(Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

World Cup Group H Matchday 2 Odds: Uruguay need a result against Portugal

Group H kicked off in style with some brilliant matchups. Uruguay were held to a goaless draw in their opener, in a game they really should be winning. Especially considering who their next opponents are…

Portugal bear Ghana as expected but they were sure to make hard work of it. The action came in the second half and if it wasn’t for Inaki Williams slipping, it could’ve ended 3-3!

Everything is still to play for which makes this group very difficult to predict for the average bettor…

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South Korea vs Ghana

When? Monday 28th November, 13:00
Where? Education City Stadium
Latest Result: Ghana 4-0 South Korea, June 2014

South Korea started their World Cup campaign excellently. Many predicted Uruguay to cruise to victory in this one but their Asian opponents made sure to keep them at bay.

They showed some brilliant resilience to ensure that Uruguay had no way through. They only allowed them to have one shot on target in the 90 despite the attacking talent on show. Darwin Nunez, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez were all reduced to nothing.

However, on the attacking front Korea struggled. Heung-Min Son started the game despite his recent injury but he failed to make an impact. He will be hoping to change this on the 28th of November, but he will face some adversity from Ghana.

Ghana put in a spirited performance against an exceptional Portugal side. On paper, Portugal should be mopping the floor with a team on Ghana’s level but the reality couldn’t have been more different.

Ghana were strong in all areas and were able to halt Portugal’s advances for a large portion of the game. If they can perform as they did in the first hour of their opener, they’ll have no issue in keeping Korea away. Which leads us to our Group H matchday 2 pick for this one.

Ghana to win, both teams not to score: 33/10

Group H matchday 2 odds via 888Sport.

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Do you think Ghana will have what it takes?

Portugal vs Uruguay

When? Monday 28th November, 19:00 GMT
Where? Lusail Stadium
Latest Result: Uruguay 2-1 Portugal, 2018 World Cup

Portugal and Uruguay. Two giants of international football with star studded squads. The two favourites to qualify from the group, for good reason. This game has been one of the most anticipated fixtures of the World Cup so far.

Uruguay got off to a poor start, they couldn’t break down a South Korea side who should’ve been swept away. Nothing was sticking in attack but there was one massive takeaway for them. Fede Valverde. The Real Madrid midfielder was immense. He won almost every ball, drove his team forward and was just a whisker away from giving his side a 1-0 win late on.

He deservedly took home the man of the match award but he will be looking for more in his next game. He will be tasked with controlling the midfield in this game which will be no easy task, as Portugal’s midfield is incredibly gifted.

Valverde will be up against players such as:

Bruno Fernandes
Bernardo Silva
Otavio
Joao Palhinha
Ruben Neves

All of these players have phenomenal amounts of energy and quality, the midfield battle will be very tough in this one.

Portugal will be happy with the three points they earned in matchday 1, but Fernando Santos will not be satisfied with his sides’ display. It took them more than an hour to break the deadlock with a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty putting them in the lead.

This was followed by goals from Rafael Leao and Joao Felix to put them 3-1 up. Ghana were unfazed and continued to get at Portugal and were almost rewarded with a point. But as mentioned prior, Inaki Williams was unable to punish a goalkeeping error.

This game will be difficult for both sides and could go either way, but we think it’ll be the South Americans who come out on top…