Articles

Italy Women v Netherlands Women
Women’s World Cup – 2.00 pm
BBC

This could well be the most entertaining of the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals. Italy have set the tournament alight with some wonderful, fearless attacking football. They have been a big surprise package on their return to the Finals after a 20-year absence. Le Azzurre have not sat back and now stand on the brink of a semi-final berth. They were underdogs to make it out of their group through an automatic qualification spot.

They turned that upside down by beating Australia and Brazil to top spot in Group C. They did benefit from an easier round of sixteen tie when they went up against China. Italy just held their composure so well, handling the pressure of having been clear favourites for that tie. It didn’t throw them off their game and they continued to do what they have been doing. Italy Women are the 15/4 underdogs To Qualify but will have plenty of support.

The Netherlands are the reigning European champions and are on a seven-match winning streak. They have, however, looked a bit more ragged and unconvincing than Italy have done. The Dutch were on the ropes in their round of sixteen tie against Japan but squeezed through thanks to a late penalty. The Netherlands have been able to call on big moments from their star players like Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema. It is a credit to them that they have been winning still and they are 21/20 favourites with top bookies to win this.

Germany Women v Sweden Women
Women’s World Cup – 5.30 pm
BBC

The Germans have been faultless through this competition. They went into the tournament as one of the front runners, but they have not taken the big spotlight attention that the likes of France and the USA have done throughout. Perhaps it is because the Germans have played a slower, more calculated, conservative game. It looks as if it has been at times, a caution-first approach from the Germans.

They have not conceded in any of their four games at the tournament, so that indicates that they are playing to their defensive strengths. It is not as if they have been totally goal shy. Germany have scored at least two goals in five of their last seven games played. They have not conceded in any of their last five played and they are W6 D1 in their last seven fixtures. Top bookmakers have Germany at 7/5 to win to nil.

Sweden have quietly progressed throughout the tournament. They were happy to play second best to the USA in the group stage because it left them in the easier half of the knockout draw. The Swedes had to grind out a 1-0 round of sixteen win against Canada. Sweden are W5 L1 in their last six games with a clean sheet in three of those. They lost 2-1 in a friendly against Germany back in April and are 12/5 underdogs To Qualify from this one.

Karolina Pliskova v Angelique Kerber
Eastbourne Tennis Final
BBC

This should be some showdown at Eastbourne on Saturday in the final of the Women’s draw. Pliskova and Kerber are expected to be leading contenders when Wimbledon kicks into gear next week. Kerber is 7-4 up over Pliskova in the head to head and has won the last three non-Fed Cup matches against the Czech player. Kerber also won the only previous grass court meeting between the two players. Another huge benefit that the German received was a walkover in the semi-final of this tournament.

Put all that together and Kerber sounds like a favourite for this, but the leading bookmakers have her as 6/5 underdog. That’s because Pliskova has been in scintillating form at Eastbourne. She hasn’t dropped more than three games in any of the last three rounds of the competition. That includes her 6-1 6-2 win over third seed Kiki Bertens in the semi-final. Pliskova is at 4/6 odds to win the final on Saturday in what should be an absorbing contest.

New Zealand v Australia
Cricket World Cup – 1.30 pm
Sky Sports

It is a battle for top spot in the Cricket World Cup standings on Saturday. Old rivals New Zealand and Australia go head to head in a fantastic match at Lord’s. Australia are topping the table having won six of their seven games played so far and they made a big statement in their most recent game, a big 64 run victory over hosts England.  That was played at Lord’s where this contest is being held. Australia are 1/2 odds-on favourites with top bookmakers to beat the Kiwis.

In the last ten completed ODI internationals between the two nations, things are even at five wins each. It has been a while since they met each other though, not having come into contact with each other since 2017, a three-match series which New Zealand won 2-0. New Zealand need a win in this one to guarantee that they get a top-four finish.  They will also be looking to put their first loss of the tournament behind them.

New Zealand couldn’t handle the slower pitch at Headingley in their last contest against Pakistan. That ended New Zealand’s unbeaten streak at this year’s World Cup. But the conditions at Lord’s should them a bit better. But they will be wary of what Australia did to England recently at the ground. The top order for New Zealand are going to have to play a big part here and with captain Kane Williamson in superb form, they will have their backers at 13/8 underdogs.

