The World Cup qualifiers are on, and there are several interesting and exciting matchups we would like to share with you. BetXchange is here to deliver a short preview for these contests:
- Portugal vs. Republic of Ireland
- Sweden vs. Spain
- Chile vs. Brazil
- Zimbabwe vs. South Africa
Portugal vs. Republic of Ireland
Cristiano Ronaldo and the boys have a lot to regret regarding the recent EURO 2020. They were eliminated in the round of 16, despite heading for the continental championship as one of the favorites for winning the title. Apart from Joa Felix, Fernando Santos will have all of its players at disposal, and we do expect to see Selecao in much better shape than at EURO.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland is falling apart, with just one win in the past 14 matches. They managed to leave the pitch without a goal scored on nine occasions during that time, which pretty much is the reason for those losses.
Even though the odds on their win are low, betting on Portugal is the best choice here, because we simply can’t see the Irish team endangering the hosts in any possible way.
Pick: Portugal to win 0.18 at BetXchange
Sweden vs. Spain
These two sides met recently at EURO, and their match ended without goals, even though Spain had numerous chances. The Red Fury opened the championship slightly slower than expected but managed to rebound after that and reached the semis, where they lost to the future champions, Italy.
Blagult’s trademark is hard defense, and they haven’t allowed a goal in six of the past nine games. It was the same with Spain, who started conceding during the knockout stage of EURO, ruining their good defensive stats.
We expect to see this match with just a few goals because neither side wants to attack and risk anything. Basically, it will be a replay of the EURO contest.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals 0.68 at BetXchange
Chile vs. Brazil
La Roja is hosting the new Olympic champion, which partially healed its wounds caused by the defeat in the Copa America finals against Argentina. We are not quite sure whether did the gold from Tokyo erased that trauma. Anyhow the new challenges are awaiting Brazil, who is coming to Santiago with Neymar and several other stars.
On the other side, Chile is without Alexis Sanchez and has a massive motive to win this one. Brazil eliminated La Roja in the semis of Copa America, some would say unfairly. This is one of the most important matches in the entire qualifiers for them, as they currently have six points from the same number of games, and are outside the zone that leads to Qatar.
Our pick here would be low efficiency, as both sides play like that in recent times. The previous five matches Chile had were with under 2.5 goals, and Brazil’s last four were like that as well.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals 0.67 at BetXchange
Zimbabwe vs. South Africa
Bafana Bafana starts its quest for the next World Cup in Zimbabwe with one very difficult challenge. Even though the hosts have just one win in the past 10 games, they await this match in high confidence, hoping to start the qualifications with at least one point.
South Africa, on the other side, won the COSAFA Cup recently, and they too have high ambitions. After a long time, it seems that Bafana might reach the World Cup tournament, which would be a colossal success for this team. Hugo Broos’ side didn’t concede in the past six matches, and to be honest, we don’t believe that they will in this one either.
Our pick here is courageous when looking at the odds, but logical because South Africa has six wins and one draw.
Pick: South Africa 1.27 at BetXchange
