Belgium seemed the obvious pick to beat Denmark before the match began, but by half time that may have changed for some. My gut told me otherwise though… (writes Oliver Keohane)
Belgium were favoured to beat Denmark before kickoff, but not as much as one would have thought. You were still able to get even money on them at 2/1, and I thought they had been overvalued.
Two minutes in and a goal from Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen put in place a steady decline for Belgiums odd, as Denmark, fuelled on by the emotion of Eriksen’s collapse over the weekend, took control of a game in which Belgium just couldn’t seem to calm themselves.
My heart willed on Denmark, as for 45 minutes they played with a passion that could only have been produced by the events of their previous game against Finland. But in the betting world, head should trump heart all the time, and I couldn’t see a loss for a Belgium team with Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne coming off the bench. With Belgium at 8.50/1 just before half time, I put down some cash on them to win.
True to De Bruyne’s talents, he had assisted Thorgan Hazard by 54 minutes for Belgium’s first goal, and soon after scored a screamer on the 70th minute, off of an assist from brother (of Thorgan) and bench buddy Eden Hazard.
I cashed out around the 75th minute as Belgium, for all their attacking prowess and lethal counters, looked shaky on the ball and unable hold onto it. I cashed out R100 bet at R635 (had I not the return would have been R850), but I’m happy to walk away with what is still a huge profit to be making off a side like Belgium.