Uruguay v Peru
Copa America – 8.00 pm
Premier Sports

It has been a fairly comfortable ride for Uruguay so far at the Copa America 2019. They topped their group with a W2 D1 record. They did have a little bit of work to do in their final match as they were up against Chile in a battle for top spot. However, a late goal from Edinson Cavani got the Uruguayans the victory.  The win over Chile leaves Uruguay at W5 D1 in their last six games. They have taken a clean sheet in five of those six games. The top bookmakers have them as 8/13 favourites to win this game, which will probably one of the best bets of the day for punters.

Peru, who have taken top-four finishes at two of the last three editions of the Copa America only got through to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams. Their success came against Bolivia after having drawn their opening game 0-0 against Venezuela. The Peruvians got a 5-0 thumping by Brazil in their final game. Peru have lost seven of their last thirteen games played. They have managed to take just the one win in their last four (D1 L2). They look a bit short of the quality to defy 5/1 underdogs odds, but they have surprised in recent Copa America tournaments.

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France Women v USA Women
Women’s World Cup – 8.00 pm
BBC

This is the heavyweight showdown of the Women’s World Cup 2019. It is a big enough game to have been the final itself. But that never looked likely to be the case as both were favourites to win their respective groups which was always going to set up this quarter-final showdown. So who wins this epic duel? It is the USA, the reigning World Champions, who are the 6/5 favourites at leading bookmakers. How many punters will jump on that as one of the best bets of the day?

They were scoring for fun in the group stage, rattling off 18 unanswered goals in their three straight wins over Thailand, Chile and Sweden. But in their toughest game against Sweden, their opponents sent out an under-strength side so it wasn’t a real contest. It is notable that their star forward Alex Morgan has gone really quiet since their first game. Spain showed up well against the Americans in the round of sixteen. The USA had a really testing time against the Spaniards who were set up so tactically well to frustrate them. The USA got a 2-1 win, both goals coming from Megan Rapinoe penalty kicks.

France had a tough round of sixteen tie against Brazil, which they needed extra time to get through. There have been moments of real power in the tournament from France. They have looked explosively brilliant at times, but at others have had to show their grit. France realistically looks the only team left in the tournament who can match up to the physicality and speed of the USA. The only ones who can match them for pace and power. They have such a strong core through Wendie Renard, Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer. With the home support behind them, can the 9/4 underdogs eliminate the reigning champions?

Taylor Fritz v Kyle Edmund
ATP Eastbourne Tennis – 4.00 pm
BBC

British number one Kyle Edmund is through to the semi-finals of Eastbourne. That’s great news for the home support heading to Wimbledon next week. It raises the hope that the former Austrian Open semi-finalist can make something of a splash at SW19 in the upcoming Grand Slam. Edmund hasn’t been in the greatest of form this season to be fair, but with this run to the semi-final ( having beaten two fellow countryman in Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans), he could be peaking on the grass at the right time.

Kyle Edmund is the 4/6 favourite to win this match with leading bookmakers. This will be the first meeting between Edmund and young American Taylor Fritz. Edmund is ranked 31st in the world with Fritz at 42nd. Fritz was carrying a W13 L16 record for the season heading into Eastbourne. He did participate on grass at Halle recently but lost to Roberto Bautista Agut, scoring a big fat doughnut in the second set of that first round tie. Fritz has dropped just one set on his way to the semifinals of Eastbourne but is the 6/5 underdog against the big-serving Edmund.

Venezuela v Argentina
Copa America – 8.00 pm
Premier Sports

This is going to be a fascinating showdown in the quarterfinals of the Copa America. That is because Argentina need a bit of a reboot really after some struggles through the group stage of the competition. They were rocked onto their back foot in their opening game as they couldn’t break down Colombia. Colombia then pounced with two late goals to sink the Albiceleste. That was at least Argentina’s easiest game out of the way. But in their second group stage fixture, Argentina struggled as well.

