Nothing is at stake in international friendlies˳ These games are of some importance only when they are used as warm-ups ahead of crucial competitions like the World Cup˳
Most club managers find these friendlies an utter nuisance˳ Some of them fight tooth and nail with the country manager by refusing to release their star players˳ There are numerous cases of players returning with injuries which greatly jeopardised the clubs’ chances in the league and other competitions˳ The ‘club vs country’ debate is always controversial˳
The conventional wisdom is to avoid betting these friendlies as they are looked upon as meaningless˳ The results are often unpredictable˳ But a savvy punter may find value in the uncertainties˳
The following factors can be considered :
1˳ Home Advantage Of Intimidating Venue
Countries like Azerbaijian and Kazakhstan, etc˳ are not the most comfortable places to visit˳ How do you expect the soccer superstars to enjoy :
a) Long flights (some countries do not have links for direct flight)˳
b) Less than hygienic living environment and food˳
c) Strange customs (especially if the country is of a predominantly different religion)˳
d) Climate (it cannot be easy to travel long distances from freezing winter in Europe to play in a humid stadium in Turkey on a summer night)˳
2˳ Motivation
It is somewhat difficult to expect motivation when the games are considered meaningless˳ However, do be mindful of :
a) The Home team may be more motivated as they are playing for their country in front of their fans˳
b) The game is more likely to be telecast live especially if the Home team is playing a highly ranked Away team like England˳ Thus the Home team will be super charged-up˳
c) Due to the live telecast, this is a good opportunity especially for players from an ‘obscure’ country to showcase their talent, hoping to attract the attention of sports talent scouts of big European clubs˳
d) The game is used to restore national pride˳ If the country has been thrashed badly by their opponent in a previous game, there may be motivation to treat the game as a revenge fixture˳
3˳ Team Line-Up
Do not expect key players to feature in these friendlies˳ Most clubs are reluctant to release their star players for fear of them returning injured or fatigued˳ So most players chosen are often the second stringers and they themselves may not go all out in order to lessen risk of injury˳
When most teams play cautiously, most of the time it will be a dull match˳
Conclusion
Most punters are only familiar with the same few famous national teams˳ Countries which they hardly heard of will automatically be regarded as ‘not good’˳ However, as the results of these friendlies are unpredictable, the smart punter can spot enormous value in some underdogs, especially playing at Home˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Football-(Soccer)-Betting-Tip—How-to-Win-in-International-Friendlies&id=2700074
