Fabulous weekend as Qatar kicks off
LAST CHANCE TO BET BIG 4 ON SOCCER SHOWPIECE
It’s a weekend in a million for TAB soccer customers with everything from a range of cash-boosted pools to a brand new bet and the last chance to play one or more of four great bets on the World Cup.
TAB cash boosts to pools from today to Monday total R800,000 and that excludes TAB’s Big 4 bets for World Cup, which all close at 18:00 on Sunday. The Big 4 for World Cup are:
* Country to win final (WIN) - R75k added to pool
* Two finalists (EXACTA BOX)- R25k added to pool
* One country to reach semi-finals (PLACE) -
R75k added to pool
* 4 countries to reach semi-finals (QUARTET BOX) - R75k added to pool
Current fixed-odds betting on Qatar: 4-1 Brazil; 11-2 Argentina; 6-1 France; 8-1 England, Spain; 12-1 Germany; 14-1 Netherlands; 18-1 Belgium, Portugal; 33-1 and upwards others.
TAB’s new bet, Soccer 8 HF (halftime, fulltime), has been launched to fit the fourmatch daily schedule in the group stages of World Cup. To win, players must forecast both the halftime and fulltime results for each of the four matches in the pool, choosing from three result options: 1 = Team A win; 2 = Draw; 3 = Team B win. Full details in TABs or at www.soccer6.co.za
Who is going to win the 2022 World Cup? Most experts will not look past Brazil or Argentina, who have gone an amazing 35 matches unbeaten, but look for a big showing from Portugal and the Netherlands.
Unfortunately, there appears little hope for the African teams. All five African sides at the last World Cup failed to get past the first stage and it’s likely to be much the same this time round, especially with the injury to the reigning African Footballer of the Year, Sadio Mane.
The cast is similar. Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia return after misfortune in Russia with Cameroon and Ghana back after last been at the finals in Brazil in 2014. Reigning African champions Senegal again offer the continent its best hope, but could be hard hit by the Mane calamity. He hurt a knee last week in action for Bayern Munich and there are conflicting reports on how long it will take him to recover. But it seems certain he will not make Monday’s Group A opener against the Netherlands.
It will Senegal’s third appearance at the finals after they made a massive impact on their debut in 2002, when they beat holders France in the opening game and went onto become only the second African country to get to the quarter-finals.
This time Senegal must try and get past the Dutch, then Ecuador and finally their hosts Qatar.
Tunisia will be the next African country up, kicking off a near impossible task in Group D against Denmark on Tuesday. The Tunisians are arguably one of the weakest sides Africa has sent to a World Cup, having had the good fortune of some favourable draws to qualify.
Ghana were also not convincing and advanced amid much controversy, when they beat Bafana Bafana to win their group with a soft penalty in the decisive match.
Morocco won all six of their group qualifiers, although in a bizarre twist played them all at home, and then dispatched the Democratic Republic of Congo in the playoff tie in March. But another poor return at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in January showed a soft underbelly and they have a tough start against Croatia on Wednesday.
Cameroon will extend their record as the African country with the greatest number of World Cup finals appearances to eight, but the draw has not been kind to them. They are in Group G against Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland and have little hope.