Football betting tips: World Cup
1.75pts Felix Nmecha to score anytime at 7/2 (William Hill)
0.75pt Felix Nmecha to score 2+ goals at 28/1 (Betway)
Quite the welcome to the World Cup for Curacao, the smallest nation to have ever qualified for the finals. Germany - 2014 champions and long-standing giant of international football - await them in Houston.
Of course, nothing is expected of Curacao and their aim is to try and give the best possible account of themselves. That's easier said than done against Die Mannschaft who, despite struggles in recent years, should enjoy a comfortable victory.
In our Group E preview, I made a case for the best bet involving Curacao at the tournament is to take Germany netting five or more in the opening match at 7/4 - that's still available at a price of 6/4.
They've simply got too much strength in attack for the minnows to keep quiet. That's even with striking options in Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade who don't quite hit the 'prolific' category which other nations boast.
The supporting cast of Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Florian Wirtz should enjoy the occasion as it presents the perfect opportunity to get themselves ahead in either the Golden Boot or leading assists categories.
And then beyond that you've got Jamie Leweling who enjoyed a positive season with Stuttgart, while Nadiem Amiri has been a star since his switch to Mainz - both players will be desperate for minutes in this one.
As you'd expect, the attacking players are a short price to strike. One who does jump out though is FELIX NMECHA, with the Dortmund midfielder 7/2 to net anytime and 28s for the brace.
He actually didn't score a huge amount for his club this season but there were games with plenty of attacking output. He took 33 shots across 24 Bundesliga starts.
For Germany though, he's seen chances. Nmecha had two shots in 45 minutes against Slovakia in qualifying and one in 36 minutes against Luxembourg.
Since then, he's become a more regular starter for his country. The 2-1 friendly win over USA in their final game before the tournament delivered a shot on target with two shots and an effort on target against Finland.
The expectation is another start here alongside Aleksandar Pavlovic and that means Nmecha should be the more advanced of the pair.
In what should be a comfortable mismatch between the two sides, Nmecha presents decent value as a goalscorer considering his likely role.
Odds correct 15:25 BST (12/06/26)
More World Cup content from Sporting Life
Group previews
- World Cup betting guide
- Group A: Mexico; South Africa; South Korea; Czechia
- Group B: Canada; Bosnia; Qatar; Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil; Morocco; Haiti; Scotland
- Group D: USA; Paraguay; Australia; Turkiye
- Group E: Germany; Curacao; Ivory Coast; Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands; Japan; Sweden; Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium; Egypt; Iran; New Zealand
- Group H: Spain; Cape Verde; Saudi Arabia; Uruguay
- Group I: France; Senegal; Iraq; Norway
- Group J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
Outright previews
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