2014 WORLD CUP SOCCER

AUSTRALIA

vs. NETHERLANDS

Line:
Netherlands -400, Australia +700, Tie +375
Over/Under: 3 Goals (Over -115, Under -105)

Fresh off a pounding of Spain, the Netherlands looks to improve to 2-0 in Group B with a win over Australia on Wednesday. Australia, on the other hand, is in dire need of a victory after losing its opening game to Chile.

Australia had one of their more winnable matches in Group B play to kick off the World Cup, but they squandered that opportunity and will now need to beat a Netherlands team that looked outstanding in their blowout victory over the defending champions.

Twelve minutes into their match against Chile, Australia found themselves trailing 1-0. Just two minutes later, they were down 2-0 after a goal by Jorge Valdivia of Chile. Australia had just six shots on goal in the game and tallied 18 fouls. They did not give themselves a chance to win, as they played extremely careless soccer and were unable to generate chances. Tim Cahill scored the only goal for Australia at the 35-minute mark. They will need to take much better care of the ball if they are going to keep the game close when they play a potent Netherlands squad.

There may not have been a more unexpected but exciting game than the Netherlands’ World Cup opener. Playing against defending champion Spain, the team came to play and shocked the world with a brilliant all-around effort resulting in a 5-1 victory.

The first game for Netherlands showed the world that they are here to compete and ready to play against the best. Despite having possession for only 43% of the game, Netherlands had 11 shots on goal in the game compared to Spain’s six. The team was capitalizing on their chances and getting some efficient and quick strikes. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben both netted two goals and the other came from Stefan de Vrij. Netherlands can really put a stamp on Group B with a victory over an Australia team that struggled against Chile.