Colombia vs Brazil betting preview, World Cup odds, prediction, match preview
Brazil is favored but Odds Shark is predicting a Colombia victory in World Cup quarterfinals.
Clive Rose
Brazil and Colombia meet on Friday in the only all-South American match of the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals.
As expected, World Cup hosts Brazil go into the match as strong 4-5 moneyline favorites to defeat Colombia in 90 minutes, and even heavier 5-12 favorites to advance to the semifinal for the first time since 2002.
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While Brazil remain undefeated in the tourney so far, with three wins and a draw, they have not produced the dominant performance expected by many prior to the tournament. They were first pegged as World Cup futures betting favorites with odds of 3-1 to capture their sixth title.
The Brazilians needed a late goal to get by Croatia in their group stage and played to a scoreless draw against a surprising Mexican squad. After clinching top spot in Group A with a 4-1 win over Cameroon, Brazil came perilously close to an early exit in their round of 16 match against Chile.
They needed penalty kicks to eliminate one of the tournament’s favorite dark horses.
Overall, Brazil have owned the edge in ball possession and shots in each of their four matches, but not by the margins expected from a global soccer power hosting the World Cup.
After failing to qualify for the World Cup since 1998, Colombia has made a statement at Brazil 2014 that they are back. The Cafeteros, 19-10 longshots to advance to the semifinal, were clearly the class of Group C, posting convincing wins over Greece and Japan, while outlasting Ivory Coast in their only difficult match to date.
Colombia continued their solid play in the round of 16, knocking off Uruguay 2-0 as 10-21 favorites, bringing their total goals scored in the World Cup to 11. That tally is second only to Netherlands’ 12 goals scored.
Quarterfinals
The win also improved Colombia’s World Cup odds in futures wagering from 18-1 to their current 11-1 and OddsShark.com is calling an upset here by the Colombians.
The Cafeteros are distant 33-10 moneyline underdogs in Friday’s match, but cannot be taken lightly by the Brazilians. While Colombia has never defeated Brazil in international play, they have battled La Seleccion to four straight draws.
Those results include three consecutive scoreless draws in qualification matches leading up to both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments.
If the upset happens, bettors can expect that striker James Rodriguez has scored again, further shortening his odds to win the Golden Boot as tournament top scorer.
