World Cup 2018 Betting – Can. Need Result vs Hond.
Canada (+350) at Honduras (-130), Draw (+220)
Canada and Honduras are set for a pivotal fixture in their quest for a berth in the 2018 World Cup. The sides will meet in Honduras this Friday (5:00 PM Eastern at the Olimpico Metropolitano).
Only two teams from their foursome – which also includes Mexico and El Salvador – will advance to the next stage. Mexico has already booked their ticket; Canada and Honduras are currently tied for second with four points apiece through four matches. With just two games left to be played in the four-team round robin, Friday’s match is all-important.
That’s bad news for the Canadians since the game is being played in Honduras. Not only has Canada yet to score an away goal in the qualifiers, but they were crushed 8-1 the last time they visited the Olimpico Metropolitano. That embarrassment resulted in their elimination from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
They did manage to beat Honduras back in November, however, on home soil (1-0), getting them off to a decent start start in their quest to make their first World Cup since 1986. But they dropped back-to-back games to Mexico (2-0 away, 3-0 home) in their last two, setting up Friday’s crucial match.
The team will have to soldier on without midfielder Will Johnson. The Toronto FC star returned to his club after breaking his leg in June, but wasn’t included in the Canadian lineup for this game.
Honduras will be missing their own key piece, but he’ll be missing from the bench, not the field; manager Jorge Luis Pinto, the man responsible for Costa Rica’s Cinderella run to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals, will watch this game from the stands as he serves a suspension.
How much that will affect his team remains to be seen. They lost at home to Mexico earlier in qualification but have been able to handle Canada with ease on home soil in recent history.
Given that these sides are pretty even on paper, Canada is a tempting play at +350. But their struggles on the road can’t be overlooked. Instead, the draw (+220) looks like the best value.
Pick: Draw (+220).
Photo credit: Joshua Pearson (flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
