Bank on England and France

Bank on England and France

TAB gives its soccer pools a R1-million boost this weekend and soccer expert Mark Gleeson highlights teams to count on in forthcoming UEFA Nations League, AFCON and Brazil Serie A clashes

By Mark Gleeson

Bafana Bafana do not play until next week, but the next Africa Cup of Nations competition gets underway today and only some five months since the last edition was settled with Senegal pipping Egypt in the final in Yaoundé in February.

The qualifiers for the 2023 finals, which will be hosted by the Ivory Coast, are to be squeezed into the next three international windows - this month and then September and next March. It is a hectic time for the teams, but perhaps not as testing as the UEFA Nations League in Europe where some countries will play four internationals over the next fortnight.

The latest edition of Nations League gets underway tomorrow and with the principle of the competition being to pit teams of equal strength against each other, you can bet on many competitive and mouth-watering fixtures. And some of those games will give us a good indicator of what to expect at the World Cup finals later this year.

International clashes will dominate TAB soccer pools for the next couple of weeks because most domestic leagues have shut down. But in Brazil they are just getting into top gear in Serie A and the usual big guns are making the early running.

TAB will boost seven selected pools with cash add-ins totalling a staggering R1 million from Friday to Sunday and below is a brief form guide to help you identify potential bankers to win.

AFRICA: Cup of Nations qualification is divided into 12 groups and in most there is a real variance in strength. That means most of the leading countries over the next week, like Egypt, Ghana and Tunisia, should get through their opening group games unscathed.

But hosts Ivory Coast face a tough customer in Zambia, who have new-look line-up and a fresh coach in Aljosa Asanovic. He is a former Croatian international, who played in the English Premier League in his time.

Those looking for upsets can also consider Uganda beating Algeria. Uganda are now coached by former Orlando Pirates boss Micho Sredojevich, whereas Algeria’s fortunes have plummeted dramatically over the last months with disastrous outcomes at the Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon and then World Cup qualification.

EUROPE: There are some heavyweight clashes in the Nations League - Italy will be looking to keep up their dominance over Germany, Belgium want to show their Dutch neighbours who is boss in their region and Spain will try to end a sequence of draws against Portugal.

These encounters all look far too tight and the likely outcomes are closely-fought draws, but England should win away in Hungary and France look a banker bet to win both their home game against Denmark and an away clash to Croatia on Monday.

Switzerland are wily customers and might come away from their trip to Prague with an away success over the Czech Republic.

BRAZIL: Serie A had a low-key start with the Brazilians concentrating more on the group phase of the Copa Libertadores, but now there is a chance for more focus and clarity on the relative abilities of the top contenders.

There is a three-way tie at the top of the table that includes defending champions Atletico Mineiro. They are away on Sunday at Palmeiras, who also have 15 points and a better goal difference. This clash sees Palmeiras favoured because of home advantage and a strong run of current form.

Corinthians are the other side at the top of the table, but they have a difficult assignment away at tricky Atletico Goianense.