Wednesday World Cup Previews & Updated Futures Odds

Craig and Joe break down the thrill of World Cup games like Portugal vs. Congo and England vs. Croatia. Check schedules and find expert betting tips today!

View More

Video Transcript

And we'll start off with the World Cup, which, you know, what's, what's funny about the World Cup is, is that they seem to start these games whenever they want, you know?

Like sometimes they're 12 o'clock Eastern- Mm-hmm sometimes they're 1 o'clock Eastern.

I thought there was a schedule, but I am so wrong about that.

So let's start off with one of the games in Texas today.

There's a couple, by the way.

This one is in Houston, and Portugal is taking on, Congo here.

It's a 1:00 PM Eastern game.

The latest spread that I see on the money line is pretty formidable here, unfortunately, if you like Portugal.

They're minus 350 here.

A tie is plus 450, and, yeah, if you go, Congo, it's, it's 10 to one.

So Congo's not supposed to compete today.

We did see some sideways, results two days ago.

Is this one of those you think that could go that way today?

Because unfortunately, that's really not what I'm seeing here online, in trending and anything else.

Yeah, no.

A- and listen, I mean, congrats to Congo for making it to the World Cup, right?

But their preparation time was limited to say the least here, Craig.

I think they had two, friendly matches.

They didn't win either.

they just, they It looks like they're gonna be so outmatched, so outclassed with a powerhouse like Portugal here, who has already, you know, secured in the friendlies, w- wins over, oh, I don't know, Team USA, Chile, Nigeria.

So yeah, you've got experience versus not a lot of experience here.

Kind of hard to look at anything other than Portugal here, but, it wouldn't shock me if they keep Congo off the board either.

Maybe a clean sheet here, and Portugal maybe a exact score, because I'm thinking we're in that four, 4-nil category here right now with them.

And then in Dallas, at 4:00 PM Eastern, Croatia has had success in the World Cup- and so naturally, you gotta keep this one tight, and that's what the line has showed us.

Do- England right now is minus 140.

As you can see, as opposed to Congo, Croatia, Joe, is plus 420.

So, that gives you somewhat of a fighting chance, and then look at the tie number here.

This is k- this is kind of tight.

Plus 270 here, so maybe that is the play today, because I do think we're gonna get a competitive match.

Well, you know, listen, England swapped coaches out, and the guy that they brought in, it's al- it's been all about defense.

And they brought him in purposely for this World Cup here, and in eight qualifying matches for this tournament, Craig, the team didn't concede a single goal.

So we're talking about, you wanna talk about defense, not exactly going to be, I think, the highest scoring game.

In fact, I would only look at the under here at around two and a half goals.

But, Croatia, to your point, they got a history, in this tournament, especially in opening matches where do not sleep on them, and I don't think, England will.

I just don't see a very high-scoring game.

I see one that's gonna be played very close to the vest, so I think the under a- and likely a one-nil kind of situation happening here.

And welcome back to the Early Line here on Sports Grid.

We've got our in-game live programming this afternoon getting you ready and in game for all of our World Cup matches.

But Joe, the big story at the World Cup thus far has been a firing of a coach.

Tunisia, fired their coach and have appointed Herv Renard as head coach through the end of the World Cup.

They lost five to one to Sweden.

who knows what Renard is really going to bring to the table here.

I believe they at least have one more match, maybe two, before they bid farewell, to this World Cup.

Of course, they're not going to probably win any matches, but a whole ba- bizarre situation in general, and considering that Tunisia was one of the final teams in or one of the last teams in to the World Cup, I'm not even really sure if they know what they're doing.

Yeah, well, they obviously don't.

So, a- and again, we mentioned this yesterday, Craig, that it, n- not one per- look at all of the power ratings across the board.

Look at the FIFA rating.

Nobody had Tunisia finishing anywhere but dead last in their group.

So I'm not quite sure what was expected here.

did they think they were gonna pull off an upset?

I'm not sure why you just didn't wait until the World Cup was over, but okay, we'll see if it lights a fire under these guys.

But I doubt that very much given the competition they're gonna be playing.

It's like the college football, coach bump where they fire the coach.

Yeah.

And then all of a sudden we're betting the other s- we're betting that side, right?

The next week.

oh, th- this, this battle with Mbapp and Messi for all-time goals continues, so Mbapp now leads after another great match for him, even with, of course, Messi scoring three.

He scored twice yesterday, and France wins three to one over Senegal.

This is a fun battle that they have individually going back and forth, and naturally, France is one of those teams, Joe, that was kind of a sleeper to potentially win it all.

It feels like every f- four years they are, and they are again this year.

I, I, you know, remember back in 2022 when Messi and Argentina beat Mbapp and France in a shootout to win the World Cup, and at that point Messi was 35.

Mbapp was what?

Almost 24 years old.

Messi scored twice and Mbapp scored three times, and yet neither guy has stopped scoring ever since here.

It's amazing, Craig.

The old guy is in the seats.

the guy is just, he refuses to go away.

And I, you know, call me crazy.

This could, they could be on a collision course here again, and history could repeat itself.

But France looked real good yesterday.

