Looks easy enough right? What could go wrong!!! (Famous last words)

Oh lord!

Germany and Australia will be starting their journey in the Confederations Cup on June 19th. The Olympic Stadium at Sochi will see the first match of Group B, which both teams share with Chile and Cameroon.

The Germans are favourites to win the Confederation Cup. Under Joachim Löw’s management, the team have adopted a collective approach that will likely see them go far. For this competition, and with the World Cup in their sights, Löw is working on a transition to the younger players. Names like Timo Werner, Sandro Wagner, Amin Younes and Julian Brandt will appear more often, as they attempt to replace the golden generation that brought the World Cup in 2014.

Australia are more interested in qualifying for the World Cup. The team is fighting with Japan and Saudi Arabia for one of the two spots for a ticket to Russia. The opportunity of facing one of the best national teams here will surely serve as preparation for that. In this Cup, however, it’s all about the goal difference. The second position will be highly contested, and so a heavy first loss may decide their fate.

Germany are the favourite team to win according to the bookmakers. With 2/5 as the average odds, that doesn’t leave much meat on the bone. Still, there are always good alternatives. At 13/8, a match with four goals or more looks plausible and decent value. Finally, at 11/10, a Germany clean sheet seems like it might be worth a bet on. Both decent betting options!

The Aviva Stadium in Dublin will host a friendly match between Ireland and Uruguay on June 4. Both teams are well positioned to qualify for the next world cup, with Uruguay almost qualified and  Ireland sharing first place in their group with Serbia.

After a loss against Mexico (3-1), Martin O’Neill will be making some major changes to the Irish lineup. Experienced players like John O’Shea, Robbie Brady, Glenn Wheland and Jon Walters will likely feature. O’Neill is pleased to have a strong opponent for this match, saying  that this kind of encounter will be a good test for the team before their crucial match with Austria on June 11.

The Mexico team managed by Oscar Tabarez, will have a more traditional lineup. The main issues are the absence of Luis Suárez and Diego Godín due to injury. We can expect young players to gain some play time in this game, and Cavani as the main striker. Uruguay needs these two friendly matches, to fine tune  as their key encounter against Argentina will take place in August.

Even without some key players, Uruguay are favourites for this match. The bookies offer odds of 6/4 for the win. However, with some experienced players present for the home team, especially in defense, a draw could also result if the encounter is tight.  However, at 5/4, a match with three goals seems like a viable choice due to the nature of the encounter and the  attacking force that Uruguay have, even without Suárez.

Morocco will face Netherlands on 31st May in Agadir. Both teams are having struggled in their continental qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, will use this friendly as an opportunity to improve their performance.

The dutch side signed Dick Advoocat as the new national team manager. Advoocat will take over in June, but he’s already made the first call-up for this friendly. Most of the expected players are called: Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Bas Dost, Daley Blind, Davy Klaasen and the goalkeeper Cillessen among others will be available to play. Defensive midfielder Nathan Ake (22, Chelsea) will make his debut with the national team.

As for the Moroccans, it’s all about consistency. If they want a place in the next world cup, they’ll have to win every game they have in order to do so. That’s why manager Herve Renard made a similar call-up to before, with the names of Karim El Ahmadi, Younès Belhanda and the promising youth player Youssef En Nesyri (19, striker at Málaga FC). Mimoun Mahi (23), an offensive midfielder at FC Groningen and a former dutch player in the youths teams, will make his debut for the national team.

This match is something of a puzzle, due to the previous bad performances of the dutch teams. Players like Robben or Sneijder can make a difference if they’re in good form, and in the end that’s what’s reflected in the btting odds, with an average of 6/4 for the dutch win over a 9/5 for a home win.