MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/15)
Josh Gross
We have made it to the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Teams need just three more wins now to lift the trophy, and all countries will believe they have a chance. All of these matches require a winner, so keep that in mind when betting. Most wagers — unless you bet otherwise — are for the duration of the 90-minute regular time. Daily fantasy sites generally continue the scoring into extra time up to 120 minutes, and some sites like PrizePicks continue to count stats for that time as well.
Game 1 Croatia vs. Brazil
Brazil are still the favorites in the field to win the whole World Cup, +175 on FanDuel Sportsbook. They deserve to be the favorites as they have looked fantastic in Qatar so far. They just downed South Korea 4-1 in a dominant Round of 16 match and take on Croatia in the quarterfinals Friday.
Outside of a good performance against a poor Canada team in the group stage, Croatia has not impressed so far in the tournament. They were some Romelu Lukaku finishes away from not even making the knockout stage, and they squeaked past Japan on penalty kicks in a game where they got outplayed.
Brazil is -310 on the money line in this game, and they are -800 to advance to the semifinals on FanDuel. They will likely continue their stellar form with a comfortable win in this game. Croatia has been running essentially the same starting lineup out for their games and could see some fatigue set in here. I think Brazil advances without much of a challenge in this game. The goal total over/under is 2.75.
Croatia vs. Brazil Bets
- Brazil 1H ML (-130, FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 2.5 goals (-128, FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Neymar anytime assist (+150, DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Brazil -1.5 (-103, BetRivers)
Game 2 Netherlands vs. Argentina
The second quarterfinal Friday features the Netherlands taking on Messi and Argentina. The Dutch controlled their Round of 16 game against the United States and won handily 3-1. Argentina beat Australia 2-1 last Saturday but did not look particularly impressive in doing so.
Argentina continues to skate by their opponents, but they still have yet to get into that next gear. Argentina has been solid on defense so far, but they have not played any teams who are as good as the Netherlands. The Netherlands have a strong midfield that they showcased against the United States. They have enough quality and a top guy with Memphis healthy now to put Messi’s hopes at a World Cup away. I think this will be a far better game than their 2014 semifinal matchup, and there should be lots of action on both ends.
FanDuel currently has Argentina at +120 on the money line with the Netherlands at +260, and the draw available at +210. Argentina is -156 to advance with the Netherlands at +128. The goal total over/under is 2.0.
Netherlands vs. Argentina Bets
- Both Teams To Score Yes (+110, BetRivers)
- Netherlands to advance (+140, BetRivers)
- Over 2.0 goals (-120, DraftKings Sportsbook)
