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We’re back for more World Cup tips, picks, and predictions at WorldCup22! When Switzerland takes on Cameroon, who do you think will come out on top? Is Song in the form of leading his team to victory over Uruguay? Can Portugal beat Ghana’s performance? Can Serbia offer Brazil a competitive match? Let’s find out.
Picks
Switzerland
The Swiss can’t afford to sputter out of the gate, especially with Brazil waiting for them in their second encounter. It could all depend on the skilled playmakers in the middle of the field for both teams. Granit Xhaka of Switzerland has been fantastic for Arsenal, and Xherdan Shaqiri is still a miracle worker for Switzerland whenever he dons the national team jersey.
After finishing his Major League Soccer season with the Chicago Fire on October 9, Shaqiri should have plenty of time to recuperate and prepare for his upcoming match against FC Lugano in Qatar.
Note that Switzerland has other scoring alternatives up front besides only him. The likes of Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo, and Noah Okafor will definitely make the World Cup 2022 livestream more exciting. So, Shaqiri isn’t completely on his own in the final third.
Cameroon
An extra-time goal from Karl Toko Ekambi sent Cameroon to Qatar in dramatic circumstances. The Indomitable Lions may not have good World Cup chances due to their recent puzzling loss to Uzbekistan.
Cameroon has produced some quality athletes, such as Karl Toko Ekambi of Lyon, Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting of Bayern Munich. All have played at the highest level in their respective countries and should be ready to take on Switzerland.
Uruguay
While everyone is watching Luis Suarez and Darwin Nunez up forward, Uruguay’s journey to the quarterfinals will be determined by how well they defend. From the seasoned Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez to the promising Sebastian Coates and Ronald Araujo, Alonso has plenty of options from which to select his back four.
After a dismal start to CONMEBOL qualifying, Uruguay has won six of their last seven matches while keeping a clean sheet in six of those contests. With their cunning and physicality, they do a great job of protecting goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Federico Valverde, two industrious midfielders for La Celeste who have matured and maybe the team’s breakout players at the World Cup, both enjoy impressive defensive records.
South Korea
Of course, Korea Republic would put up a fight despite the seemingly insurmountable barrier, especially with Son still working his way back from injury. Taegeuk Warriors will need to rely on their supporting cast of forwards, as Uruguay can easily deal with players like Hwang Hee-Chan and Hwang Ui-Jo.
Despite Son and company’s prolific goal-scoring in World Cup qualifying, scoring opportunities will be scarce for them in Group H. You may also check our World Cup 2022 fixtures Singapore time schedule page for the other matches.
Portugal
Portugal has been playing well in the run-up to this year’s World Cup. They have a strong squad from which Fernando Santos can pick, and he has established a solid core of players around whom to build his system.
Portugal’s defense has been as stifling as their offense has been devastating. Cristiano Ronaldo, whose recent interview might derail the team’s focus, is the first line of attack. Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, two of his Manchester United teammates, have already been asked about it.
Ronaldo’s off-form play won’t be a problem as long as rising prospects Rafael Leao and Joao Felix are on the field.
Ghana
To put it simply, Ghana has had trouble keeping talented teams from scoring. In a previous friendly against the Swiss, they kept a clean sheet despite their opponents clearly treating the game as a warmup by making a large number of substitutions.
They lost all of their other World Cup matches this year, allowing seven goals to Brazil and Japan while only scoring one themselves. They fell to the weak Comoros and struggled against Morocco in the group stage of the AFCON this year.
The Portuguese have allowed only three goals in their last eight games. Three of those goals were scored in June; two of them were scored by Spain in separate matches, while the other was scored by a Swiss header barely 50 seconds into the contest. The recent transfer of Inaki Williams from Spain to Ghana will offer them an offensive boost, but that won’t be enough to beat Portugal.
Brazil
Casemiro, the Brazilian midfielder, is an obvious choice, but his background information helps to back up the decision. His job, as the top defensive midfielder on the planet, is to prevent attacks from happening, whether he has the ball or not. Casemiro provides everything required of a destroyer.
Across every major sportsbook, Brazil is the favorite and they have the best World Cup betting odds 2022. It helps that among European midfielders, Casemiro ranks 94% effective at tackling, 84% proficient at interceptions, 99% proficient at blocking, and 97% proficient at clearing the ball.
Strong defensive midfield play puts players in perilous spots from which fouling is sometimes the best (or only) way out. Casemiro is one of the most cautioned midfielders in the league, having received the third-most yellow cards in La Liga in 2019-20, the fourth-most in 2021-22, and the second-most in Madrid’s Champions League-winning season.
Serbia
Casemiro’s protection allows Brazil to push the ball forward and release its full potential, but he is especially vulnerable to opponents who prefer to attack him head-on because of this.
Serbia’s 3-5-2 formation provides defensive stability while allowing for swift counterattacks thanks to the wingbacks’ bombing forays forward and the central attackers’ vertical runs. The causes of those assaults are where Casemiro’s problems will begin, though.
Casemiro will be charged with breaking Serbia’s numerical advantage and fouling, while Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be responsible for controlling the ball in the middle and moving forward in attack. In particular, Tadic excels at positioning himself to attract referee attention; he averaged slightly over 2.0 fouls drawn per 90 minutes in qualification play.
Predictions
Even though Switzerland is the clear favorite on paper, we know that underdogs with a point to show can flip any match on its head, as we saw with Saudi Arabia and Japan. The two sides could probably end up in a tie.
As a result of Uruguay’s bold decision to replace long-time manager Oscar Tabarez with Alonso, the team is now in excellent form, losing only once in their last nine matches. Even more so, with Valverde’s ascent, La Celeste now has a genuine rising star and the kind of talent that could be the X-factor in this situation.
Avoid the moneyline unless using it as part of a parlay, as Portugal are heavy favorites to beat Ghana. Although a Ghana victory is highly improbable, a draw would be beneficial if the team could find a method to irritate their opponent and capture some of the gains.
Serbia is no pushover, so Brazil will get a strong test of its strength. They won their group and sent Portugal to the play-in game by relying on two of the best attackers in the world: Aleksander Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic.Now that you are equipped with these betting recommendations, there’s no better time to bet and get your free World Cup bets at Solarbet than today!