South Korea vs. Portugal Betting Tips: Back Bruno to bag another
South Korea vs. Portugal Odds
Portugal are two from two in Group H and assured of qualification to the round of sixteen at the World Cup already, but their opponents in matchday 3 South Korea have it all to play for. They are tied with Uruguay on one point in the table, sitting ahead of Uruguay on goal difference. Currently in the coveted second spot are Ghana, who will be highly motivated for revenge for 2010 against Uruguay (and Luis Suarez) in their last game.
All three of Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana could qualify alongside Portugal and as we saw on Wednesday night there could be some crazy permutations as the games draw towards their conclusions. Portugal, however, are odds-on favourites (8/11) to end South Korea's (7/2) qualification dreams with victory while the draw, which would be useless to the South Koreans, is priced at 3/1.
The Portuguese have impressed in their two wins, with a five goal thriller against Ghana followed by a controlled 2-0 victory over a poor Uruguay side. Their star midfielders in Bernardo Silva and particularly Bruno Fernandes have brought the best of their form for the respective Manchester clubs to Qatar and with the waning but still mesmerising threat of Cristiano Ronaldo up top they are a force to be reckoned with. They will be keen to secure a perfect record through the group stages and here at BettingOdds we think they can do just that and one of their stars so far can have another field day.
South Korea vs. Portugal Tips
As mentioned in the introduction, Bruno Fernandes has been in arguably the best form he has ever shown for his national team at this World Cup. Bruno is the type of player who thrives on his football and so the timing of this winter World Cup, wedged into the middle of the European league season, has suited the Man United vice captain down to the ground. He is finally playing in the number 10 role which suits him best and every shot looks dangerous at the moment from the all action playmaker.
In 100 Premier League appearances Bruno has hit 38 goals, a fine record for someone predominantly playing in midfield, and his shot numbers when in good form are always amongst the highest in the league. South Korea's defence is quite simply not Premier League standard and with Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix to occupy the backline Bruno should find plenty of pockets of space.
Fernandes's price of 7/2 with William Hill looks a point or so too big to our eye, with his penchant for long distance shooting, his talent for getting into the box at the right time and the chance he will take some set pieces in dangerous areas (sorry Cristiano). We are backing him to hit the back of the net once more as our main bet for this Group H concluder.
Doubling down on Fernandes in the goalscorer department, he is a massive 22/1 to bag a brace once again in matchday 3, which looks once again too big a price to ignore. The South Koreans could end up desperate for chances if behind in this game, knowing they must win to stand any chance of qualification. This would leave an already poor defence stretched and Bruno has been the fulcrum of a predominantly counter attacking club side for years now.
Penalties have also been awarded for some seriously dubious cases so far in this World Cup, and although it is long odds-on that Cristiano Ronaldo will grab the ball and insist he takes the spot-kick, there must be a chance Bruno keeps penalty duty after his success against Uruguay. Additionally, Ronaldo probably won't play the full 90 minutes and when he is off there is no doubt who is Portugal's main man and set piece taker.
There are some enormous odds flying around for a Fernandes (150/1 generally) which could be worth a tiny wager for the reasons mentioned above, however for tipping purposes we will stick with backing Bruno anytime as the main bet and for a brace as the longshot.
