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1. Spain vs. Saudi Arabia over 2.5 -111
With a point to their name, Saudi Arabia will have to go all out in this match, hope for the draw between Ukraine and Tunisia and they will need goals in the process. So, it will be an all attack kind of game with Spain hitting the Saudi’s on the counter attack all game long. The outcome of this game can only go to Spain though but the Saudi’s will not go down without a fight.
Spain will play a lot of reserves in this game but they are deep in talent and have a bunch of eager bodies on the bench ready to show that they belong, if not in the knock-out phase they will want to display their talents for Euro qualifying.
Saudi Arabia has allowed 6 goals in two games, Spain has scored 7. They gave up 19 shots against Ukraine and the Spaniards in my view have a better balanced attack. 3-0 or 3-1 is possible.
2. Ukraine vs. Tunisia over 2.5 +115
Tunisia has made it clear. They will go out and play attacking football for the game today against the Ukraine. They might be able to generate a goal of their own but I do not see Ukraine losing this match. Ukraine should be able to hit them on the counter and should be able to capitalize on what I expect to be many opportunities. With a draw being good enough for them, I don’t think that they are just going to sit back and soak up the pressure all game long.
Tunisia head coach Roger Lemaire admits that his team’s lack of fitness has hurt them. Midfielder Jaouhar Mnari put it this way. "We know we have to risk everything against Ukraine”.
I think we see another wide-open affair in the group stages. 2-1 Ukraine.
3. Switzerland -.5 +117 South Korea
I’ve been impressed with this Swiss side. Their ability to play good team defense and their ability to not cave when pressured shows me that they have what it takes to finish first in this division. You can rest assured that they don’t just want to gamble with playing for the draw although they are more than capable of playing that defensive minded style. With France almost a lock for the 3 points and with France more likely than not going for a high score-line, the Swiss want to win this game to avoid playing powerhouse Spain in the next round. I think they would be far better aiming for the more one-dimensional Ukraine than having to contend with one of the big tournament favorites at this point.
Korea surrendered 15 shots to the French yet emerged with a 1-1 draw. They conceded a goal to Togo and were helped in that win by the Togo expulsion which allowed them to play a man up the rest of the way. The Swiss shut down the French and held them to a 0-0 draw and took care of business against Togo outshooting them in the process.
A well coached and well disciplined side, this Swiss team works very well as a unit. While they won’t win the tournament, they will win this division, helped along the way by a win over the Koreans in this match. Korea must go for the win here and this will open up some good opportunities for the Swiss. I think they should be able to defend well against the Koreans. 1-0 or 2-0 is my prediction here.
4. France -2 -113 Togo
Yes, a large lay here but also a lay that should be safe. This is a Togo team that went through a coaching debacle, resignation, pay dispute, potential game boycott yada yada….a whole heap of shit other than what mattered most…concentrating on the tournament. I think the 2 goal win is relatively safe for the French in this game and it is possible that the Togo team has already made arrangements to go home mentally and this game can get ugly in France’s favor.
France needs to win this game by 2 goals in order to assure forward progress into the next round. A 1 goal win might not be enough to help their cause in the event that the Swiss and Koreans draw.
I think the fact that Zidane is suspended for this game actually helps the French. Too many times the French players get caught looking for Zidane as they rely too much on running the offense through him. I expect to see Inter Milan’s David Trezeguet and Arsenal’s Henry on the pitch together working a freer flowing attack. I don’t expect them to let up. Now, the only risk to this wager is France’s international struggles of late. However, they clearly have the edge in all categories and should be able to put the hammer down on one of the weaker and more distracted teams in the tournament.
Perhaps most telling though are the comments made by Togo Coach Otto Pfister: "We came here with 23 players and ideally I would like to give them all some experience”. "I will make several changes. We are the first Togo team to play here and my job is to try to teach them something and develop them as footballers”. He indicated that he will use this match against France to give some of his players an opportunity to gather some international experience. He made no indications about wanting to go out in style, wanting to win one for the Country etc etc. For him, this is an evaluation match. For France, this will be a game that builds their confidence again. They must win this game…they have one of their better squads ever assembled. It would be a disgrace if they don’t qualify. Prediction: 3-0 France.