I mean, really good and, and certainly better than what Spain did for around the same price as a favorite, right?

To win this thing al- you watched those two teams play.

They were two different classes yesterday.

Chalk it up to a bad game for Spain, but France looked the part big time yesterday So did Norway.

Norway defeats Iraq by a final- Ooh of 4-1.

Erling Haaland got his World Cup moment, scoring twice as they took care of Iraq in Foxborough, Massachusetts to score his first ever World Cup goals after Norway failed to qualify back in 1998.

This is a really good start for them as well.

In fact, the stadium was pumped.

Look at all the fans that were there.

Yeah.

Kinda crazy.

Yeah, I mean, all the stands, by the way, in some of these games have been crazy.

Look at this.

Row, row, row your boat, I guess, gently down the stream.

Pretty funny.

Let's hear from Erling Haaland, who ended up getting the win in the match on, you know, certainly being called the best player, or not being called the best player in this case.

Statistically, no, I'm not.

I would say I'm, I'm up there.

I, I don't think I scored the most goal this, this season, so statistically, no, I'm not.

because, I think Harry Kane and, Mbappe scored more goals than me, and that's the reality.

So no, I'm not.

Still a lot of time to play though, and more World Cup matches coming for Norway.

As we mentioned earlier in the show, there's more time to play for Lionel Messi.

He delivered a legendary performance on Tuesday night, a hat trick to tie Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals.

Argentina wins 3-0, Joe, in this one, and it just seems like Messi is going to outlast any sort of individual predictions on him.

When you're 38 years old, you're not supposed to be performing at the World Cup at this level.

Should Messi still be good?

Of course.

Absolutely.

He's one of the best of all time, but he's playing better than anybody else on the pitch right now.

Yeah, I, I did not have a 38-year-old putting up a hat trick during his sixth World Cup.

Sixth.

They don't happen every year.

Sixth World Cup.

I didn't have that on my bingo card.

In fact, a lot of people were telling us, "Nah, don't count on Messi now.

38 years old."

Yeah, I'm very much counting on Messi continuing this, for the rest of the World Cup.

And as we go to the break, we show you Argentina crowing during the game.

Ooh.

And welcome back to Prediction Markets Edge here on The Early Line, where we take a look at Kalshi Poly Market and ways to potentially invest today on Sports Grid.

And I am Craig Mitch, along with Joe Ranieri.

Let's take a look at the first match of the day at the World Cup, which begins at 1:00 PM Eastern in Texas.

We have Portugal taking on Congo, where no one is giving Congo a fighting chance today.

Tie 17%, Congo 8%, Portugal, Joe, 77%.

Do you, can you make a case at all here for a tie?

Can you make a case at all here for Congo?

I, I mean, I, I, I guess the only thing that we could do is look back at Spain and Cape Verde and think to ourselves, "Is that the best scenario this afternoon?"

Yeah, n- no.

I- it's not gonna happen.

Again, I mean, Congo, congrats, but they, they kind of enter into this thing not having a ton of preparation.

They had just two friendly matches leading into the World Cup.

They got crushed in both.

that's gonna be a problem against a powerhouse like Portugal.

I mean, we've talked about Mbappe, right?

We've talked about Messi.

Well, today we're likely talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, are we not here?

scoring what?

62 of his 142 international goals usually in the first half.

I think that's maybe the better way to look here is that all the big name guys are finding the net, right?

They're finding the back of the net.

They're scoring.

Why not here?

I think there's gonna be quite a few Portugal goals.

I think not only, first half, I think full game.

And this is one where I would look at the alternate markets here, Craig, and say, "I don't know that Congo gets on the board in this one, but I bet you Portugal finds a bunch of different ways to score in this one."

All right, now the marquee game of the day has to be later this afternoon where England will take on Croatia.

Ooh.

And, right now England has 57% of, the, the investment there.

A tie is 26%.

Croatia is 19%.

We'll take a look at those markets real quick, but first, let's hear from star Harry Kane on the pressure from home.

The pressure of major tournaments, the expectation, the, the media, the everything that surrounds it, has not been, I don't think, easy to deal with as a, as a nation.

I think, you know, this generation has dealt with it as, as good as any, and been extremely close to, to getting over that line.

But I think it comes with the whole package.

You know, you need to be technically, good enough, physically in good enough shape, and then mentally obviously have the, have the right balance of what I touched on a little bit earlier of experience and youth and, and all that coming together.

So, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna need that in, in this tournament for sure.

I think when you've been knocking on the door as a, as a squad, as a nation, of the, of the winning a, a trophy, obviously the, the next one that comes along, there's more expectation.

w- definitely in the, in the last Euros I think we felt that, as a squad.

but coming into this one I feel like, yeah, we're maybe a little bit, more balanced in, in that sense.

And, you know, from like the bosses just said there, from what I've seen in prep camp, from what I saw in the Costa Rica match especially, was a team at, at a high, high level who are, who are ready to put in, all the effort, all the hard yards to, to be a successful team and, that's obviously pleasing to be a part of.

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel, he is the manager of England, they would certainly love to bring home the cup.

He said that he's dreaming of it, but also not being delusional dream.

We dream.

