World Cup Betting: France vs. Germany

We’re heading into the final 8 of the 2014 World Cup and Thursday features a very entertaining matchup between France and Germany. France finished atop of Group E with 2 wins and a draw. They were impressive in torching Switzerland, had no problem with overmatched Honduras and struggled in a 0-0 draw against Ecuador. Germany finished atop Group G with 2 wins and a draw–they were very impressive in routing Portugal 4-0 but less so in settling for a 2-2 draw with Ghana. In their final group game they held off a determined USA team for a 1-0 decision.

These teams are very familiar with each other and in head to head play France holds the recent edge with 11 wins, 8 losses and 6 draws. Worth noting that most of the recent meetings have been in friendlies and that is an entirely different dynamic from a World Cup game. France has several goal scoring options but striker Karim Benzema has been a non-factor after he started the tournament in excellent form. They’ve tried moving Benzema around to get him more involved in the offense but for this game he’ll likely be back to his natural position as the lone striker up front.

Germany has been a hard team to figure out throughout this tournament. Their beatdown of Portugal notwithstanding their defense has looked a bit shaky at times. Germany looked pitiful for most of their game against Algeria but recovered to win 2-1 in extra time. This allowed them to survive but hard to have much confidence in them after they struggled to beat a team that they should have dominated easily. On the other hand, they could have been ‘looking ahead’ to the next round figuring that they’d have no trouble advancing.

Both teams have talent and both have liabilities but we see more upside with Germany. They really can’t play any worse than they did against Algeria and even with their sometimes careless defending are the more balanced team. France’s offensive woes are a potential big problem and could be fatal if Germany goes up early by a goal or two. France hasn’t played any top flight teams so far and this could be a rude awakening for a flawed team.

BET GERMANY +140 OVER FRANCE
BET GERMANY/FRANCE UNDER 2.5 -145