Round Of 16 World Cup Picks – Take Netherlands & Costa Rica

This Sunday, June 29th will have two games in the lineup as two teams from the CONCACAF, Mexico and Costa Rica, try to advance to quarterfinals in the World Cup; something that would be unheard of.

Here are the betting picks for Sunday.

Netherlands vs Mexico, 12 PM ET

Mexico is a tough team to beat on any field, but they have made it through the round of 16, and this time it won’t get easier against Netherlands, a team that has won all three games against great teams such as Spain, Australia and Chile.

Over the last five World Cups, Mexico has advanced to the second stage, but they can’t make it to the quarterfinals; it’s just in their DNA to lose this match.

Netherlands, on the other hand, made it to the final four years ago, and had looked tremendous over the group stage.  Louis Van Gaal, their coach, has put together a combination of players that in result gives a balanced squad that is now one of the favorites to win the tournament.

“We believe in everything Van Gaal tells us. Because everything he forecasts becomes reality on the pitch,” Memphis Depay said.

“His tactics are brilliant. We see, with our own eyes in every match, how the weakness of our opponent is laid bare by the way we play. And that is when we hit them.

“For instance, against Chile, many thought we were facing one of the strongest South American sides in this World Cup. The boss said, ‘Just control them, they are a big force, but put up a fight for 75 minutes, then they will tire and we will hit them in the last 15 minutes of the game.’

Pick: Netherlands.

Costa Rica vs Greece, 4 PM ET

Both Costa Rica and Greece should have been out of the competition if we estimate the expert predictions, but the soccer gods have given us a great surprise with these two teams.

Costa Rica not only made it the ‘Group of Death’, but they also won it with seven points, beating Uruguay and Italy in an impressive performance, and drawing against England.  The Ticos, the Cinderella of the tournament, played with three former World Cup champions and made it through in a remarkable way.

The game won’t have many chances; it will be a close defensive matchup with two sides that prefer to be organized and disciplined on defense than spectacular and offensive.

Greece played Japan with 10 men and didn’t lose, and beat Ivory Coast with a late goal; they are tough to beat.

“I am delighted first of all that we bring joy to the Greek people,” said Greece coach Fernando Santos. “We have time to think about the match with Costa Rica. We will go back to our base, think about it and study our opponents. We have to pay a lot of attention to this game, they came out top in the ‘Group of Death’ (against England, Italy and Uruguay). As a result, we cannot allow ourselves to underestimate them,” Greece coach Fernando Santos said.