Uruguay has easily beaten Saudi Arabia 1-0 to reach the last 16 at the 2018 World Cup, but they upset many bettors with a narrow victory at -500, as they couldn’t cover the spread at -1.5 against massive underdogs, while the clash was ended way in the under of the total of 2.5 goals at +114.
Game Recap
It was arguably the worst performance of the 2018 World Cup so far, as we saw only a couple of decent scoring opportunities in 90 minutes of soccer, and it was obvious that Uruguay just wanted to get three points, even with only one goal in Saudi’s net. On the other side, Uruguay’s sturdy defense was too much for a weak Saudi Arabia side. La Celeste was a massive -500 favorite against the Green Falcons, so the bettors who wagered on the spread at -1.5 with the wages at -140 are certainly frustrated, while many wagered on the spread at -2.5 (+167), but they weren’t even close.
Likewise, rarely who could expect to see just one goal in this match, as the odds on the over 2.5 goals were -152, so those who wagered on the under are surely happy with their analysis. Considering what happened at Kazan Arena, even that one goal in Saudi’s net was accidental. In the 23rd minute of the first half, Saudi’s goalie Mohammed Al Owais misjudged Carlos Sanchez’s cross from the corner-kick, leaving his net empty so Luis Suarez had an easy job to score the winner for Uruguay. Besides the winning goal, nothing else from this clash is worth to mention.
Saudi Arabia had the ball on their feet for 53% of the time, taking eight shots towards Fernando Muslera, as three went on target. On the other side, Uruguay took 13 shots on goal, four of them on target, but they couldn’t endanger Saudi’s keeper who had to help La Celeste to get a winner.
Uruguay joined Russia in the Round of 16, and these two team will decide who will top the Group A table when they meet on June 25th, 2018. Uruguay will be a slight +150 favorite against Sbornaya, according to BetDSI Sportsbook, while the price on La Celeste to beat the 2018 World Cup is +2200. On the other side, Saudi Arabia will meet Egypt as a +400 underdog to grab a win, looking for their first goal of the tournament, while the odds on the over 2.5 goals are set at -108.