World Cup Qualification, Saturday, 16/11/2024 at 01:00
The last World Cup is not even two years old, but the South American region is already preparing for the next one! The World Cup qualifiers are entering the next round, with matchday eleven already on the program.
I will now focus on two teams that hardly lose, but instead often share the points.
Well, in my Uruguay-Colombia tip, I can only tell you why I think that a draw bet can be worthwhile here!
14 international matches have been played by the Uruguayan national team this year, spread across the World Cup qualifiers, the Copa America and friendly matches. How does the Celeste rate 2024?
It’s simple: they rarely lose and rarely win! I’ll start with a point that is crucial to my betting recommendation to you. Seven draws – that’s exactly 50 percent.
At the Copa, Uruguay made it to the semi-finals and ended up in third place, with the team only winning twice on penalties. Now I come to the World Cup qualifiers, because the sky blues could definitely do better here.
Four wins, four draws, two defeats: the team is lucky that only Argentina has a win rate of more than 50 percent. However, in 2023, when the qualifiers began, the results were still quite respectable.
They won four times, drew 2-2 with Colombia, and lost 2-1 to Ecuador. Somehow, the team just can’t manage to bring these performances onto the pitch in the current year.
In addition to the 1-0 defeat against Peru, there were THREE goalless draws! Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador could not be beaten, and anyone hoping for a thrilling football festival was left disappointed.
In the 1-0 defeat against Peru, the decisive goal was scored just before the end – so it would have been a 0-0 draw by a hair’s breadth. Inevitably, I have to look at Betano and check the result bets.
If there is also a 0-0 against Colombia, odds of 6.30 will be due. Only the 1-1 carries less risk, which would result in odds of 6.20. Apparently, the bookmakers are banking on another point draw.
There have been four other draws outside of the qualifiers in 2024, two of which, as you may have guessed, also included a 0-0. And how do you rate the direct comparison between the two teams?
Four of the last six encounters, surprise, ended without a winner! Only one of those six matches was won by Uruguay, so the Celeste will have to be careful on Saturday not to go without a goal again.
Our bookmakers with Cash Out function still see the hosts in front, with odds averaging 2.05 to 3.90. However, anyone who has ever taken an interest in the Cafeteros knows that Colombia should never be underestimated.
The team has only lost once, fewer defeats than anyone else. That one defeat came as a big surprise, a 1-0 loss to Bolivia in October. The reaction: a 4-0 win against Chile!
It was the most decisive victory of the qualifiers, because the other successes (two 1-0 and two 2-1 wins) were only ever decided by a single goal. In the whole of 2023, the Colombians did not lose a single game.
And in 2024? They only conceded the 0-1 against Bolivia! Although they lost the final of the Copa America, the 0-1 against Argentina was only decided after 120 minutes and is therefore considered a draw.
Even against the world champions from Argentina, they managed a 2-1 win, so Colombia must be feared by all opponents. Does it matter that the two unwon qualifiers for 2024 were away games?
Colombia? Not exactly an opponent you want to face! The number 10 in the world is one of the best, having only lost a single match in almost two years.
And what about Uruguay? The Celeste don’t lose often either, but they have shared the points in three of four qualifiers this year. I could also see that there were many draws in the direct comparison.
After weighing up all the facts, I decided to take a relatively high risk and say: There’s a draw again!
