PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA – Holland completed a remarkable turnaround this afternoon to knock favourites Brazil out of the World Cup. The final score of 2-1 was a major shock for the betting markets, as this morning Brazil had been 4/9 favourites to qualify for the semi-finals at the expense of the Dutch.
Robinho opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a cool finish and going into the break Brazil looked comfortable in possession. Brazil were 1/4 with Ladbrokes at the half-time break to hand onto their lead, but unfortunately for favourite backers it was a tale of two halves.
In the 53th minute Felipe Melo headed a Wesley Sneijder free kick past his own goalkeeper to bring the score to 1-1, but the talking point was how left back Michel Bastos managed to avoid being sent off, despite fouling Arjen Robben whilst already on a yellow card.
The Flying Dutchmen then completed the comeback in the 68th minute, as Sneijder headed home a flick-on from a corner. Felipe Melo was sent off five minutes later for the Samba Stars after stamping on playmaker Robben.
The 2-1 result delighted punters who backed the correct score at 16/1 with Blue Square, and the few Betfair customers who bet on a Holland win at 47/1 when they were trailing to Robinho’s goal.
Before the match Holland were 7/4 underdogs with Bet 365 to qualify and over 2.5 goals was 21/20 with 888sport.
Brazil were the 5/2 tournament favourites this morning, but now they have been knocked out Spain have regained favouritism at 9/4. Holland are 5/2 shots to win their first ever World Cup, closely followed in the betting by Argentina at 9/2.
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tags: 2-1, betting, brazil, holland, odds, result, world cup
