Belgium v Algeria World Cup Betting Odds, Prediction From BetDSI.com

Belgium v Algeria World Cup betting odds had Belgium as a pretty big 4/9 favorite with Algeria a 7/1 dog and the Draw paying 4/1 at BetDSI.com.

Belgium enters this year’s World Cup as one of the top favorites to win after failing to make a major impact in past World Cups.  As such, 75% of punters were backing the Belgium team.

This one starts at 12 pm EDT, 18:00 in Brussels and 17:00 in Algiers.

Strengths

Belgium is a team on the ascent with a lot of youth in the side, and while this could end up being a weakness, it might give the players more belief. Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard are 21 and 23 respectively, and even with Christian Benteke injured, Belgium should still score goals. Marouane Fellaini is out to prove that his poor form at Manchester United was just a slump, and he is just 26. He’ll be joined in midfield by 25-year-old Axel Witsel and 22-year-old Kevin De Bruyne. Captain Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen will marshal the back and at 28, they’re the veterans of the group.

Manager Marc Wilmots knows what it means to pull on the Belgium shirt: his 28 goals is second in the history of the team, he played 70 games for his country and was the captain in 23 of those. Wilmots has inspired this young group of players, probably the best crop in the program’s history, and he allows them to play attractive football as well. Under Wilmots, the Belgian national team has flourished and this is their chance to make a splash on the world stage.

Weaknesses

Again, their inexperience could be a weakness as well. Wilmots has never managed at an event quite like the World Cup, although he has played in a couple. Some of these players have played in the Champions League and in high-stakes league matches, but there is nothing like the World Cup and it is going to be very interesting to see how they handle it.

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As one might expect, Algeria is among the long shots to win this year’s FIFA World Cup. This is a team, after all, that failed to score a goal in the last World Cup of 2010 in South Africa.

Strengths

Algeria has a manager in Vahid Halihodzic who will be eager to coach in a World Cup as he missed out on his chance four years ago when he was fired from the Ivory Coast four months before the beginning of South Africa. He has had success at the club level with Lille and Paris Saint-Germain in France and he did well to get the Ivory Coast to the World Cup, so he’ll have a chip on his shoulder and a team usually plays like their coach. He also played a minor role for the former Yugoslavia at Spain 1982.

Their most dangerous player is probably midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, who plays for Valencia in Spain and is still just 24 years old. He’ll be counted on to provide some offense for the Desert Warriors, or at least a chance or two. Their style of play left a lot to be desired at South Africa 2010 and if they’re going to try and change that view, Feghouli will have a lot to do with that.

Weaknesses

Where to start for Algeria? Outside of captain Madjid Bougherra, no defender has more than 28 caps; in fact, midfielder Medhi Lacen has 29 caps to lead the way outside of Bougherra, so this isn’t a team with a lot of experience and many of them are role players with their clubs. No player has more than 10 goals for Algeria, which means there may not be anyone to even convert the chances that the aforementioned Feghouli makes.

The fact of the matter is, Algeria just isn’t very good and it is going to take four more years before they can be considered any sort of threat; on the World Cup stage, it may never happen.

Draw & Prediction

Algeria will open up Group H against the favorites from Belgium, and if they get run out of the stadium, that is going to be a death blow to their confidence. Things don’t get much easier against South Korea and Russia, and the Algerians will be happy if they can score a goal in this group.

Another World Cup, another exit at the group stage for Algeria, who don’t have the quality or depth to play with the top teams in the world. Getting to this tournament is nice for this team and it is something to look forward to, but this program still has a lot to do.

- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com