Much fancied Spain arrive in the Fifa World Cup Round of 32 unbeaten but yet to really hit their straps as they prepare for the next assignment which comes against Austria in Los Angeles on Thursday night
Spain
Spain finished well clear at the top of Group H, unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw and they finished 4 clear of Cape Verde who drew all 3 of their games. That left Uruguay and Saudi Arabia on 2 points each and both those nations were eliminated.
Spain were in Guadalajara for their final group match against Uruguay, they were on the verge of qualification but still needed a win to rubber stamp top spot in the group and although they were not at their best they did enough to earn a 1-0 win thanks to an Alex Baena goal late in the first half.
Earlier Spain had kick started their tournament with a comfortable 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Atlanta in their second group match. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring on 10 minutes and a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal had Spain 3-0 up after 24 minutes. It stayed that way until just after half time when a Saudi own goal made it 4-0 and there was no further scoring.
Spain were overwhelming favourites for their opening match against Cape Verde, also in Atlanta but the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Spain had almost three quarters of possession and did everything but score as Cape Verde held out.
Austria
Austria made it through to the Round of 32 as distant runners up to Argentina who boated 3 wins from 3. Austria earned 4 points, the same tally as Algeria who came in third on goal difference and Jordan failed to earn a point.
In their final group match against Algeria in Kansas City a draw suited both nations in terms of qualifying but the chaotic finish was harder to script. Austria led 1-0 (Arnautovic) and 2-1 (Sabitzer but Algeria twice levelled by the hour mark. In the third minute of stoppage time Algeria went 3-2 in front but in the 96th minute Sasa Kalajdzic equalized to make it 3-3 keep Austria in the tournament.
Austria struggled to create clear cut chances in their 2-0 defeat to Argentina in Dallas in their second group match. Prior to that they eventually saw off debutants Jordan with a 3-1 win in San Franciso first up. Romano Schmid rifled in a shot to open the scoring on 21 minutes; it was 1-0 at half time but Jordan squared things up early in the second half. Austria regained the lead thanks to a 76th minute own goal before Marko Arnautovic made sure of the win with a penalty deep in injury time.
The Betting (Regulation time unless stated otherwise)
Spain are priced at around 3/10 to win the game with the draw available at 44/10 and Austria can be backed at around 9/1
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 8/10 and its 13/10 for both teams to score
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The Verdict:
Spain are no strangers to starting World Cup’s slowly and it will take something special from Austria to derail them here. I don’t envisage any surprises but Spain might have to work harder than the match result betting odds suggest.
I’m with Spain by a single goal margin.
Bets: Spain to win by 1 goal exactly at 24/10 with Pokerbet
Note, odds are subject to change
