Bookie’s update No. 3: The World Cup has moved on to the round of 16, and we have one big upset thus far. Host nation Russia stunned title favorite Spain in penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinals. Spain entered the game installed at -170 to win the game in regulation. Russia was a heavy underdog at +525, while a draw in regulation was +225. If you bet Russia, congrats, and if you bet draw in regulation, congrats as well!
Russia upsets Spain in World Cup round of 16
Mexico was going off at +600 before the match.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Bookie’s update No. 2: Group F has the second huge upset of the World Cup. Two weeks after Mexico knocked off Germany, South Korea sprung an even more unexpected upset of the German squad. South Korea scored in the second minute of final stoppage time to take a 1-0 lead, and added a second goal in the sixth minute of final stoppage time to walk away with a 2-0 victory.
South Korea entered the game as much as a +1800 underdog, according to Odds Shark. That means, if you bet $100 on South Korea to beat Germany, you won $1,800. By comparison, Mexico was “only” +600 over Germany.
South Korea will not advance thanks to Sweden’s win over Mexico, but they did knock Germany out of the tournament. And they scored the biggest upset of the tournament thus far.
Bookie’s update: We have our biggest “unexpected” draw of the World Cup thus far. Switzerland scored an equalizer against Brazil in the 50th minute, and held on to earn a 1-1 draw in their World Cup opener. Brazil was installed at -315 to win, while Switzerland was a +1050 underdog. A draw was going off at +360, which exceeded the odds for Iceland’s draw against Argentina.
The 2018 World Cup is off to a crazy start, with four unexpected results — including an Iran win over Morocco, Iceland’s draw against Argentina, and Portugal playing to a draw against Spain — the craziest of which happened on Sunday. Mexico’s goal at the 35 minute mark held up in a wild 1-0 victory over Germany.
Of course, as this game and three others showed us, things are always unpredictable in tournament format: Mexico fans should not count their chickens about advancing out of the group stage quite yet. Mexico entered the game as a huge underdog to Germany, with the moneyline at +600 when the match started. That means, if you bet $100 on Mexico to win the game outright, you won $600 (plus your $100 bet).
This is the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, but we’ve seen three other upsets from a gambling perspective. Saturday saw Iceland secure a draw against Argentina. Iceland was a big underdog to win, and even just tying was set as high as +385. The craziness got started on Friday, however, when Iran at +320 beat Morocco, and Portugal and Spain played to a draw (+220).
Mexico will be favored over their remaining two opponents, but as the first week of the World Cup has shown us, upsets could abound. If you’re betting on World Cup matches the next few weeks, don’t expect the wins to come easy!
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