) and another from a very late free kick. The Spanish dictated the tempo for most of the match, and their attacking flair was on full display.
According to the odds, Iran is still an outsider to advance from Group B. At Bookmaker they are +285, behind Spain (-1450) and Portugal (-550), so they’ll most likely need at least a point in their last two games to get through. Iran will do everything in their power to make life difficult on Spain by packing the midfield and getting 10 men behind the ball at all times. Spain have the ability to pick apart a defensive side with their passing, so the task ahead of the Lions of Persia is a steep one.
Spain should have goals in them. Iran’s backline will make life hard on the Spanish attackers, but Diego Costa is not one to be deterred by physicality and should be able to provide enough space for the likes of Isco and David Silva to work their magic atop the 18-yard box.
Iran’s only hope of scoring in this one is from a set piece or a quick counter, but I don’t expect them to find the onion bag, so instead I like Spain to turn this into a bit of a clinic.
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06-20-18 08:02 AM |
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