Spain clash with Belgium in the quarter finals of the Fifa World Cup in Los Angeles on Friday and the Spaniards have yet to concede a goal in the tournament so far.
Spain
Spain line up in the quarter finals after a 1-0 win over Portugal in the Round of 16 in Dallas on Monday. Portugal hit the woodwork in the first half and both sides missed chances to take the lead but the game didn’t really hit the heights in terms of entertainment, Extra time looked on the cards but substitutes Ferran Torres and Mikel Meriono combined for the decisive goal which Merino scored in the 90th minute and Spain were through with yet another clean sheet.
Spain had eased into the Round of 16 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles. Mikel Oyarzabal scored in each half, his third and fourth of the tournament whilst Pedro Porro was also on target and Austria never really got in a blow.
Spain finished well clear at the top of Group H, unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw and they finished 4 points 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 where they earned a 1-0 victory 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. 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.
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.
Belgium:
Belgium went about their Round of 16 clash with co-hosts USA in Seattle in the early hours of Tuesday morning as if they had a point to prove and their best display of the tournament so far saw them win 4-1. Charles de Ketelaere scored twice in the first half either side of a USA equalizer. Hans Vanaken made it 3-1 on 57 minutes and a Lukaku goal in injury time added the gloss.
Belgium were involved in a dramatic Round of 16 clash with Senegal in Seattle and somehow they came away with a 3-2 win in extra time. Senegal scored in each half to take a commanding 2-0 lead and Belgium looked down and out as the clock ran down. However Lukaku gave them hope with an 86th minute goal and 3 minutes later Tielemans squared things up at 2-2 and we went into extra time. Penalty kicks looked to be on the cards but in the 125th minute Belgium were awarded a controversial penalty, Tielemans converted and that was the end of Senegal.
Group G proved to be competitive but Belgium eventually topped it with 1 win and 2 draws. Egypt also finished on 5 points but took the runners spot on goal difference. Iran were third with 3 draws from their matches and were pretty unlucky to be eliminated whilst New Zealand finished bottom of the quartet with 1 point.
Belgium finally cut loose in their third group match, thrashing New Zealand 5-1 in Vancouver. Trossard scored in each half and further goals from Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers gave Belgium the goal difference to leap into top position.
Earlier Belgium made hard work of their first two matches. A 0-0 draw with Iran in Los Angeles where they had Nathan Ngoy red carded and a 1-1 draw with Egypt where they were behind after 20 minutes and needed a 66th minute own goal to square things up.
The Betting (Regulation time unless stated otherwise)
Spain are priced at around 13/20 to win the game with the draw available at 26/10 and Belgium can be backed at around 44/10
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 15/20 and its 8/10 for both teams to score
The Verdict:
Belgium improved big time over their last couple of matches but will need to do so again if they are to trouble Spain. We might not have seen as many goals from the European Champions as we might have expected but Belgium have kept just the one clean sheet so far and Spain’s defence has yet to be breached.
I think Lamine Yamal has a goal in him in this game and I’ll also go with Spain to win a game of 3 goals or more.
Bets: Match result and total goals, Spain win and over 2.5 goals? Yes at 1.45/1 with Lucky Fish
Anytime goalscorer Lamine Yamal at 15/10 with Lucky Fish
Note, odds are subject to change