The second of Friday's 2022 Fifa World Cup quarter finals sees the Netherlands clash with Argentina and the South America's start as the bookmakers favourites
Odds provided by Sunbet are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Netherlands
The Netherlands saw off the USA with a 3-1 win in the Round of 16. Memphis Depay opened the scoring after just 10 minutes and Daley Blind added the second on the stroke of half time. A deflected goal gave USA hope on 76 minutes but Denzel Dumfries soon restored a 3 goal advantage and the Dutch came out on top with a deserved 3-1 victory.
Earlier the Netherlands topped Group A, unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw, 1 point clear of Senegal.
They started with a 2-0 win over Senegal with both their goals arriving in the closing stages of the game. Next time out they took an early lead against Ecuador but were pegged back shortly after the break and the game ended 1-1. The Dutch then sealed top spot with a routine 2-0 win over host nation Qatar. Cody Gakpo obliged for first goalscorer punters in all 3 group matches.
In the outright betting to win the tournament the Netherlands are trading at around 16/1
Argentina
Argentina came up against Australia in the Round of 16 and they came through with a 2-1 win. Lionel Messi gave them a first half lead and Julian Alvarez made it 2-0 early in the second half. Australia pulled a goal back thanks to a massive deflection on 77 minutes but Argentina held firm and there was no further scoring.
Argentina topped Group C with 6 points, 2 clear of Poland who edged out Mexico on goal difference.
In their opening match Lionel Messi put them in front from the penalty spot against Saudi Arabia. It could have been 4 or 5 by half time but they failed to add to their tally and amazingly Saudi turned it around in the second half to win 2-1.
Argentina put themselves on the board with a 2-0 win over Mexico in their second group match. Messi opened the scoring on 64 minutes and Enzo Fernandez scored a cracker of a second.
Coming into their final group match all 4 nations had some sort of chance to qualify and Argentina held their nerve with a 2-0 win over Poland thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez.
Brazil or Croatia await the winners of this game in the semi finals and in the outright betting to win the tournament the Argentina are trading at around 6/1
The Betting:
The Netherlands are 5/2 to win in regulation time with the draw at 11/5 and Argentina can be backed at 5/4
A game of 3 goals or more (90 minutes) is priced at 11/8 and it's a shade over even money for both teams to score.
To qualify for the semi final via any method the Netherlands are 14/10 and Argentina are 6/10
The Verdict:
Both these sides were firm favourites for their Round of 16 matches and if you draw a line through Argentina's surprise defeat to Saudi in their opening game they look pretty evenly matched to me.
They haven't met since the semi finals of 2014 when Argentina won on spot kicks after a 0-0 draw and I wouldn't be surprised if this went beyond regulation time.
I'm with the draw in regulation time.
Additional interest comes in the shape of over 4.5 offsides as I expect both defences to be well drilled.
Bets: 90 minute match result draw at 11/5 with Sunbet
Total offsides over 4.5 at 17/10 with Sunbet
Sunbet, Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R1,000 here
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
More tips, news and views are available on the Fifa World Cup thread on our discussion forum. If you are new to our community you can open an account here.
GFTG Newsletter
Subscribe to our free weekly betting mailer which will include our best and value bets below.
