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The World Cup is finally here. A few months later than normal but here nonetheless. And the team at RotoBaller has you covered for all your World Cup needs. We'll be bringing you DFS articles, game previews, and betting picks throughout the competition.
To get things going, we're previewing a different group every day until the big kick-off on Sunday, November 20th. We'll be predicting how each group will pan out, what to expect from each nation, and offering our favorite picks for every country involved. We'll be using units for each betting pick to track them, with 10 units being the maximum play for any pick and a total of 25 units played for each group.
Group C sees fancied Argentina, seeking to win their third World Cup, face-off against Mexico, Poland, and Saudi Arabia. Mexico will be making their eighth consecutive appearance at a World Cup, while Poland will be competing in their eighth total tournament, and Saudi Arabia their sixth. Group C looks set to throw up some interesting matchups with Argentina needing to avoid a couple of potential banana skins if they are to make a run at winning the trophy.
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Argentina Preview, Odds, Best Bet, and Predictions
Preview
Argentina qualified for the World Cup after finishing second in the South American qualification, going unbeaten in 17 games. They are third in the FIFA world rankings and second favorites to lift the trophy. Their last defeat came in July 2019, 36 matches ago and they won their 15th Copa America last year (their first since 1993). What’s even more remarkable is manager Lionel Scaloni had no previous managerial experience when he took over in 2018.
Argentina only made it to the second round of the 2018 World Cup, losing 4-3 to eventual winners France (a game they actually led 2-1 in after 57 minutes). They only scraped through the group stages courtesy of an 85th winner against Nigeria in their final group game and it marked the first time they’d failed to reach the quarter-finals since 2002. The two-time champions will have aspirations of making it three times in Qatar.
Prediction
Someone's got to win it all and I'm backing Argentina as the one to do it. This likely being Lionel Messi's last World Cup, their form over the last three years, and the fact they've had less fanfare than their South American neighbors has them set up perfectly to take home the trophy.
Favorite plays: To reach the semi-finals (+157) 8 units & To win the World Cup (+550) 5 units
Argentina’s form coming into the World Cup is arguably the best it’s ever been and only Brazil is more fancied by the bookmakers. But Argentina has been victorious in their last two matches against their bitter rivals. In recent times, they’ve come into a World Cup too reliant on Messi but this is a different team to those ones and there’s every chance they will instead carry Messi to his first World Cup trophy, in what will likely be his last.
Today's World Cup Sportsbook Odds - Group C
- DraftKings Sportsbook World Cup Odds - Bet Now on DraftKings!
- Poland to win the World Cup +15000
- FanDuel Sportsbook World Cup Odds - Bet Now on FanDuel!
- Argentina to win Group C -220
- Mexico to win Group C +490
- BetMGM Sportsbook World Cup Odds - Bet Now on BetMGM!
- Poland to win Group C +500
- PointsBet Sportsbook World Cup Odds - Bet Now on PointsBet!
- Argentina to win the World Cup +550
- Mexico to win the World Cup +15000
- Saudi Arabia to win the World Cup +100000
- Saudi Arabia to win Group C +3300
- Caesars Sportsbook World Cup Odds - Bet Now on Caesars
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Mexico Preview, Odds, Best Bet, and Predictions
Preview
Mexico will be making their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance and the previous seven all saw them eliminated in the second round. Twice they’ve managed to reach the quarter-finals, but on both occasions, they were the hosts (1970 and 1986). It’s always been a similar story for Mexico; getting through the group but having to face one of the top nations in the second round and coming up a bit short.
This time around, it looks set to be a battle between themselves and Poland to make the second round, and if they do, there’s every chance that France awaits them. But Poland will be no pushovers and Mexico’s form in the last two years hasn’t quite been vintage. Their opening game with Poland could go a long way to determining whether they make it eight consecutive second rounds at a World Cup.
Prediction
Mexico always seems to be good, not great at World Cups and I don't see that changing in Qatar. In what looks like a tough group, I fancy them to pip Poland to the second spot but that's as far as I expect them to go.
Favorite play: Stage of elimination – Second-round (+150) 4 units
I’m not playing this just because history tells me to. But I do think they’ll get out of the group, even if they don’t beat Poland in their opener. They are equipped to get something from Argentina but awaiting them in the second round will likely be France or Denmark, both of whom are currently in FIFA’s top-10 world rankings. It’s set to be a familiar story for the Mexicans.
Poland Preview, Odds, Best Bet, and Predictions
Preview
Poland’s last three World Cups have all ended in the same way; winning one group game, losing the other two group games, and being eliminated early. And on all three occasions, they lost their first two games before winning their final match. They face Saudi Arabia in their second game so surely that record will change but unless they get at least a point against Mexico, they may need to get a result against Argentina to get through the group stage.
Poland’s hopes will rely on star striker Robert Lewandowski and he’ll be desperate to perform well at the biggest soccer tournament having failed to score in his only previous World Cup in 2018. He scored eight goals in the qualifying campaign as they finished second in the group before beating Sweden in a playoff to reach Qatar.
Prediction
Poland has never quite got things right when it comes to the World Cup. They certainly have some talented individuals but regularly come up short against the better nations and I don't see that changing here.
Favorite play: To qualify from Group C – No (-108) 4 units
Poland’s form hasn’t exactly been sparkling. They avoided relegation in their UEFA Nations League group, finishing third behind the Netherlands and Belgium but only picked up one point in the four games against those two and they generally struggle against the better teams. I wouldn’t be shocked if they did get out of the group but recent form suggests it’ll be a struggle.
Saudi Arabia Preview, Odds, Best Bet, and Predictions
Preview
Saudi Arabia (51) comes into the World Cup as the second-lowest-ranked nation in the tournament, according to the FIFA rankings. This is their sixth World Cup, and they ended a 13-game winless streak at World Cups when they beat Egypt in their final group game of the 2018 tournament. They qualified for the World Cup by topping both of their groups and only lost one of their 18 total games.
Their squad comprises of players playing in their domestic league with 12 of the 26-man squad coming from Al-Hilal SFC, the reigning Saudi Champions. But this is a significant step up in quality and it’s difficult to know if the players are able to make that advancement. They will be buoyed by as close-to-home support as they’ve ever had but that won’t likely be enough to get them through the group stages.
Prediction
Maybe home support will help Saudi Arabia have some success in Qatar, but they look significantly weaker than the other teams in the group, and even picking up a point might be considered an achievement. Regardless, an early exit is on the cards.
Favorite play: Total goals conceded – Over 6.5 (+110) 4 units
One thing that’s been synonymous with Saudi Arabia at World Cups has been conceding goals. They’ve conceded seven or more in their last four World Cups and you would expect their trio of opponents this time around to have little problem finding the net against them. It’ll be a great story for one of the Asian nations to have a good run at the World Cup but Saudi Arabia looks as though they are least likely to do so.
Good luck with those World Cup bets and remember to bet responsibly!
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