2018 World Cup Odds & Betting Preview Day 9 (June 22)

Friday’s action at the 2018 World Cup in Russia will feature two matches from Group E, as Brazil takes on Costa Rica and Serbia plays Switzerland. Group D action will feature Nigeria and Iceland, as Iceland tries to capitalize on their draw with Argentina and see if they can get four points after the day is over. In Group D, at this writing, Croatia leads the group with three points but faces Argentina on Thursday afternoon (Eastern time), Argentina and Iceland have one point each, and Nigeria is still looking for their first point. In Group E, Serbia leads with three points, Brazil and Switzerland each have one point and Costa Rica has no points. Check out our sports betting preview for Friday’s matches, including World Cup odds, TV and live streaming options, and perspectives on each tilt.

2018 World Cup Odds & Betting Preview Day 9 (June 22)

Belgium move up @stighefootball’s World Cup rankings after *that* Dries Mertens goal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/J7NgdJfqqi

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 18, 2018

Group E: Brazil vs Costa Rica (3:00pm local time, 8:00am Eastern time, FS1/fuboTV)

2018 World Cup Odds: Brazil -413 / Draw +535 / Costa Rica +1381 / O/U 3

For Brazil, all eyes will be on the right ankle of Neymar, which forced him out of training on Tuesday. He returned on Wednesday and was declared fit to play, but it will be interesting to see how much wear and tear he can put on it against a Costa Rican side that likes to play physical soccer. Against Switzerland, Brazil got a terrific goal from Philippe Coutinho in the 20th minute, only to see Switzerland get the equalizer from Steven Zuber just before halftime. Brazil possessed for 54 percent of the game and outshot the Swiss 20-6 (4-2 on target), but they were not able to add to Coutinho’s total. They will need better finishing to get by Los Ticos. Against Serbia, Costa Rica did a solid job of putting up a stone wall on defense, with Aleksandar Kolarov tallying the only goal for either side in the 56th minute. The possession was dead even, and each side had 10 shots (3 on target). Costa Rica rolled to the quarterfinals in 2014, but in their opener against Croatia, they looked their age up front, which is one reason why their shots never found one that would go through. Costa Rica is 1-6 all time against Brazil and 0-2 in World Cup meetings, and I don’t see that changing here. I would consider taking the “under” here, as I see Brazil getting up 1-0 or 2-0 and then pulling Neymar out and focusing on defense.

Group D: Nigeria vs Iceland (6:00pm local time, 11:00am Eastern time, FOX/fuboTV)

2018 World Cup Odds: Iceland +162 / Draw +218 / Nigeria +199 / O/U 2.5

Nigeria fell 2-0 to Croatia in their group play opener, but Nigeria helped the Croatians out with an own goal in the 32nd minute, which forced them to apply pressure forward, giving an opening for Luka Madrid to convert a penalty in the 71st minute. Nigeria did possess for 47% of the game and outshot Croatia 14-11 (2-2 on target) for the match. This is a side that plays solid defense and can exploit mistakes. However, Iceland has shown that they are no fluke, winning their UEFA qualification group and drawing Argentina in their group play opener. They didn’t flinch when Sergio Aguero scored for ARgentina in the 19th minute, getting the equalizer from Alfred Finnbogason in the 23rd minute. It helped that Lionel Messi was unable to convert from the penalty spot in the 64th minute, because Argentina possessed for 73 percent of the game and outshot Iceland 26-7 (7-3 on target). Iceland will need to show some more assertiveness on offense against Nigeria in order to gain the win — but as well as Iceland played in qualification — and dating back to Euro 2016 — I see them pushing to a win here.

Group E: Serbia vs Switzerland (8:00pm local time, 2:00pm Eastern time, FOX/fuboTV)

2018 World Cup Odds: Serbia +155 / Draw +230 / Switzerland +180 / O/U 2.5

Serbia enters this game with a chance to clinch a spot in the round of 16 with a win over Switzerland — and given that they face Brazil in their last group play match, they want to nail down their advancement here. They did a good job locking down Costa Rica in their opener, but now they face a Swiss side that does a better job on defense than Costa Rica. Switzerland managed their defense brilliantly, getting some key saves out of Sommer, their goalkeeper, and they got their goal by taking advantage of a chance to counter. These two teams are very even, but Switzerland knows that with a draw here and a win over Costa Rica they would have excellent chances of qualifying — and that with a win they could make advancement even more likely. I like the Swiss defense to manage this game and give their offense a chance to score as they did against Brazil. I’m taking the Swiss to win, and I’m taking the “under” here.