Netherlands vs Ecuador - 2022 World Cup Betting Guide

Netherlands Team Info – Potential Title Winners?

The Netherlands are currently ranked 8th in the world rankings, and they will be amongst most football fan's top choices for title contenders. After missing out on the 2018 competition, the Netherlands returns to the World Cup in 2022, and they are managed by Louis van Gaal, the man who brought the team to a third place finish in 2014. In 2010, Holland reached the World Cup final for a third time in their history. After having lost two World Cup finals in 1974, and 1978, the Netherlands were looking for their first winners title, but they were disappointed by Spain who beat them 1-0. Their luck may turn for the better in the 2022 World Cup, as they have one of the best teams in the competition.

In goal, they can field Jasper Cillessen or Tim Kruul. In defence, they have some top quality players in Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake, Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij, and Daley Blind. The Dutch midfield is also rife with quality, such as Frenkie de Jong, Georginio Wijnaldum, Steven Berghuis, and Davy Klassen. In attack, they have Memphis Depay, who is 8 goals away from equalling Van Persie's record of 50 goals for the Oranje. They also have Steven Bergwijn, Wout Weghorst, Luuk de Jong, and Donyell Malen.

Ecuador Team Info – A Squad Struggling for Consistency

Ecuador qualified for the World Cup after finishing in fourth place in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. They were not expected by most to qualify, as they were ranked 9th amongst the 10 nations in the federation in 2020, but Ecuador managed to string enough good performances to win 7 out of their 18 matches. They finished 2 points ahead of Peru, who went on to the inter-confederation play-offs. Qualifying for the World Cup in 2022 was a big achievement for Ecuador, whose men's national team has never won a senior international competition. The Netherlands are going to be their toughest competition in the group, but Ecuador has shown in their qualifiers that they are capable of holding the biggest teams to a draw, such as when they drew 1-1 with Argentina in March, or when they held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in January.

Their key strikers are Michael Estrada and Enner Valencia, who scored 6 and 4 goals in the qualifiers. Ecuador has other key players in their squad, such as Carlos Gruezo, Angel Mena, Jhegson Mendez, and the highly rated Gonzalo Plata in their midfield. In defence, they can use Pervis Estupinan, Angelo Preciado, Piero Hincapie, and Xavier Arreaga, and in goal, they can use Alexander Dominguez.

The Netherlands vs Ecuador Head-to-head

These two teams have played against each other twice. The most recent game was in 2014, which was a friendly game that ended 1-1.

The Netherlands vs Ecuador Betting Preview

The Netherlands will be favoured to win this game, as they have a great squad and the return of manager Louis van Gaal will certainly give them an advantage. If you want to bet on the Netherlands to win but the odds are too low, there are multiple ways that you can increase them to your liking. Alternatively, there are bets on Ecuador that may interest you, and they can come at extremely long odds.

Asian Handicaps

With handicaps, you will be able to increase the odds on a team to win, or you can use a handicap that favours a team, in which case their odds will shorten but the bet will have a far better chance of winning. They are basically a margin by which a team should win, or a margin by which a team should not lose by.

If you bet on the Netherlands to win and give them a handicap of -1.5, this will mean that they should finish the game 2 goals clear of Ecuador. If you give Ecuador a handicap of +1.5, this will mean that they have to not lose the game by more than 1 goal.

There are also handicaps of 1, 1.25, 1.75, and so on. If the Netherlands have a handicap of -2, this will mean that they have to win the game 3 goals clear of Ecuador, but if they only manage 2, then the bet is considered void and your money will be returned. A handicap of -1.75 will split your stake in two, with half of it going on a bet of -2, and the other half on -1.5. This way, you will win your money if the Netherlands finishes the match by 3 or more goals in the clear, but if they only are 2 goals ahead, then half your stake will be returned.

Player Goals

You can find bets for all of the players in the lineup to score at any time during the match, score the first goal of the match, and score the last goal of the match. There will be some fantastic odds on Memphis Depay scoring against Ecuador, or Virgil van Dijk to open the scoring, Enner Valencia to score at any time during the match, and a lot more.

Over/Under Total Goals

If you think that the two teams will both score many goals, you may be interested in placing a total goals bet. This is a bet where you have to define a range in which the number of goals between both teams will fall. You can pick one of the betting lines, and bet on whether the game will end with over or under that number of goals. For example, you may bet on the Netherlands and Ecuador to score 5 or more goals between them. You may look at it the other way, and bet on the two teams to score a maximum of 2 goals.

And Plenty More

There are so many bets available in our selection that you will definitely find some that you will want to try. Bets like Ecuador to open the scoring, the Netherlands to score in both halves, both teams to score, Ecuador to keep a clean sheet, the Netherlands to win by a margin of 2, the Netherlands to win 5-0, either team to score within the first 10 minutes, Ecuador to win the first half, are just a few examples of what types of bets you can find.

There will also be numerous combo bets that fuse together two or more bets, and these will offer far longer odds than if they were placed as single bets. You can bet on both teams to score and the Netherlands to win, Netherlands to win both halves and the match to end with 4 or more goals, Ecuador to win and the match to end with 2 or less goals, Ecuador to score the first goal and the Netherlands to win the first half, and much more.

Whilst betting on World Cup games can be good fun, it is always important to keep track of how much you spend. There are multiple group stage games each day, so you should make sure that you keep a budget and do not spend more than you can afford to lose. If you find that you need help or more information, you can always turn to organisations such as gambleaware.co.uk