Netherlands World Cup Performance: Betting Review
Let’s analyse the performance of the Dutch side in the World Cup. Well, for starters, they were expected to top Group A.
However, things didn’t exactly pan out as expected right away. The Dutch side could have dropped points against Senegal in their debut, which could have complicated their situation in a competitive Group that ended up having Ecuador as a surprise to many, including me.
But at the end of the day, they won their first game which resulted in the bookies paying average odds of 1.66 for the Dutch victory in the 1×2 match result betting markets.
Netherlands 1 – 1 Ecuador: Surprise in the Betting Markets?
The average odds for the Dutch to beat Ecuador were 1.83, meaning they were the clear favourites and the market expectation of their victory was around 55%.
The odds for the match draw were 3.44 on average, while the odds for a victory of the South Americans were 4.99.
The Ecuadorians played well, which wasn’t quite expected, and the result was The Netherlands only collected 7 points during the Group Stage.
It’s fair to say this result impacted the market impressions of Ecuador, which resulted in a game where they were the favourites against underdogs Senegal on the final matchday.
Gaining Traction: Round of 16
The Netherlands won a game that had a lively Senegal that could have made the Dutch team drop points, and what the Africans failed to do, the South Americans eventually did.
The last game of the Group was a comfortable fixture against Qatar. But had The Netherlands been seeded in a tough group like Group E, for example, where Spain, Germany and Japan fought hard for the qualification to the knockout stage, things could have ended much different to The Netherlands.
The way the Netherlands performed in Matchdays 1 and 2 certainly boosted the confidence of the American fans for the Round of 16.
The odds for the game against the USA were very similar compared to the ones of the game against Ecuador. The market odds for the victory of The Netherlands were 1.93 on average.
In the knockout stage, tradition is always an important factor and the Dutch surely have more to show for in comparison with the American team, although the sport surely is developing in America in the last decades.
End of Line: Argentina v Netherlands
The Dutch comeback will go in the books of history, but unfortunately for the European side, the South American had more luck in the penalty shootout and reached the semi-finals.
The Dutch team was brave and a few names including Gakpo and De Jong surely represent an interesting new generation of The Netherlands international team.
Van Gaal certainly did his best with the players at hand, and in spite of strong criticism about the initial performances of The Netherlands, he was able to keep his team very confident until the end.
