2018 World Cup Prediction: Brazil vs. Belgium Odds

Two of the most explosive teams remaining in the World Cup will face off Friday at Kazan Arena with a berth in the final four at stake. Brazil is coming off an impressive 2-0 victory over Mexico and comes into the quarterfinals having outscored the opposition 6-0 over its previous three games. Belgium, meanwhile, is still buzzing after rallying from a late two-goal deficit to stun Japan in one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history.

World Cup 2018: Brazil vs. Belgium Betting Analysis

Brazil is the odds-on favourite to capture its sixth World Cup title – but oddsmakers aren’t even sure the up-and-down soccer powerhouse will get past the Belgians, making it only a slight favourite. This despite Brazil playing the best footy of any team in the tournament at this point, having blanked Costa Rica, Serbia and Mexico in consecutive games since looking mediocre in a tournament-opening 1-1 draw with Switzerland.

Belgium (+237) is fortunate to have gotten this far after falling behind 2-0 to the Japanese, but oddsmakers know this team is capable of pouring it on at anytime, having scored 12 goals through its first four games. The Belgians are led by Romelu Lukaku, who has four of his team’s dozen tallies and is listed at +800 to win the Golden Boot award as the top World Cup goal-scorer, behind only England standout Harry Kane (-411).

Brazil

This team has received goals from a variety of players to mask what has been a slow start to the tournament for Neymar. The 26-year-old is even with Philippe Coutinho for the team lead with two goals but has yet to really break out; nevertheless, he’s the top option to convert in this game at +111 and and is +366 to open the scoring. And while it will take a Herculean defensive effort, bettors are getting +152 on a fourth consecutive Brazil clean sheet.

Belgium

Lukaku didn’t contribute a goal to the Belgians’ remarkable comeback, but make no mistake: He’s a major threat to end Brazil’s lengthy shutout streak. Lukaku is installed at +152 to add to his tournament goal total, comfortably ahead of teammates Michy Batshuayi (+206) and Eden Hazard (+224). Regardless of who finds the back of the net, there’s a good chance one of these guys will – and that makes the “both teams score” prop a solid option at -130.

Brazil vs. Belgium Prediction

Brazil 2, Belgium 1: This should be a wildly entertaining game – but when it comes down to which team will prevail, it’s hard to bet against Brazil.