They had to fight back from being a goal down against Paraguay, Argentina getting their response from a Lionel Messi spot kick. But then they had a lucky escape as Paraguay failed to convert a penalty of their own following that. They then delivered a bit of a nervy 2-0 win over Qatar to get themselves a place in the quarterfinals. Argentina have made it to the final of the last two Copa Americas but lost them both on a penalty shootout against Chile.

Venezuela did a good job in their group stage campaign. It looked as if they were happy to battle through their first couple of games, tougher fixtures against Peru and Brazil and then take their chances against the outsiders Bolivia. Venezuela played out a 0-0 draw against Peru before claiming a point with the same scoreline against Brazil. They then burst into life to post a 3-1 win over Bolivia to take second place in the group behind the Brazilians. Venezuela are actually in decent form having only lost one of their last eleven fixtures. Back in March, they beat Argentina 3-1 in a friendly. They are 5/1 with leading bookmakers to knock them out of the Copa America 2019.

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This year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup has gone under the radar this summer. With the Women’s World Cup in France and the Copa America in Brazil receiving a majority of the attention, the 15th edition of the tournament being hosted in the USA, Costa Rica and Jamaica has struggled to fill the column inches of past years.

We are down to the quarterfinals after the procession of the group stages in which nearly everything went as expected. Perhaps the only shock came in Group B, where the “Ticos” of Costa Rica had to settle for second spot after losing to Haiti in their final group game. This means that Haiti have the favorable assignment of Canada in the last eight, whereas Costa Rica have to face Mexico in Houston – a Mexico outfit that have scored 13 goals in their three wins so far in this season’s competition.

The other two quarterfinals see Jamaica play the 2018 World Cup minnows Panama, as well as the USA playing the tiny Caribbean Island of Curacao – a side that scraped though Group C having scored only two goals, winning once against Honduras. An interesting comparison between the two sides is their gulf in population: USA’s 327 million vs. Curacao’s 160,000. It’s truly David vs. Goliath when they meet in Philadelphia.

Sitting in opposite sides of the draw, the likelihood of a Mexico vs. USA final is creeping ever so closer. The last time these two powerhouses met for a Gold Cup final was in 2011 where a 4-2 thriller saw “El Tri” scoop their 6th crown at the time. These two sides have claimed 13 titles between them in 14 editions, with Canada breaking the trend in 2000 reaching their first final, beating Colombia in the final.

The USA negating the threat of Jamaica in the semifinals is arguably the biggest hurdle in order to land a Mexico-USA final. Jamaica have looked strong in recent years – in comparison to the rest of the Gold Cup competitors – but with just one win in their underwhelming group, the “Reggae Boyz” won’t be entering the knockout stages with the most confidence.

With 10 goals between them, the combined forces of Mexico’s Uriel Antuna and Raul Jimenez as well as Gyasi Zardes for the USA will be looking to canter past Canada’s Lucas Cavallini and Jonathan David in the race for the competition’s top goalscorer prize. Upon the assumption that Mexico and the USA have three games left each, either of the three are worth a punt – Zardes will be looking to add to his tally in Sunday’s tie against Curacao.

Mexico @ 1.42 (Marathon Bet) and USA @ 1.62 (Marathon Bet) are both priced short at reaching the final, but it’s hard to envisage either team stumbling en route to a Chicago showdown. The Mexicans have started the strongest but will have to play well to get past a plucky Costa Rican side. To hedge against this outcome, backing Costa Rica to win the tournament @ 15.00 (Marathon Bet) is worth a small stake.

It’s a fairly one-sided weekend of boxing – the type of weekend where it becomes hard to squeeze value out of the selected markets on offer. There are a number of cards with champion taking on an under-matched challenger; a fairly common occurrence in our sport.

A four-fold on the following four winners is priced up as 1/2 (BetVictor). If markets become available for the method of victory then single bets would return well, however, a four-fold on the winners market is the safest option this weekend.

Kal Yafai vs Norbelto Jimenez

Yafai is Britain’s longest-reigning world champion, however, the 25-0 30-year-old is struggling to land a big fish and a big pay day in the sport. Super flyweight unification has to be the priority following this straight-forward defence in Providence. Jimenez has eight losses on his record – sure, they all came in his first 11 fights, but “Meneito” hasn’t boxed anywhere near this level on previous occasions. It should all be a bit much for the challenger, with Yafai running rings around him.

