Toronto_Mike
Scent of a Woman
Brasil vs Croatia - Under 2.5 @ 1.89 (2u) and Croatia +1.5 @ 2.01 (1u)
In recent memory, only Germany has had a very successful opening match and well they played against a rather inferior opponent in Costa Rica. Other than that we've seen some fairly even matched, upsets eg Senegal but also plenty of cautious approaches. This is one of those games where a host city has a ton of pressure to perform and they are up against a team that is not inferior by no means. Just because this is played in Brasil doesn't mean there is a huge advantage as Croatia like pretty much most of their Adriatic Sea neighbours rely on a strong midfield mix of creativity and possession.
Brasilians on the other hand play better against attacking teams as their skill work on passing causes chaos in open fields. I think most will be expecting fireworks from Brasil and rightfully so however, as much as this Brasil team can score they are also trying to ensure they just get the 3 points and move on.
You can expect to see a lot of "keep away" situations between these two teams. Raktic and Modric have had solid campaign's this year and they are very familiar with the quality of players Brasil has.
Pressure is going to be huge on Brasil not to just win this game but to win the whole thing. I really don't think teams that have a ton of pressure end up doing too well in tournaments, the media will be on them and heck the fans too. However, this line shows that there is no respect for the Croatians who have time and time again done very well in the international stage since 1998.
I expect the real Brasil to show up against Cameroon where there will be more flare.
I'm basing my bet on the Croatians being a bit more united and patient with ball possession. The Brasilians are also quite notorious for taking their time and building up a play thus it's very similar to teams using up an entire shot clock for possession.
Prediction: Brasil 1-0 Croatia
Spain vs Netherlands - Spain ML @ 1.94 (10u)
Japan vs Ivory Coast - Japan ML @ 3.03 (1u) Japan 0 @ 2.08 (3u) o2.5 @ 2.04 (5u)
Colombia vs Ivory Coast - Colombia ML @ 2.11 (3u)
England vs Italy - England 0 @ 2.02 (3u)
Switzerland vs Ecuador - Switzerland ML @ 2.6 (2u)
Ecuador vs Honduras - Ecuador ML @ 1.86 (3u)
Belgium vs Algeria - Belgium -1 @ 1.98 (3u)
Russia vs Korea Republic - Russia ML @ 2.33 (5u)
Russia vs South Korea - Russia -0.5 @ 2.22 (3u)
Germany vs Portugal - Germany -0.5 @ 2.14 (3u)
Croatia vs Cameroon - Croatia -0.5 @ 1.84 (5u)
Nigeria vs Bosnia - o2.5 @ 1.88 (5u)
Will add thoughts and plays as the days go buy. GL to you all.
In recent memory, only Germany has had a very successful opening match and well they played against a rather inferior opponent in Costa Rica. Other than that we've seen some fairly even matched, upsets eg Senegal but also plenty of cautious approaches. This is one of those games where a host city has a ton of pressure to perform and they are up against a team that is not inferior by no means. Just because this is played in Brasil doesn't mean there is a huge advantage as Croatia like pretty much most of their Adriatic Sea neighbours rely on a strong midfield mix of creativity and possession.
Brasilians on the other hand play better against attacking teams as their skill work on passing causes chaos in open fields. I think most will be expecting fireworks from Brasil and rightfully so however, as much as this Brasil team can score they are also trying to ensure they just get the 3 points and move on.
You can expect to see a lot of "keep away" situations between these two teams. Raktic and Modric have had solid campaign's this year and they are very familiar with the quality of players Brasil has.
Pressure is going to be huge on Brasil not to just win this game but to win the whole thing. I really don't think teams that have a ton of pressure end up doing too well in tournaments, the media will be on them and heck the fans too. However, this line shows that there is no respect for the Croatians who have time and time again done very well in the international stage since 1998.
I expect the real Brasil to show up against Cameroon where there will be more flare.
I'm basing my bet on the Croatians being a bit more united and patient with ball possession. The Brasilians are also quite notorious for taking their time and building up a play thus it's very similar to teams using up an entire shot clock for possession.
Prediction: Brasil 1-0 Croatia
Spain vs Netherlands - Spain ML @ 1.94 (10u)
Japan vs Ivory Coast - Japan ML @ 3.03 (1u) Japan 0 @ 2.08 (3u) o2.5 @ 2.04 (5u)
Colombia vs Ivory Coast - Colombia ML @ 2.11 (3u)
England vs Italy - England 0 @ 2.02 (3u)
Switzerland vs Ecuador - Switzerland ML @ 2.6 (2u)
Ecuador vs Honduras - Ecuador ML @ 1.86 (3u)
Belgium vs Algeria - Belgium -1 @ 1.98 (3u)
Russia vs Korea Republic - Russia ML @ 2.33 (5u)
Russia vs South Korea - Russia -0.5 @ 2.22 (3u)
Germany vs Portugal - Germany -0.5 @ 2.14 (3u)
Croatia vs Cameroon - Croatia -0.5 @ 1.84 (5u)
Nigeria vs Bosnia - o2.5 @ 1.88 (5u)
Will add thoughts and plays as the days go buy. GL to you all.
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