Brad posted on July 01, 2010 10:04
Friday, 10:00 am Eastern - ESPN
A powerful quarterfinal matchup takes place on Friday as five-time World Cup champion Brazil battles the Netherlands. The winner of this match may go on to win the World Cup so it should be a good one. Brazil is the overall favorite to win the World Cup and they are also the favorite in this match against the Netherlands.
Brazil is a -260 favorite at SBG Global with the total at 2.5 under.
Even though the Netherlands is considered a very strong team they are still substantial underdogs against Brazil in this match that can be seen on ESPN. The three-way line at SBG has Brazil at -120, the Netherlands at +300 and the Draw at +225. Brazil was very impressive in their round of 16 match as they routed Chile 3-0. The Netherlands was almost as impressive as they defeated Slovakia 2-1 in a match that really should have ended 2-0. Brazil and the Netherlands have met three times in World Cup history and Brazil has won each time.
Brazil will have to find a way to win without playmaker Elano who will miss the match due to an ankle injury. He scored a goal in Brazil’s first two matches but was hurt late in the game against Ivory Coast. He has been practicing but he will not be ready for Friday’s match. Brazil is a very deep team but Elano is a key player as he has played 46 matches with Brazil and scored nine goals.
Brazil was shocked four years ago in the quarterfinals by France and they want to atone for that defeat. They played their best match of the World Cup against Chile in the round of 16 and they want to continue that success against the Netherlands. Luis Fabiano has scored three goals in four matches in South Africa and he seems to have a great chemistry with Kaka.
When two powerful teams meet the match often comes down to the goalkeeper. The Netherlands has Maarten Stekelenburg who made some big saves in the win over Slovakia while Brazil has Julio Cesar. There is no question that Cesar has the better credentials but there is still some concern about his back injury. He injured his back in a warmup match against Zimbabwe on June 2nd. He missed a lot of practice but he has been solid in the World Cup, allowing only two goals. If this match comes down to penalty kicks it could be Cesar who is the difference for Brazil.
Source: http://www.sbgglobal.com