All times are Egypt Local (CET is 1 hr behind; US ET is 7 hrs behind)
Odds courtesy of Bet MGM
If you want to watch the matches that aren’t available on ESPN+ check this article for how to watch geo-blocked matches on YouTube: Link
Main Round Group III
- 1630 Portugal (-2.5) vs Switzerland (YouTube)
- 1900 Iceland vs France (-4.5) (YouTube)
- 2130 Norway (-9.5) vs Algeria (YouTube)
The 3 teams at the top of the group play the 3 teams at the bottom. And, each of the top 3 teams are favored with surprising Switzerland seen as the team most capable of pulling off an upset. Should the 3 favorites win, there will be a big showdown (France vs Portugal) on the final match day this Sunday.
Main Round Group IV
- 1630 Russia (-5.5) vs N Macedonia (YouTube)
- 1900 Belarus vs Egypt (-4.5) (on ESPN+) (YouTube) w/English commentary
- 2130 Sweden vs Slovenia (-1.5) (on ESPN+) (YouTube) w/English commentary
The qualification picture in Group IV is pretty muddled with every team, but N Macedonia having a fairly realistic path to qualification. All they need to do is win their last 2 games. Belarus would need a little help, though. Sweden vs Slovenia is the match of the day with the winner putting themselves in a good position to qualify on Sunday.
President’s Cup Group II
Not whole lot to say here about the President’s cup other than you could probably replace Austria with the U.S. and contemplate how the U.S. might have fared vs Morocco, Chile and S Korea.
Betting Predictions
For this tournament we’ve doing some betting predictions using an imaginary starting bankroll of a 1,000 Euros. Joining me will be, Sharp Action, a former professional handball player from France.
Odds are either from the Bet MGM or the Bet Rivers online sportsbooks.
John’s Pick(s):
- Bankroll: $723 (Yesterday Start) – $100 (Yesterday’s Loss) = $623 (Current Bankroll)
- Yesterday’s Result:
- Brazil alternate handicap; Brazil (+2.5) (+115 or 2.15); Bet $100 to win $115; RESULT: Lose $100 (Brazil lost to Spain 29-23)
- Today’s Pick: Switzerland vs Portugal
- Portugal alternate handicap; Portugal (-3.5) (+110 or 2.10); Bet $100 to win $110
- Switzerland led by their star center back, Andy Schmid, has been a great story for this Championship. A late entry, replacing the U.S. they’ve qualified for the Main Round, beat Iceland and almost tied France. It still seems a bit strange to talk about Portugal as a contender at a major handball tournament, but maybe it shouldn’t. There only blemish so far is a one goal loss to Norway and they have a balanced attack of young stars. Whereas, Switzerland relies heavily on 37 year old, Andy Schmid to score and set up everyone else to score as well. Can the old star do it yet again against Portugal. Sure, he can, but I think at this stage of the tournament youngish legs start to become more and more of an advantage.
Sharp Action’s Pick(s):
- Bankroll: $1,105.50 (Yesterday Start) + $84 (Yesterday’s win) = $1,189.50 (Current Bankroll)
- Yesterday’s Results:
- 1st half Over 25.5 goals, (-120 or 1.84), Bet 100$ to win $84 RESULT: Win $84 (Argentina led Japan led 18-14 or 32 goals)
- 2 way Parlay (1st leg): Spain (-182 or 1.55) vs Germany RESULT: 1st Leg won (Spain won 32-28) (2nd leg still needs to come through today)
- Today’s Pick:
- 2 way Parlay (cont) (2nd leg): Slovenia (-167 or 1.60) vs Sweden); Overall Parlay (+148 or 2.48); Bet $50 to win $74.
- It’s much the same story with Slovenia being the better side here. The young Swedish side fought well against Egypt but I still think their options are limited, and Jim Gotfridsson HAS to have a good game for them to win. I think, like Spain, Slovenia simply has more options and more quality. The +148 or 2.48 odds for the parlay gives us a 40% implied probability. Whereas, I think it’s much closer to 50%.