Yafai by unanimous decision

Richard Commey vs Ray Beltran

Commey may be adapting to life as a champion, but the 32-year-old has shown more than enough since his back-to-back losses in 2016 to prove he belongs at this level. The Ghanaian holds fire in both hands with an aggressive approach proving successful at lightweight; his relentless desire to throw punch after punch makes him a fighter who’s very easy on the eye.

This output should prove pivotal against an ageing Beltran. The former world champion is enjoying a twilight period in his career but will struggle to find that one-punch power to trouble the champion. Beltran will march forward but is likely to get picked off by Commey, who could make this a miserable night for the challenger at range. Beltran will bring the fire, but Commey has too much over the championship distance. It could be a fun fight for the opening 4-5 rounds, until Commey starts cantering towards the finish line.

Commey by unanimous decision

Demetrius Andrade vs Maciej Sulecki

With an awkward southpaw stance and a well-conditioned gas tank capable of cantering into the championship rounds of fights, “Boo Boo” is the dark horse of the middleweight division – that’s if you are willing to consider a world champion a “dark horse”. It may take Sulecki the first half of the fight to work out the slick style of the WBO titlist, and by then, it will probably be too late for the Polish challenger to make a real mark on the fight. Sulecki has been hurt in three of his last four fights, sure Andrade isn’t known for being a killer, but he packs a big enough left hand to trouble “Striczu” when he begins to run out of ideas. I can see a late stoppage coming off the back of an Andrade flurry.

Andrade by TKO, KO or disqualification

Jermall Charlo vs Brandon Adams

Jermall will be looking to silence the critics against Adams following his controversial win last December against Korobov. The Russian had plenty of success against Charlo, with his southpaw stance allowing left hand after left hand to connect. Adams is better suited to the champion, with the challenger expected to keep his distance in a fight where he needs to stay out of range of Charlo’s length. Adams may try and outbox the champ in the early stanzas but will eventually be backed up – as soon as the pair engage in a fire-fight there will only be one outcome. Adams has shown improvements over The Contender series, but this is a huge step up.

Charlo by TKO, KO or disqualification

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When South Africa take on Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street in Durham on Friday, only one of the two teams will still have a chance of reaching the World Cup semi-finals, but it isn’t the team you’d expect.

South Africa were not predicted to be among the top tier of teams at this year’s tournament, but they were considered to be realistic top four contenders, despite the absence of the retired AB De Villiers. But instead, they’ve played some of the worst cricket seen from a Proteas side in recent years, losing five of their seven games so far, and with just one win to their name, against the lowest-ranked team in the competition, Afghanistan, they have already been effectively eliminated from the competition.

Little was expected from Sri Lanka, by contrast, as the 1996 winners went into the tournament without any form and having opted for what looked like an unbalanced squad, dominated by veterans.

But although the Sri Lankans haven’t exactly set the tournament alight, they have played some good cricket, and with three games to go, can still force their way into the top four, though they will probably have to beat India in their final game and also hope other results go their way.

Sri Lanka could also argue that they’ve had the worst of the English weather. They are the only team in the competition to have suffered two wash outs. Both of those no results came in fixtures against beatable opponents in Pakistan and Bangladesh, so they could conceivably have been two points better off than they currently are, and a lot closer to a top four spot.

Those washed out games, their third and fourth of the tournament, have made it hard for them to build up any momentum, but after losing their fifth match to Australia, they gave themselves some hope by scoring a sensational victory over the tournament favourites and hosts England. Having been restricted to a total of just 232 at Headingly, Sri Lanka were grateful to their veteran bowlers Lasith Malinga and Isuru Idana, who took six wickets between them as they skittled the powerful England batting line-up for a paltry 212 to secure an unlikely 20-run win.

It is slightly surprising, therefore, to find South Africa rated as favourites for this game with bookmakers. In fact, BetCris rate Faf du Plessis side as the -210 favourites, with Sri Lanka available at +165. While the Sri Lankans still have a lot to do if they are going to get into the top four, they have played better cricket than their opponents, who have been consistently underpowered with the bat and who have proven surprisingly ineffective with the ball in English conditions.

