One of the biggest favorites in World Cup gambling in the round of 16 is the Netherlands as they face Slovakia on Monday.
The Netherlands was unbeaten in group play as they won all three of their matches while Slovakia had a win, a draw and a loss vs. World Cup betting odds.
World Cup gambling listed the Netherlands as one of the main contenders to win the World Cup and they have lived up to that advance billing. They are coming off a 2-1 win over Cameroon in their last game in Group E. The Netherlands has been simply unbeatable. They are the first time since Brazil in 1982 to win all of their qualifying matches and all of their group games. Robin van Persie scored against Cameroon and Arjen Robben had an assist on the game winning goal. The Netherlands scored five goals in their three group matches and allowed only one.
Slovakia is a surprise entrant into the round of 16. They were not supposed to advance to the knockout round but Italy was so pathetic that Slovakia was able to move on with a win, a draw and a tie. Paraguay won Group F with five points while Slovakia finished second with four points. Slovakia came from last place in the final match up to second place as they defeated defending World Champion Italy 3-2. Robert Vittek scored twice for Slovakia and they got a very surprising win vs. the World Cup betting odds. It is the first time that Slovakia is in the round of 16 as an independent country.
Slovakia could continue their surprise run if they get more goals scoring from Vittek. The Netherlands has been tough defensively so Slovakia will need to find a way to get through. Slovakia head coach Vladimir Weiss was apologizing before the Italy game for his team’s play but now he has some people singing his praises. The players have been very unhappy with the media back home and most of them simply ignored reporters after the win over Italy.
Slovakia still has their work cut out for them against a superior Netherlands squad. Slovakia advanced to the round of 16 despite being outscored 5-4 in their three group matches.