The second round of matches in 2022 Fifa World Cup Group A take place on Friday when Qatar take on Senegal and the Netherlands clash with Ecuador
Odds provided by @Playabets are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Qatar 48/10 Draw 2.76/1 Senegal 0.63/1
Qatar
The host nation qualified automatically so Qatar were something of an unknown heading into the opening match of the tournament against Ecuador last Sunday. They started as underdogs, trading at around 27/10 and they showed us very little in a 2-0 defeat.
Qatar conceded from the penalty spot after 16 minutes and fell 2 behind just after the half hour. The stats show they failed to register a shot on target and a number of the home crowd were heading for the exits long before the end of the second half.
Senegal
Senegal are also playing catch up having lost their opening match against the Netherlands, also by a 2-0 scoreline after they conceded 2 late goals. News of Sadio Mane being ruled out of the tournament contributed towards a drift in their price to make it out of this group and they started at around 5/1 for their opener against the Dutch.
It was pretty even in terms of shots on target and possession with Senegal giving as good as they got. They troubled the Dutch defence on a number of occasions and made their keeper work more than once but it wasn't to be and they now face a must win game in terms of their hopes of a place in the knockout rounds.
Senegal are trading at around 125/1 to win the tournament.
The Verdict:
Senegal put in a decent shift against the Dutch whilst Qatar were largely outplayed by Ecuador. Whether the host nation are capable of better is open to debate but I'm with Senegal to put themselves back in contention for a place in the knockout rounds and will take them to score at least twice.
Ismaila Sarr had an excellent first half in their opening game and provides the anytime goalscorer interest.
Bets Senegal total goals, over 1.5 at 0.92/1 with Playabets
Anytime goalscorer, Ismaila Sarr at 22/10 with Playabets
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Netherlands 8/10 Draw 2.56/1 Ecuador 3.62/1
Netherlands
Cody Gakpo, assisted by Frenkie de Jong, broke the deadlock against Senegal on 84 minutes and in the ninth minute of injury time (get used to that) substitute Davy Klaassen made sure the Dutch made a winning start. Memphis Depay came off the bench despite his lack of game time and the result was more important then the performance.
The Dutch are now around 12/1 to win the tournament.
Ecuador
Ecuador were very professional in their opening win over Qatar. They had an Enner Valencia goal ruled out by VAR in the opening minutes but they didn't have to
wait much longer for Valenica to convert a penalty awarded after he was brought down.
The second goal also came from Valencia, this time with a header on 31 minutes and they subsequently did what they needed to do to see the game out to oblige for any punters who were took odds of around 12/10 for them to start with a victory.
Ecuador are now trading at around 100/1 to win the tournament.
The Verdict:
Three recent warm up matches for Ecuador all finished 0-0, against Iraq, Japan and Saudi Arabia and a clean sheet against Qatar bodes well but this a huge step up in class.
Top spot in the group is as good as up for grabs in my book and after meeting plenty of resistance I'm with the Netherlands to come out on top in the second half.
Bets Half Time / Full Time Draw/ Netherlands at 3.75/1 with Playabets
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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