Expert Best Bet for Belgium-USA World Cup Round of 16 in Seattle – BettingPros

The World Cup rolls on, and all eyes point toward Seattle tonight as Team USA takes on Belgium.

For my Hard Rock Best Bet of the Day, give me under 3.5 total goals at -125 odds through Hard Rock Bet.

USA vs. Belgium Best Bet: Under 3.5 Goals (-125)

Look, Balogun being back really is inflating some odds here, and while I like it from an offensive standpoint, these are really two good teams. They’re very even on both sides of the ball – strong defensively, strong offensively – and I think it’s going to be a closely contested game from start to finish. Both squads are averaging between 2.25 and 2.5 goals per game while controlling possession at nearly a 52% to 53% clip as well.

While Team USA has gone over this total in multiple games – two out of four, to be specific – they’ve really clamped down in these big-time moments. With the chance to clinch the group, Team USA went out and won 2-0 against Australia. It was kind of the same story last time out against Bosnia. In these high-pressure moments, Team USA has been playing tighter, playing more defensively, and keeping games under control.

Belgium has shown a similar trend. Fifty percent of their matches have gone under this total. We also saw them struggle against some of the stronger teams they’ve faced, while a lot of their heavy lifting in the goal-scoring department has come against New Zealand and Senegal – two pretty lackadaisical defenses.

Against a quality USA defense and a quality Belgium defense, I don’t think the goalkeepers are going to have to stand on their heads because most of the action is going to stay outside the box.

I think this one stays under tonight in the home of the 12.