Netherlands vs Ecuador
Netherlands and Ecuador aim to secure their place in the knockout phase of World Cup 2022 as soon as possible.
Both nations are coming off wins and are keen to maintain their perfect starts as Ecuador beat hosts Qatar during opening night, whereas Netherlands won over Senegal yesterday.
Neither Netherlands nor Ecuador would want to possibly face England in the Round of 16 especially after they downed Iran convincingly in the last time out, so getting the victory is a must because it’ll put them in pole position at Group A.
Talking Points
Cody Gakpo’s stock is trending up
Cody Gakpo is deemed as one of the top young footballers today, and if he keeps this up, he will earn a new lucrative deal come the January transfer window. He came to Qatar in superb form since he’s leading the Golden Boot race in the Eredivisie with nine goals and 12 assists for PSV Eindhoven so far this season.
And against Senegal yesterday, the 23-year-old winger made his entry into the World Cup 2022 highlights reel when he broke the deadlock at the 84th minute to give his team the lead for good, while Davy Klaassen added one more for good measure.
Despite the 2-0 result, it was considered an underwhelming performance by the Oranje’s standards but they’ll gladly take the win.
Louis van Gaal is likely to maintain the same starting XI against Ecuador, with the exception of Matthijs de Ligt – who might be replaced by the quicker Jurrien Timber.
Gakpo should maintain his place up front and he’ll be joined by Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay – who is set to replace the ineffective Vincent Janssen.
More than anything, the World Cup serves as an audition piece for Gakpo since the biggest clubs in Europe are keeping tabs on him. Manchester United are his most known suitor following the recent departure of club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Enner Valencia the talisman for Ecuador
The Oranje’s defence will key in on Enner Valencia since he had it easy against Qatar during the opener when he found the back of the net three times, although only two were counted.
Valencia thought he had scored in the third minute via a header following a cross from Felix Torres, but the VAR ruled it out for offside.
That didn’t discourage Valencia, though, from terrorising Qatar’s lacklustre defence as he converted a penalty at the 16th minute and heading in another goal from Angelo Preciado’s cross in the 33rd minute.
The former West Ham striker was then subbed off in the 77th minute due to an apparent knee knock, but head coach Gustavo Alfaro said that it isn’t serious and he’ll be ready to go.
The news will come as a relief for La Tri supporters, but they know that they cannot solely rely on him to provide them the goals each and every match.
History
Netherlands and Ecuador meet for the third time ever and first at the World Cup. Prior to Friday, Netherlands secured a 1-0 win against Ecuador in 2006 and then they had a 1-1 draw in May 2014 – both of which were friendlies.
The Oranje have lost just two of their 14 World Cup matches against South American opposition (W8, D4). The most painful one was against Argentina in the 1978 final, and they were also ousted by Brazil in the 1994 quarter-finals.
In contrast, Ecuador have only won two of their seven World Cup games against European sides (D1, L4), defeating Croatia in 2002 and Poland in 2006.
All signs point to a low-scoring affair. Ecuador have kept a clean sheet in each of their last seven matches across all competitions (W3, D4), while Netherlands have also done the same in each of their last four World Cup games – the longest run here in the competition since Switzerland between 2006 and 2010 (five straight).
Betting Tip
The SBOTOP World Cup 2022 odds picked Netherlands to win on Friday evening. The Oranje are pegged at 1.82, while Ecuador are priced at 4.50 and a draw is at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.
Ecuador are capable of making this game closer than expected, especially if their talisman Enner Valencia won’t have any fitness issues. But even if he is at 100-per cent, Netherlands should have enough to edge past their South American counterparts.
This game is going to be scrappy and goals are going to be earned the hard way – making Under 2.50 @ 1.98 a betting option worth considering.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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