Betting Previews & Tips for Dec 4 - World Cup 2022

Following a World Cup Saturday with no surprises, on Sunday, two more Round-of-16 matches will take place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The time is now for teams to step up their game and show the world that they mean business. Ready for some World Cup betting?

Group B winners England have a potential banana-skin tie against a fired-up Senegalese team, while the current world champions France will face Poland, who scraped through by the skin of their teeth despite losing their final group game. Can the two big teams do what is expected of them? Or will there be an upset? Who will advance to the quarter-finals?

France vs Poland

Odds:

• France 1.33
• Poland 11.00
• Draw 5.00

The first game of the day will be between 2018 World Cup winners France and Poland, who’ve twice finished third at FIFA’s showpiece tournament, but who, until now, haven’t reached the knockout stages since 1982. The pair will do a battle at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.

When they swept aside Australia on match-day one, the French were the first team to really lay down a marker in this tournament. They’ve looked strong in all areas so far and are clearly in Qatar to retain their crown.

We’ve seen a bit of everything from Didier Deschamps’ team. With someone like Olivier Giroud as a potential focal point, they can play direct and also get crosses into the box, while with no shortage of excellent ball players, they can play an attractive passing game too.

The French can also dig in and go long if need be, relying on the blistering speed of Kylian Mbappe, who has also given the French a real counter-attacking dimension at this tournament. Les Bleus know that they can draw teams onto them before exploding into action.

In contrast, the Polish have shown that they can’t do much, to be honest. That may sound unfair, but it’s been there for all to see that they’re only going to play one way. Their one style is a seemingly pragmatic one. They won’t try to attack too much, they’ll try to frustrate and keep things tight before hoping to steal something on a rare break or at a set piece.

From a sports betting point of view, it’s a tough fixture. The French are clear favourites for a reason, and they really ought to be winning this without too much fuss. At the prices, ‘France to Win to Nil’ appeals most.

Against Argentina, the Polish looked merely happy to keep the score down, which doesn’t exactly point toward them having a real go here. They’ll almost definitely look to contain the French, so it could be cagey, especially early on.

France are without a clean sheet in this tournament, but they kept both Denmark and Australia quiet, so much so that both were a little bit fortunate to find the net, while their much-changed team shouldn’t be judged too harshly for conceding once against Tunisia.

Poland lack the ability to get their main and probably only threat (Lewandowksi) in the game enough to do some real damage, which is why they’ve scored in one out of three so far, and they probably don’t have the defensive strength to hold off for 90 minutes against a French team stacked with offensive quality.

Betting Tips:

• Score Prediction 2-0 France
• France to Win to Nil @ 2.00
• Bookmaker: Bodog

England vs Senegal

Odds:

• England 1.45
• Senegal 7.50
• Draw 3.75

On Sunday night, England will take on Senegal at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

The Three Lions roared their way into the knockout stages with an emphatic win over the Welsh last time out, so they’re likely to be feeling confident ahead of this fixture. In contrast, it was a hard-working victory from the Senegalese, who relied on a 70th-minute winner from their captain and leader at the back, Kalidou Koulibaly, who popped up with a timely finish at the back post.

We’ve seen a little bit of everything from England at this tournament. They still retain the ability to be pragmatic, they can manage games and hang in there when needs be, while they certainly spring into life and put teams under tremendous amounts of pressure. Against both Iran and Wales, Southgate’s men showed clear final third quality, and the best bit is, they’re not heavily reliant on one player when it comes to end-product, they’ve got several options.

The Senegalese also showed plenty of offensive quality during the groups, which is just as well because they didn’t offer a great deal in terms of defensive resistance, conceding at least once in each of their three games in Group A.

In attack, though, Senegal have something to offer, for sure. Both Boulaye Dia and Famara Diedhiou offer power and presence in the box, while in Ismaila Sarr, they have an explosive runner who is great at beating players and also getting in behind. The Watford winger/forward will undoubtedly ask the England back-line a few questions that other teams haven’t at this tournament.

With both teams arriving here off the back of scoring multiple goals, and with both clearly showing more than a little bit in the way of attacking talent, ‘Both Teams to Score’ appeals at what may just turn out to be a generous price of 2.45.

Senegal’s rear guard has proven relatively simple to beat, so with England’s impressive and versatile front line, they’ve got what it takes to score, but we really should not rule out the Africans going the other way. They’ve scored five in their last two, while they’ve only failed to score once since March, and that was against the Dutch. Even then, they carved out numerous chances, so don’t be surprised if they upset this English back-line on Sunday.

Betting Tips:

• Score Prediction: England 2-1 Senegal
• Both Teams to Score @ 2.45
• Bookmaker: Betfair Canada