With a point to their name, Saudi Arabia will have to go all out in this match, hope for the draw between Ukraine and Tunisia and they will need goals in the process. So, it will be an all attack kind of game with Spain hitting the Saudi’s on the counter attack all game long. The outcome of this game can only go to Spain though but the Saudi’s will not go down without a fight.
Spain will play a lot of reserves in this game but they are deep in talent and have a bunch of eager bodies on the bench ready to show that they belong, if not in the knock-out phase they will want to display their talents for Euro qualifying.
Saudi Arabia has allowed 6 goals in two games, Spain has scored 7. They gave up 19 shots against Ukraine and the Spaniards in my view have a better balanced attack. 3-0 or 3-1 is possible.
2. Ukraine vs. Tunisia over 2.5 +115
Tunisia has made it clear. They will go out and play attacking football for the game today against the Ukraine. They might be able to generate a goal of their own but I do not see Ukraine losing this match. Ukraine should be able to hit them on the counter and should be able to capitalize on what I expect to be many opportunities. With a draw being good enough for them, I don’t think that they are just going to sit back and soak up the pressure all game long.
Tunisia head coach Roger Lemaire admits that his team’s lack of fitness has hurt them. Midfielder Jaouhar Mnari put it this way. "We know we have to risk everything against Ukraine”.
I think we see another wide-open affair in the group stages. 2-1 Ukraine.
3. Switzerland -.5 +117 South Korea
I’ve been impressed with this Swiss side. Their ability to play good team defense and their ability to not cave when pressured shows me that they have what it takes to finish first in this division. You can rest assured that they don’t just want to gamble with playing for the draw although they are more than capable of playing that defensive minded style. With France almost a lock for the 3 points and with France more likely than not going for a high score-line, the Swiss want to win this game to avoid playing powerhouse Spain in the next round. I think they would be far better aiming for the more one-dimensional Ukraine than having to contend with one of the big tournament favorites at this point.
Korea surrendered 15 shots to the French yet emerged with a 1-1 draw. They conceded a goal to Togo and were helped in that win by the Togo expulsion which allowed them to play a man up the rest of the way. The Swiss shut down the French and held them to a 0-0 draw and took care of business against Togo outshooting them in the process.
A well coached and well disciplined side, this Swiss team works very well as a unit. While they won’t win the tournament, they will win this division, helped along the way by a win over the Koreans in this match. Korea must go for the win here and this will open up some good opportunities for the Swiss. I think they should be able to defend well against the Koreans. 1-0 or 2-0 is my prediction here.
4. France -2 -113 Togo
Yes, a large lay here but also a lay that should be safe. This is a Togo team that went through a coaching debacle, resignation, pay dispute, potential game boycott yada yada….a whole heap of shit other than what mattered most…concentrating on the tournament. I think the 2 goal win is relatively safe for the French in this game and it is possible that the Togo team has already made arrangements to go home mentally and this game can get ugly in France’s favor.
France needs to win this game by 2 goals in order to assure forward progress into the next round. A 1 goal win might not be enough to help their cause in the event that the Swiss and Koreans draw.
I think the fact that Zidane is suspended for this game actually helps the French. Too many times the French players get caught looking for Zidane as they rely too much on running the offense through him. I expect to see Inter Milan’s David Trezeguet and Arsenal’s Henry on the pitch together working a freer flowing attack. I don’t expect them to let up. Now, the only risk to this wager is France’s international struggles of late. However, they clearly have the edge in all categories and should be able to put the hammer down on one of the weaker and more distracted teams in the tournament.
Perhaps most telling though are the comments made by Togo Coach Otto Pfister: "We came here with 23 players and ideally I would like to give them all some experience”. "I will make several changes. We are the first Togo team to play here and my job is to try to teach them something and develop them as footballers”. He indicated that he will use this match against France to give some of his players an opportunity to gather some international experience. He made no indications about wanting to go out in style, wanting to win one for the Country etc etc. For him, this is an evaluation match. For France, this will be a game that builds their confidence again. They must win this game…they have one of their better squads ever assembled. It would be a disgrace if they don’t qualify. Prediction: 3-0 France.