The World Cup Group Stage provided us with goals, controversy and plenty of drama during nearly two weeks of action. The drama promises to continue as we enter the Last 16 of the World Cup and the possibility of extra time and penalties.
With more than 160 markets for every match of the World Cup knockout rounds, Bet9ja continues to be the place to enjoy the World Cup in style. We preview the first four matches of the Last 16 and the odds you can get on a variety of different markets:
Last 16: Netherlands vs USA
Khalifa International Stadium
Saturday 3rd December, 16:00
The Netherlands won Group A comfortably and without much fuss. They did have to leave it late to see off Senegal in their opening clash and were held Ecuador. A comfortable 2-0 victory over hosts Qatar followed and there was never really any doubt Louis van Gaal’s men would qualify for the Last 16. The star man for the Dutch has been Cody Gakpo. The PSV winger has scored three goals in three matches at the World Cup and has been a standout performer, which has led to strong rumours of a Manchester United move in January. They’ve only conceded once so far and it’s not surprising to see why, with a five-man defence including Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake.
The USA have impressed at the World Cup and will prove tough opposition for the Dutch. Christian Pulisic scored the only goal in the win against Iran to seal qualification. They were unlucky not to get more against England, when they were arguably the better team during the 0-0 draw, and were denied by a late Gareth Bale penalty in their opening encounter. Pulisic, Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie to name just a few, are more than capable of upsetting the favourable Netherlands.
The Netherlands are fairly strong favourites at Bet9ja, with odds of 1.97 to win in 90 minutes. Of course, extra-time and penalties becomes a factor for every knockout match but perhaps a 1-0 Netherlands win in normal time at 5.70, could be the way to go for this one.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): Netherlands win: 1.97, Draw: 3.25, USA win: 4.35
Last 16: Argentina vs Australia
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Saturday 3rd December, 20:00
We’ve mentioned previously that Argentina have the players to produce moments of magic that give them a great chance of going far in the World Cup. That was the case on Wednesday and goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez sealed a dominant 2-0 victory over Poland. Lionel Messi even missed a first-half penalty, but was excellent throughout. If the Argentines had taken all their key chances, it could have easily been a lot more. Messi and co. are starting to look like the formidable force we expected at the start of the tournament and we have no reason to rule out our pre-World Cup prediction.
With no real household names to boast, Australia have arguably punched above their weight to qualify for the Last 16. A spirited and solid display led to a 1-0 win against Denmark, with Mathew Leckie scoring the only goal to put the Socceroos into the Last 16 for the first time since 2006.
Argentina must be prepared to be patient against a resilient Australia. That being said, it’s hard to look past them on Saturday. A comfortable 2-0 win for Argentina is priced up at 5.10 in our correct score market. Messi is 4.70 to be first goalscorer.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): Argentina win: 1.23, Draw: 6.20, Australia win: 14.25
Last 16: France vs Poland
Al Thumama Stadium
Sunday 4th December, 16:00
France looked extremely strong en route to topping Group D. Dominant performances saw the French see off Australia 4-1 and beat Denmark 2-1. It wouldn’t be wise to look into the defeat against Tunisia in much detail, with manager Didier Deschamps making nine changes and resting key players such as Kylian Mbappe, Oliver Giroud and Antoine Griezmann. Mbappe has scored three goals so far and looked unstoppable at times. He will play a huge role in this match.
Poland can count themselves as extremely fortunate to be in the Last 16. They were very poor against Argentina, offering little in attack and sitting most of their players behind the ball. In the end, they qualified by one goal, as Mexico had a -1 goal difference, but the same number of points. It’s very unlikely that style of play will work against France, and Poland must utilise star man Robert Lewandowski, who did score his first World Cup tournament goal earlier in the group.
France will be strongly backed for this one, but again a low-scoring match should be expected. You can get odds of 3.70 for under 1.5 goals at Bet9ja, which might be a good option. Mbappe is 4.45 to be first goalscorer and 2.05 to net anytime.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): France win: 1.28, Draw: 5.60, Poland win: 12.00
Last 16: England vs Senegal
Al Bayt Stadium
Sunday December 4th, 20:00
England had the luxury of being able to rotate their team and still win comfortably on Tuesday. Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden were among the players to come into the starting XI against Wales, and both scored. Rashford bagged two goals as England ran out easy 3-0 winners. Gareth Southgate’s men thrashed Iran 6-2 in the first match, but were disappointing against USA. In fairness, they did what was needed to progress and certainly have an array of attacking talent to cause any team issues.
The 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane is yet to get off the mark this time around, although he hasn’t looked fully fit. Bukayo Saka scored two against Iran and should be back in the XI, while Jude Bellingham has been one of the best performing players at the World Cup so far. Southgate’s biggest problem is fitting all the attacking talent into a suitable system.
Senegal still managed to progress to the Last 16 even without key man Sadio Mane. It took a Kalidou Koulibaly volley to send Senegal through and beat Ecuador 2-1. Going forward, Ismaila Sarr has looked good for Senegal. They will need to rely on the solid Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to try and keep England at bay.
England are favourites to make the quarter-finals, priced up at 1.53 at Bet9ja. Looking at our multi goal market, 1-2 goals is 1.83. If you think England’s scoring run will continue, you can get odds of 2.71 for 3-4 goals. It must be a matter of time before Kane scores at this World Cup and he is 5.80 to score first.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): England win: 1.53, Draw: 3.95, Senegal win: 7.40
