Sports Betting News

World Cup Update

With only two more Round of 16 games remaining soon there will be only eight teams left standing in the World Cup. The last two Round of 16 games will be played on Tuesday, when Paraguay takes on Japan and Spain faces rivals Portugal.

 

The Paraguay vs. Japan matchup could be the toughest one to call from the Round of 16. The oddsmakers at Bodog have it pretty close as well, with Paraguay a slight favorite at +105 while Japan is listed at +260. The draw odds for the match were set at +215.

Paraguay was a surprise winner of a Group F that was supposed to be won by defending-champion Italy. Instead, the Italians got the early boot. In the group stage Paraguay picked up a pair of draws versus Italy and New Zealand and a 2-0 win over Slovakia. Paraguay's three-man midfield of Enrique Vera, Cristian Riveros, and Victor Caceres has been playing great football so far, but they'll have to do without Caceres against Japan due to a two-yellow-card suspension.

Japan is the last remaining hope for Asia after South Korea was bounced by Uruguay. Japan wasn't expect to get out of the Group Stage, but impressive wins over Cameroon and Denmark allowed them to grab the second spot in Group E. Keisuke Honda has stepped up and become a force for the speedy Japanese squad, who have also played solid defense to get this far.

In the other Round of 16 match on Tuesday the tournament favorites will have their hands full with an always-tough Portugal squad.

After a disappointing 1-0 loss to Switzerland to start the tournament Spain took care of Honduras and Chile to win their group. David Villa continues to be a goal-scoring machine on the international stage with three so far, but Spain is still waiting for striker Fernando Torres to find the back of the net.

Portugal did not allow a single goal through the group stage after 0-0 draws against Ivory Coast and Brazil and a 7-0 drubbing of North Korea. Cristiano Ronaldo remains the face of the Portugal team, but with only one goal he hasn't provided much of an offensive spark.

Spain is an even-money favorite in the match at Bodog, while Portugal is a +285 underdog. The draw odds were set at +220.

Looking ahead to the Round of Eight the matches already set include Uruguay (even) vs. Ghana (+285), Argentina (+120) vs. Germany (+230), and Netherlands vs. Brazil.