Trouserdog78 Football Tips

There's nothing flashy or clever about this bet: Switzerland should be far too good for Qatar, who tanked in the last World Cup, despite hosting, and haven't played any opposition of Switzerland's calibre in the run up to this tournament. (The nearest is probably Ireland and Tunisia: they lost both games 0-1 and 0-3 respectively.) For some years now, the Swiss have operated at a level just below the top European sides, but they can cause any team problems on their day. This puts them at a much higher level than Qatar, and while this bet isn't going to win any prizes for value, it's a solid selection to boost an acca.

Seven of Brazil's last 8 games have gone BTTs-Yes. Even Panama managed to put 2 past them (albeit in a 2-6 defeat.) In the last twelve months, two other North African heavyweights, Egypt and Tunisia, neither as strong as Morocco, scored against them too. Morocco are very capable defensively, but recent games against South American teams, Paraguay and Ecuador ended with both teams scoring (2-1 win for Morocco in the forner, 1-1 draw in the latter.) Morocco's most recent game also eded 1-1 v Norway. Opening games can be cagey, but these are two sides capable of scoring.

Ecuador are notoriously difficult to break down and have a spate of recent low-scoring draws against similarly-ranked opposition to Ivory Coast. Two 1-1 draws in March against Netherlands and Morocco and three draws against USA, Mexico and Canada all sit tellingly on their record. They'll be happy enough to start their campaign with another stalemate given that they'll probably beat Curacao later in the group stage. Ivory Coast have posted some impressive results recently - notably a 2-1 win against France and a 4-0 romp v South Korea. They've gone under the radar a little, with most of the attention on Morocco when it comes to African contenders. Just like Ecuador though, a draw will suit them given the make up of the group.