Day 1 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is behind us and if we are to judge by the opening game when the hosting Russia team smashed Saudi Arabia with 5:0, the fans are up for a great tournament. Day 2 schedule will showcase some interesting duels, as Egypt meets Uruguay in the early game from group A, with the Pharaohs entering this game on a positive spirit after their star, and one of the Worlds greatest, Mohamed Salah, was cleared to play. The second game on Friday will be the duel between two not-so-attractive opponents, Morocco and Iran, with the Lions of the Atlas entering this matchup as the favorites. The icing on the cake off day 2 will be the clash between old foes, Spain and Portugal.
The BetDSI Sportsbook has released the odds for this game, favoring the Spaniards with +110 odds to win, despite the recent turmoils in Spain’s locker room. Namely, only one day prior to the World Cup kick-off, the President of the RFEF (Royal Spain Football Federation) Luis Rubiales, has decided to sack head coach Julen Lopetegui after finding out about his deal with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.
In order to act quickly, the Spanish Football Federation decided to appoint the director of football, Fernando Hierro, as Lopeteguis successor. Still, the crisis has not settled down for the Spaniards, according to the recent reports, stating that the teams’ captain and Real Madrid defenseman, Sergio Ramos, got caught in a heated debate with Luis Rubiales, which almost turned into a physical conflict, had it not been for Gerrard Pique.
After strong words have been exchanged on both sides, Rubiales and Ramos shook hands in the teams best interest and in hope to prevent these kinds of tensions get in the way of the teams’ success at the tournament. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Winners have been given strong odds by the Sportsbook to win the World Cup title with +600, right behind Brazil +400 and Germany +450. Portugal, who won the Euro 2016, are given +2500 odds to win the title, and will certainly try to exploit their next opponents’ turmoils within the team and try to win some points.
For a detailed Spain vs. Portugal game preview and latest odds, please visit this link. Stay tuned for more breaking news from the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
