Spain Portugal Betting – Portugal Lacks Offensive Punch
Spain and Portugal are considered two of the bigger 2010 World Cup betting powerhouses but there is a big difference between the two: goal scoring. You might think that Portugal has the edge after they netted a total of seven goals in the opening round and didn’t concede a single one, but it’s in fact Spain who has the offensive punch and bettors might see Portugal end up goal-less again.
June 29th – 2:30 PM ET
Cape Town
Round Of 16
Team Spain – Betting Preview
Spain had a very slow start to their World Cup campaign and since soccer betting fans saw so many traditional contenders struggling, like Italy, France and England, many assumed that Spain in the same, sluggish boat.
As it turns out, that’s not the case. After a fluky loss to Switzerland, Spain bounced back with a big win over Honduras and Chile to emphatically claim Group H.
On the whole, Spain looked far more confident in their second and third games and really regained their form after a rough wakeup call.
They are a very complete team. With David Villa and Fernando Torres up front, the Portuguese defense is constantly going to be tested. The Red Fury’s midfielders have also really picked it up in the last two games, which has helped feed their strikers.
If they can continue to keep the possession and pass it around as beautifully as they have so far, they should have multiple opportunities to get the strikes they need.
Team Portugal – Betting Preview
Portugal had a ton of goal scoring issues heading into the World Cup and while many handicappers want to put them to bed after a big 7-0 win over North Korea, the reality is that they are still present.
Portugal couldn’t muster a goal against Brazil or Ivory Coast, which is somewhat of a concern. Obviously, those teams are fairly high caliber but Portugal didn’t really threaten them so much either.
The good news is that they have been really tight on their back end, which is a great sign. They haven’t allowed a single goal in the tournament so far and their defense has been real quality. We’ll see if it holds up against Spain.
Who To Bet On?
Cristiano Ronaldo is basically the entire offense for Portugal but as we’ve seen time and time again, it takes more than one weapon to get the job done. Betting fans saw this with Spain, who started the tournament with just David Villa up front in their loss to Switzerland, and then immediately started Villa alongside Fernando Torres in the team’s next game.
Betting fans know that he Red Fury have more offensive power and that will likely be the difference. Even if Ronaldo connects on a magical strike, Spain has the ability to counter. Meanwhile, if Spain gets up by a goal or two, Portugal, who hasn’t scored goals against anyone besides North Korea, might have trouble matching.
