Cashing In on International Friendly Matches
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Many times before big tournaments, such as the Euro Championships and the World Cup and their qualifier games, there are many international friendly matches between the two countries. A friendly match is just that, friendly, as nothing is at stake in terms of the FIFA World Rankings. These games are a great chance for teams to get ready, try out new players, and try out new formations. Many people think that you should stay away from betting on friendly matches, as they are hard to predict. However, a good soccer bettor can make some money on friendly matches by knowing what to look for.
Here are a few things to look for when wagering on international friendly matches:
Motivation – Since these types of games don’t really mean anything, it is difficult for players to be motivated. This is a pretty good assessment, as many times star players will not play that long in a friendly if at all. However, in some cases pride and bad blood between teams will be the biggest motivational factor. If a country lost 4-0 in their home country, you can be assured they remembered and will come out to embarrass the team they lost against in their house.
Country Rosters – As stated before the best player often will not see action in an international friendly. The lineup for a friendly will be much different then for a World Cup game or qualifier. Many times you will see young players and backup players. Often, big clubs will not release their stars for friendly matches. It only makes sense, as why would a big club risk an injury to their star player in a match that does not mean anything? If a star does play, you will, generally, see them trying to avoid tackles and injuries.
The Coaching Factor – Country managers will often use international friendly matches to experiment with different players and formations. For example, a team that generally plays with 3 or 4 defenders may try to use more attackers to see the outcome. New players will be tried out and players will, many times, play out of position. A team will try different things in a friendly to see if it would work when the match counts, but many times it does not.
Country Teams for the Public – Many bettors only know a few national teams, such as England, Spain, Italy, or Germany, to just name some of the best teams in Europe. If the bettor does not know a lot about a team they may assume that they are not good. A typical though process would be something to the effect of, “Sweden is much better than Hungary.” This type of rational makes it so teams that are not well known have big betting value. This is especially the case if they are home underdogs. Considering that many international friendly matches end in a draw, an intelligent bettor will take the points, generally an advantage of goal, and make the draw bet that cashes out.
The best place to bet on soccer matches if your a Euro bettor is Bet365
If you’re an American looking to wager on soccer games, you can’t go wrong with 5Dimes.