Momentum can count for a lot in one day cricket, and with the benefit of that morale-boosting victory over England, Sri Lanka will certainly fancy their chances of beating a South African team with nothing to look forward to other than the flight home.

The 2019 World Cup is the twelfth edition of the tournament, and the fifth to be held in England, after the first three in 1975, 1979 and 1983, and the 1999 renewal.

The latest edition has produced many of the familiar thrills and spills that we expect from the biggest cricket tournament on the planet and fans tuning in to the tournament on SKY have already been treated to some spectacular catches and thrilling batting feats.

But in one respect, this tournament is breaking new, or at least, relatively new ground. Changes to the format have been a regular feature of the World Cup and there have been numerous tweaks and adjustments along the years to try to find the best way to pack in a large number of games in the space of a few weeks, while still ensuring that a worthy winner is found.

In the first few years of the World Cup, only eight teams took part, and in the 1975 and 1979 editions in particular, the tournament wasn’t taken entirely seriously. But since the 1996 edition, there has been an effort by the ICC and the tournament organisers to boost the number of teams taking part. That number rose from 9 in 1992 to 12 in 1996 and had settled at 14 for 2011 and 2015.

But while the expansion of the tournament to include more non-Test playing nations has helped to encourage cricket’s growth in new parts of the world, it also led to criticisms about a dilution in quality, with many of the games being one-sided affairs. The introduction of a Super Eight stage to some tournaments, in which the best eight teams played in a mini league after the initial Group stages, did little to quell those criticisms and so this time round, the ICC have acted.

For the first time since 1992, there are fewer than 12 teams taking part. The nine Test-playing nations along with Afghanistan have made up this year’s edition, with a simple ten-team Group stage, followed by semi-finals and a final; a similar format to that which was used for the widely acclaimed 1992 tournament in Australia and New Zealand. So, has it worked?

The answer appears to be yes, with one or two qualifications. There have been several one-sided games, but most of these have involved established Test-playing nations, such as South Africa and Sri Lanka, and are largely a consequence of the improvements made by the better teams such as India, England and New Zealand in the fifty over format.

There have also been one or two shocks. Tournament favourites England have been beaten by both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan came very close to pulling off the ultimate World Cup shock by beating India. So from the perspective of fans looking at the best World Cup cricket odds on the Big Bet Bookmakers site, there has been enough unpredictability to make this competition interesting.

Some will be concerned that the absence of most of the smaller teams in world cricket has diminished the tournament, but so far viewing figures and online interest appears to suggest that the competition had been a success, and the fact that teams such as Afghanistan can earn a place in the World Cup, and that it is, in theory, possible for a Test-playing nation to miss out under the new qualification system, means that the door is still open for minor teams to make history.

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France Women v USA Women
June 28th, 2019 – 8.00 pm
BBC

The Women’s World Cup 2019 is starting to really get down to the business end of things now. On June 28th, the biggest match of the tournament so far will be going down. Host nation France will be standing up to the reigning champions the USA. This is going to be some heavyweight duel, worthy of being a fitting finale.

It puts the pre-tournament favourites France against the current favourites the USA.

So this is going to be one worth tuning in for and it can be watched on the BBC as all of the matches from France 2019 can be. So who wins this duel? The top bookmakers have France as the 13/5 underdogs against the favouritism of the USA at 11/10.

The inevitable conclusion

When the draw was made, this appeared to be an inevitable clash down the line. France and the USA were first and second favourites in the outright winner market respectively, and both were expected to win their groups. They both did so with relative comfort as well and that left just the round of sixteen standing between this showdown.

Surprisingly they both had some tougher challenges in the first knockout stage, which actually just ramps up the interest ahead of this quarter-final tussle. The most notable aspect from their round of sixteen fixtures is that both of them looked to have some weaknesses. So they will each have been watching each other and looking to get their tactics right on the day.

France’s progress

France were spectacular in their opening game, taking a 4-0 win over South Korea. They were once again brilliant and unplayable during the first half of their second group stage match against Norway. But when captain Wendie Renard scored an own goal in the second half to tie up the game, France suddenly looked a lot more shaky. They still got the win, with star striker Eugenie Le Sommer converting a somewhat dubious penalty kick.

