Spain is a heavy favorite at offshore gambling sites to beat Iran. The Iranians are so far the only winners in their World Cup. But Iran didn’t defeat Morocco so much as that Morocco defeated themselves. Literally. Conversely, Spain let a win against Portugal slip through their fingers. Then again, they were dealing with a Cristiano Ronaldo that could seemingly do no wrong. When CR7 is like that, you can’t stop him – you can only hope to contain him. All in all, though, the Spanish national football team played a lot better than many expected them to. Petty internal differences led former manager Julen Lopetegui to be wished well on his future endeavors. Erstwhile Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro took over coaching duties. There may be few other managers more ill prepared for the job. Maybe Costa Rica’s.
Betting Iran
Everybody loves an underdog, right? Well, the Iranian national football team is the stuff of which underdog movies are made. Big, bad, capitalist, corporate Nike took the shoes from the poor little Whos. Err, from Iran’s national team. Which begs the question, how can Iran without shoes? The shoemaking transnational’s move was sorta justified. At least in the context of global economic sanctions taken against Iran ahead of the World Cup. The Iranians were none too pleased, though. “What Nike did to us was very wrong,” Iran’s striker Karim Ansarifard said. “I don’t want to comment too much on it. But I can tell you, as a footballer, we don’t compare diplomatic and political problems to sports.” Do they even know how hosting duties are awarded? FIFA is nothing but politricks.
Nike or no Nike, the Greek goddess of victory still favored Iran. As shown by Morocco’s own goal. On the other hand this could all be ploy for the team to gain sympathy. “US sanctions mean that, as a US company, NIKE cannot supply shoes to players in the Iranian National team at this time,” a statement from Nike said. “Sanctions applicable to NIKE have been in place for many years and are enforceable by law.” In other words, this state of affairs, while still sad, is by no means new. Ansarifard is right, though. On the pitch there is no room for politics. And they will need more than international sympathy to turn offshore gambling sites in their favor.
Betting Spain
The Spanish national football team is no stranger to controversy either. The Spanish football federation gave manager Julen Lopetegui his walking papers two days before the World Cup. The sacking was the aftermath of Real Madrid’s announcement that Lopetegui would succeed Zinedine Zidane. As a result, Fernando Hierro, was appointed Spain’s new head coach. His coaching experience prior to this amounted to a little over a year with Segunda Division team Real Oviedo. Talk about being thrust in the spotlight. All things considered, Hierro and Spain acquitted themselves well in what has been so far the best match of the tournament.
Iran vs. Spain Sportsbook Odds and Betting Information:
- Date: June 20
- Time: 21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
- Venue: Kazan Arena, Kazan
- Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)Best online sportsbook odds:
- Iran +1850
- Spain -556
- Draw +550
Odds taken from GTBets.eu
Prediction: This is very similar to Portugal vs. Morocco. Especially considering Spain’s showing against Portugal, and Iran’s against Morocco. Even in spite of the fact that they actually won. One could make a killing at offshore gambling sites, though. One would have to bet counterintuitively, though. And Iran would of course have to pull a Mexico on Spain. As Reuters put it, Germany is a warning to not just Spain. “What happened to Germany could happen to anyone,” Hierro said.
