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World Cup Betting Market Update: Odds for Tournament Quarterfinal Matchups
July 4, 2018
The quarterfinals are set at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and if the round-of-16 matches, which included three penalty shootouts, are anything to go by, we're in for another round of close encounters as we make our way to the final in Moscow on July 15.
The last of those round-of-16 fixtures saw England win their first penalty shootout at a World Cup, at their fourth attempt.
Having taken the lead against Colombia thanks to their captain Harry Kane, who moved clear in the race for the Golden Boot with his sixth goal, the South Americans equalized in the 93rd minute, when Yerry Mina headed home from a corner.
Colombian pair Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca failed to convert their spot kicks in the ensuing shootout, which left Eric Dier to win the game for England, setting up a quarterfinal with Sweden.
The Three Lions are $1.83 betting favorites to beat the Swedes ($4.50), according to AustralianGambling, after Sweden defeated Switzerland thanks to an Emil Forsberg goal just after the hour mark. Croatia meets Russia in the other quarterfinal in that side of the draw after manager Zlatko Dalic's side eliminated a valiant Denmark lineup, also via a penalty shootout.
A shootout was also the method of victory for the host nation, who were big outsiders against one of the tournament favorites, Spain, but managed to blunt the 2010 champions and ride the wave of patriotism to the final eight.
Manager Stanislav Cherchesov's charges are once again outsiders; this time you'll get $3.75 for a Russian win, with Croatia in at $2.20.
The other half of the draw sees both Brazil ($2.10) and France ($2) favored to put an end to the campaigns of Belgium ($3.50) and Uruguay ($4.33), respectively, but with Russia 2018 providing more than a few surprises, the makeup of the semifinals is far from set in stone.
Brazil qualified for a seventh straight World Cup quarterfinal with a comfortable 2-0 win over Mexico, which included goals by Neymar and Roberto Firmino, while Belgium completed the biggest comeback in a knockout game of a World Cup, storming home from 2-0 down against Japan to win 3-2.
France defeated Argentina in the most entertaining round-of-16 encounter by a score of 4-3, while Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani netted twice in his nation's 2-1 win over Euro 2016 champions Portugal.