The French then needed a spot kick, a retaken spot kick at that, to see off a resilient Nigeria in their final group stage match. So the French had to trade some of their power and flair for a bit of grit at times. They certainly did in their round of sixteen tie against Brazil. With Brazil only managing third place in their group, that left France with little reward for actually winning theirs. That was no easy tie for France and it was a huge potential banana skin that they faced.

It was a great game, another one dominated by VAR. Valerie Gauvin put the hosts ahead in the 52nd minute of the game to set Le Havre rocking. But then Brazil, who started to throw more and more caution to the wind, equalized around ten minutes later through Thaisa. That sent the tie to extra time. Then came the big moment of the tournament for one of France’s superstars, Amandine Henry. She slotted home in the 107th minute to send the French though. But they came under some pressure when Brazil got at them.

USA struggle after dominant group stage campaign

The group stage campaign was all too easy for the USA. None of their matches were anywhere near competitive. The Americans, who are the reigning World Champions, started with a 13-0 win over Thailand, Alex Morgan getting a five-goal haul in the game. It was a routine 3-0 win over Chile in their second match, and it was only an astounding performance from Chilean goalkeeper Christiane Endler which kept the score down.

The USA then faced Sweden in their final group stage match. The Swedes were easily the USA’s biggest challenger for top spot. At least they would have been, but they sent out an under-strength side, resting players. In doing so Sweden finished second and went down to the easier bottom half of the draw. So understandably they didn’t care about not winning that game. It meant that the USA were dominant in the fixture and the Swedes barely laid a glove on them. The Americans won 2-0.

Then it was a game against Spain for the USA in the round of sixteen. The Spaniards looked short of a goal scoring threat and were big underdogs. But they produced a tactically sound defensive performance and got a goal after the USA were forced into an error at the back. The USA did win that game, but only thanks to two penalty kicks converted by Megan Rapinoe. But they showed vulnerabilities in that fixture, more than enough to pique the interest of the other remaining nations. The Americans showed that they are a little bit human after all.

Form comparison

France are in wonderful form. They were on an eight-match winning streak before their 1-1 draw with Brazil (that’s counting over 90 minutes only). In their last eighteen games, they have produced a W16 D1 L1 record. That’s some phenomenal form behind them. The French are W5 D2 in their last seven World Cup matches (90 minutes). Their World Cup campaign four years ago was ended in the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout against Germany.

The USA have won their last nine games on the bounce. They have conceded in just one of their last eight. USWNT have scored at least two goals in each of their last nine fixtures and even though they were pushed by Spain, they can hardly been knocked. What about their form in World Cup matches? That is a nine-match winning streak that they are on. They have conceded just one goal in their last ten matches at the World Cup Finals. The USA are the reigning World Champions.

Head To Head

There has only been one World Cup meeting between the two nations. That was back in the 2011 edition when the USA took a 3-1 victory. But France have actually remained undefeated in their last three games against the Americans now, winning two of those three. Their most recent meeting was earlier this year when France took a 3-1 international friendly success.

Players To Watch

It’s surprising that USA superstar Alex Morgan has gone so quiet. She had that amazing first match at the tournament, scoring five goals against Thailand. She was then rested in their second game and she has barely produced anything of note since. Morgan was anonymous in their round of sixteen win over Spain, the opposition doing a wonderful job of keeping her quiet. But how quiet is Morgan going to stay?

For France, they are blessed with amazing talent from Eugenie Le Sommer, Wendie Renard to Amandine Henry but there has been an unsung hero and that is Amel Majri. She’s a left-sided midfielder who is playing at left back. She creates so many chances and has been amazing down the left flank in attack and getting crosses over. Majri has three assists in the tournament. She is a tremendous supply line for the French forwards.

Summary

While VAR has grabbed more headlines (largely for all the wrong reasons) than the football at this tournament, hopefully, it’s the reverse in this one. It is such a wonderful setup, the two strongest teams in the tournament on a collision course before the final.

Regardless of who it is who comes out on top in this fixture, they will be the outright favourites to go on and lift the title. Will the French be able to delight the home support? Or will the USA continue their dominance on the world stage?

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