I think we have a right to dream, but we don't wanna be delusional.

We know that it comes with the responsibility, and the responsibility's on the effort.

We wanna put the effort in and, and then deserve the outcome.

I think no one expects us to, to, to give a guarantee that we win it.

No one expects that we promise to win it.

But the way we play, the way we arrive, and the way we try, I think, I think and I hope that they can feel it and they can be proud of us and, and to bring that joy, that's the, that's, that what's, that's the target and it's the, the, the overlaying or, or underlying, underlying purpose.

But Harry Kane and company, Joe, they have their work cut out for them because Croatia seemingly could potentially give England a battle today.

This is one of the highest tie percentages that we've seen in the first week of the World Cup.

26%, which tells you it could be a fun game.

But Joe, I know that you're in on the scoring total here.

You think maybe it could be a low-scoring game.

Is that right?

Absolutely.

I mean, Thomas Tuchel was brought in for England purposely to preach defense, and that's what the foundation of England is.

So that means that Croatia likely not gonna get a ton of chances in this one here.

And by the way, last time we saw these two teams actually meet, on the world stage here in real competition, it was one-nothing.

England ended up getting it done.

So I don't see that changing here.

I, I think both of these teams, very defensive-oriented.

Under two and a half goals, even though it's, a little pricey, I think that's the way to look, and build everything else around the under in this spot.

Welcome back to Prediction Markets Edge here on Sports Grid.

Craig Michel'h with Joe Renery getting ready to wrap up this edition of the show.

Before we do, let's take a look at some of the potential Golden Boot options over on Kalshi.

For those unfamiliar, this is basically the MVP.

They call it the Golden Boot of the World Cup.

Right now, 27%, Joe, on Mbappe, maybe because their team and their country expected to go deeper into the cup than Messi, but Messi is 23%.

Harry Kane of England at 11%.

Mbappe 27, Messi 23, Harry Kane 11, but hard to ignore that Messi performance, Joe.

Very hard.

a- and it's got he's not going away any time soon.

And then, you know, don't forget the, the France and Mbappe and Messi, battle back in 2022 was absolutely epic, and, yeah, this could be maybe one of the last times to get these guys at these prices, because the more they keep playing, the more goals they keep scoring, the more games they keep winning.

you know, you gotta buy low and eventually sell high, and now might be, now might be the time to jump into this market with those guys.

Golden Ball race also is on.

Very similar names here, and this is, for the top scorer.

So Messi's at 22%, Mbappe at 21%, Harry Kane 9%.

So a little bit of a flip there in terms of percentages.

Yeah.

Well, a hat trick'll do that to ya, and it'll get you, all sorts of love in the marketplace.

So can he keep it up?

I, I don't know.

Is anybody else on Argentina gonna score?

and your point about having enough games, and continuing to play long enough in order to be able to win this is also, into consideration.

But right now, again, Mbappe is It feels like, that might be the, the play here because I think the odds and the prices are only gonna get better as the tournament moves on.

The World Cup continent you can also predict over on Kalshi.

And it's funny that the US and Canada are only at 6%, so not a lot of love for winning the World Cup from those two countries.

But Europe takes 71% of the investment here, South America 19%, and as I mentioned- North America, and I guess that just pertains to the US and Canada at 6%.

well, yeah, right.

Mexico too, I think.

it will also have an opport But, let's face it, a North American team is not going to be in the finals nor are they gonna have an opportunity to win the World Cup.

Not this year anyway.

But I think even at 70 cents, that's, that's a pretty good opportunity to lock it in because most of the teams we have discussed, yeah, they are favorites for a reason, and, that might not be a bad investment at this point.

All right.

The World Cup winner, let's touch on this.

Right now it is up for grabs.

Spain took a little bit of a hit this week with their tie against Cape Verde, but I think they'll pop back up with another good performance later in the weekend.

France is at 18.7%, Spain 13%, Portugal 11, Argentina 10 and a half, England 10.4.

Is this the time to jump on Spain here, Joe, or are you a little worried after what you saw in the first match?

I'm a little worried, to be honest with you because, you know, it's one thing where nobody expects you to win.

it's a whole 'nother thing when everybody expects you to win.

It's a different, it's a whole different thing.

But I gotta tell you, I mean, England's, you know, England is built to win the way they play, their style of play, their defense.

They are built to go very deep into these kinds of tournaments.

And y- and before they even hit the pitch, you said what?

10 cents?

10, 11 cents?

It feels like England is only gonna go up from here, and maybe this time next week we'll be talking about England at about 20, 21 cents and, and likely doubling in price.

Quarterfinal qualification at the World Cup as we get ready to wrap it up.

Portugal is one of the teams potentially that could get there.

They're at 55%.

We have England also at 50% for the quarterfinals, and certainly, Joe, we'll learn a lot more about England this afternoon when they take on Senegal.

Last opportunity is to jump in some of these marks, 'cause, England handles business, handles it easily.

Yep, the money will start coming in.

But for the quarterfinals market, why not team USA after that opening?

They, they got Australia coming up, this week, but if they handle that pretty well, yeah, I kinda like Team USA's chances of not only winning the group, but also making it to the quarterfinals

Close