What happened in Brazil’s latest World Cup qualifier?

Brazil continued their march towards the World Cup finals with a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Paraguay, even without the likes of Neymar, Richarlison and Firmino. Premier League stars Raphinha and Philippe Coutinho were among the scorers as Brazil, already assured of a spot in Qatar, made it 15 qualifiers with no defeat, while lowly Paraguay had it confirmed they will not be making an appearance at this year’s World Cup

Time of Last Brazil Goal (settled at 88)

Some might call buyers in this market lucky that there was an 88^th minute goal, which given the spread was set at 57-60, won them 28 times their bet, but with a Brazilian squad full of attacking talent already qualified for the World Cup, playing a Paraguay team now definitely staying at home, every home player will have been straining every sinew to impress right up to the final whistle, knowing that this might be the chance to catch the coach’s eye and book a place on the plane. As it was, Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes, Antony adding to earlier goals from Raphinha and Philippe Coutinho in the 86^th minute before Rodrygo grabbed his first international goal two minutes from time.

What else happened in the World Cup qualifiers?

Argentina, like Brazil already assured of a place in Qatar, also refused to take their foot of the gas, inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Colombia that could be the beginning of the end of the Colombian quest for qualification, at least automatically. Just two more automatic spots are available behind Brazil and Argentina, and Colombia currently sit in 7^th with two games remaining. Their best hope now may be 5^th place and a playoff against one of the Asian teams, looking like it may well be Australia. Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of this game to give Argentina all three points.

Performance Superiority Arg/Col (settled at 64)

If Colombia were expecting any favours from their opponents, given they have already qualified, they didn’t get any. With places in their World Cup squad at stake, Argentina put in a professional performance, and rewarded those buying their Performance Superiority in the process. This market awards points for various aspects of a game, with 25 for a win, 15 for a goal, 10 for a draw, 10 for a clean sheet and 3 for a corner, while it’s -5 for a yellow card and -15 for a red. The spread was set at 19-24, meaning buyers won 40 times their stake.

What happened in the Edinburgh derby?

Hibs and Hearts played out their second goalless Edinburgh derby of the season, leaving Hearts 12 points ahead of their bitter rivals. Hibs had a chance to cut that gap and snatch all three points in injury time, Josh Campbell’s goal bound shot being cleared off the line by Toby Sibbick. Hearts remain in 3^rd place in the Premiership, 11 points behind Celtic, who play leaders Rangers tonight. Hibs remain 5^th.

Match Performance (settled at 29)

We saw plenty of sellers in the Match Performance market given the stalemate between these two last time out, and those punters were well rewarded with another goalless draw. This market awards 15 points for a goal, 3 for a corner, 5 for a yellow card and 15 for a red and 10 for a penalty award, with -25 for a 0-0 draw. The spread was set at 88-93, so those sellers made a profit of 59 times their bet.