Brazil and Ivory Coast will clash on Sunday, July 25, in the second round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Both teams won their tournament openers and will now chase their second win and sole possession of the top spot in Group D.
Brazil vs Ivory Coast
When: Sunday, July 25 – 17:30 JST
Where: Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, Japan
Weather: Clear, 28°C
Even before the 2020 Olympics began, the Brazil national football team were the main favourites to win gold. The odds have moved even more in their favour following the first round of play, where they trashed Germany 4-2. Right now, the odds on Seleção are at 3.00.
Brazil’s next obstacle they need to overcome en route to the gold is Ivory Coast, a team that also started their Tokyo story with a win. In their first game of the tournament, Ivory Coast beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 and will now look to emulate that success against the reigning champions.
Seleção Look Unstoppable
Sure, it’s still early to judge Brazil’s performances, but what we saw in the first round of play suggests that this team is going for gold. They destroyed Germany 4-2, with a compelling performance, having produced 21 goals attempts, which is more than any other team managed to achieve in round one.
With that win, Brazil are undefeated in their last seven outings. What’s more, they have lost only two games in their last 20 and drew only two during that stretch.
The man of the match was Everton’s forward, Richarlison, who scored a hat-trick. The fourth Brazil goal was the work of Paulinho on an assist from Bruno Guimaraes. Matheus Cunha also had a chance to get on the scoresheet, but he missed a penalty. Cunha, however, did give good input, assisting Richarlison for one goal.
Brazil’s captain Dani Alves has also had a solid performance last time out. The 38-year-old (who’s the only Brazil player of over 30) ruled the right side of the pitch, helping his team create goal opportunities. At the back, Brazil wasn’t too impressive, however, allowing two goals.
However, they had to face Germany, who are one of the best-attacking teams in the world. So, perhaps Brazil deserve some slack for leaking two that day.
Luck Was on Ivory Coast’s Side in Round 1
Ivory Coast secured a win against Saudi Arabia in the tournament opener, which was expected, seeing how they were priced as 1.72 favourites before the kick-off. However, their 2-1 victory doesn’t tell the whole story. The thing is that Ivory Coast weren’t very impressive in that game.
In fact, the Elephants had way fewer chances than Saudi Arabia, who also had the ball in their possession much longer. Furthermore, the first goal for Ivory Coast was an own goal by a Saudi defender.
If Ivory Coast don’t improve upon their showing in the first round, they will struggle against Brazil. They need to up their game, but that’s not going to be easy for several reasons.
The most obvious reason is that Brazil are a far superior team. What’s more, Ivory Coast will miss their best forward, Aboubacar Doumbia, who need to serve his suspension after receiving a red card against Saudi Arabia.
Brazil vs Ivory Coast Betting Picks
Brazil enter this match as 1.25 favourites to win, which makes a lot of sense since they’re a much better team than ivory Coast. They have the players to turn this bout into a one-sided affair, while we haven’t seen anything from Ivory Coast yet to suggest that they’ll manage to stop Brazil from securing what seems like a routine victory.
Brazil like to play a very attacking-minded football, and we expect them to win big this Sunday.
Pick: Brazil -1.50 Asian Handicap – 1.80 Sportmarket
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