The FIFA World Cup quarterfinals continue on Friday as two European heavyweights battle for a place in the final four. Spain have continued to impress with their disciplined displays throughout the tournament while Belgium arrive full of confidence after producing their best performance of the tournament in the Round of 16. We look at the match from a betting front below.
Spain vs Belgium
Spain have enjoyed another excellent World Cup campaign after progressing through the group stage unbeaten before recording two composed knockout victories. They began with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Cape Verde despite dominating possession before responding in style with a commanding 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. A narrow 1-0 win over Uruguay secured top spot in Group H having earned 7 points in their three matches.
Their Round of 32 encounter against Austria proved to be another solid performance. After a tightly contested first half where Spain found themselves 1-0 up, they broke away in the final 45 minutes, finding the net twice and ending the game with a dominant 3 goal winning margin.
Spain carried that defensive resilience into the Round of 16 against Portugal. In another evenly contested affair, neither side could find a breakthrough before Mikel Merino once again proved to be the hero, scoring in the first minute of stoppage time to seal a dramatic 1-0 victory and send Portugal packing.
Belgium have steadily gathered momentum throughout the tournament after recovering from a slow start in the group stage before producing two impressive knockout displays. They opened with a 1-1 draw against Egypt before being held to another stalemate in a goalless encounter with Iran. Belgium found their rhythm in their final group fixture, cruising to a dominant 5-1 victory over New Zealand to secure qualification.
Their Round of 32 clash against Senegal proved to be a thrilling contest. Belgium struggled throughout the match and ended up chasing a two goal deficit but eventually emerged with an entertaining 3-2 victory to advance to the last 16 after scoring two goals to draw the game level in the last 4 minutes and force extra time.
Belgium produced arguably their best performance of the tournament in the Round of 16 against hosts USA. Charles De Ketelaere gave Belgium an early lead before doubling both his tally and Belgium’s advantage midway through the first half. Although Malik Tillman pulled one back for the Americans before the interval, Hans Vanaken restored Belgium’s two-goal cushion after the restart before Romelu Lukaku added a fourth deep into stoppage time to complete a one sided 4-1 victory and book their place in the quarterfinals.
Head-to-Head
Spain have dominated the recent meetings between the two nations, remaining unbeaten in the previous six encounters with five victories and one draw. Their most recent meeting came in an international friendly in 2016 where Spain recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory over Belgium.
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Betting – Click here to bet
Spain 1.65
Draw 4.00
Belgium 5.50
Verdict
Spain have been one of the most disciplined teams in the tournament, remaining unbeaten while conceding no goals across five matches. Belgium, however, appear to be peaking at the right time after producing an outstanding attacking display against the USA and possess enough quality to trouble any defence. With Spain’s defensive organisation set to be tested by Belgium’s attacking firepower, this promises to be a closely contested quarterfinal that could be decided by the finest of margins and I can picture this going well over the 90 minute mark.
Some betting angles I like:
- The draw at 4.00
- Under 2.5 goals at 0.98
- Correct Score 1-1 at 8.50
BET: The draw at 4.00
Note: All prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
