Every New Yorker who likes soccer is making plans for 2 p.m. Saturday, when the United States will play the Netherlands in the knockout round of the World Cup in Qatar.
Those who choose to watch this match at Dutch Kills in Long Island City, Queens, or Dutch Freds in midtown Manhattan will likely run into some fans clad in orange. That is the color worn by the team from the Netherlands, and the Dutch expats in New York are going to find some type of public house to cheer on the team from back home.
If Dutch Kills is your choice, the extra benefit for fans wagering on the United States is that they are +330 on the moneyline against a Netherlands team that won their opening round group with 2-0 victories over Qatar and Senegal and a 1-1 tie with Ecuador. Given that this game is happening on a Saturday afternoon in New York, it will be a socializing event.
And let s not forget that New York City was once called New Amsterdam.
For those attending at Dutch Kills in the Long Island City section of Queens, it is of special note that U.S. forward Tim Weah, who scored the first and only goal in the opener against Wales, is actually from that borough, having grown up in Rosedale, Queens. His limited edition Panini World Cup sticker is already selling for $25 on eBay.
https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1595148037558390784
What Are The Chances Weah Scores Again?Most of the gambling at the nine legalized US sportsbooks has been on match results and overall winner. Brazil is heavily favored (+275), with Argentina and France second (+500). That s with some putting Spain at +500 and others at +800, with Netherlands in the top eight (+1600 to +2000). The United States is listed at the following prices at the nine New York sportsbooks:
DraftKings: +9000.FanDuel: +9000.Caesars: +7500.BetMGM: +8000.PointsBet: +10000.WynnBet: +10000.BetRivers: +10000.ResortsWorld: +10000.BallyBet: Unavailable.Should the United States advance, they would face the winner of Argentina-Australia in the quarterfinals. That would give them a chance to face the legendary Lionel Messi, who leads his team with two goals, 13 shots, eight shots on target, and nine fouls against.
But they have to get there against a very strong Netherlands team, and they are going to need at least one goal from someone. And that is where the 22-year-old from Queens comes in, because Weah is on the board as one of the potential US goal scorers: +900 to be the first goal scorer, the same odds to be the last goal scorer, and +350 to be an anytime goal scorer.
New Yorkers Should Know MoreAnd if you are a New Yorker, or an American watching in New York, why not go with the kid from Queens? He was born in Brooklyn in 2000 and is the third child of mother Clar, who is of Jamaican descent, and father George, who was elected the 25th President of Liberia in 2018. He has played for the New York Red Bulls, Celtic, Paris St. Germain, and is currently with Lille in the French First Division. He has scored 13 goals in 56 career appearances for US National teams, including U5, U17, U20 and U23 teams. In the 2017 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Indiana, he scored three goals in a 5-0 win over Paraguay.
https://twitter.com/talkSPORTEDGE/status/1597953596334772237
The French, Liberian, and Jamaican national teams tried to sign him because of his ancestry, but he chose the United States because this is my country and I love it here.
Five and a half years ago, when he was still a teenager coming up with some of his current teammates, he told American soccer now:
“I feel like going into the future, this team has something special. Who knows? Maybe we ll win the World Cup and one day all of us will be on the full national team together and bring the World Cup home to our country.”
Weah actually has shorter anytime goalscorer odds than his more famous teammate, Christian Pulisic, the guy who scored the lone goal against Iran on Tuesday as the United States advanced.
GGOOOAAALLLL! Our guy puts the US up 1-0 over Iran at the half!!
That should make the soccer marketplace an interesting place to be during the break! Find the captain and other players here!
Panini America (@PaniniAmerica)
World Cup Wagering Is A Monster WorldwideThe NFL may be king when it comes to viewership and sports gambling activity in the United States, but worldwide it is a different story. Click on a Premier League game or a Champions League game or a game from the Brazilian or Mexican domestic leagues, and most of the signage you will see is from sportsbooks.
But because the World Cup comes around only once every four years, Americans tend to take a keen interest, the same way they do for the Olympics. And they bet the home team.
Since the USA win against Iran, 23% of tickets (most) are on USA to win the World Cup, said John Ewing of BetMGM, noting that one bettor from Kansas placed two wagers prior to the Iran-US and England-Wales matches Tuesday:
$25,000 to win $225,000 on England at +900$3,000 to win $300,000 on USA at +10000.Ewing said BetMGM has its highest ticket percentages on Argentina (14.8%), Brazil (12.5%) and USA (10.7%), making the Americans the book s biggest liability.
While we re personally fans, USA winning it would be a tough outcome for the book. That said, as they advance, we re seeing more betting action than ever,” BetMGM trader Christian Cipollini said.
Where Else Is There World Cup Value?Every four years, Panini issues a World Cup sticker album that fans can try to fill up by purchasing sticker packets at $1.25 per package. The company is licensed to produce trading cards, stickers, comics, and children’s magazines.
The 2022 Panini World Cup sticker book features two unique firsts in the product’s 52-year history: NFTs are now a part of the offering, as well as super-limited numbered stickers in the US only, including a 1-of-1 black-border parallel series inserted into packs (higher-profile player stickers of this version are expected to be worth $10,000).
For the first time ever, the collection will include limited-edition parallels of the non-foil stickers, randomly inserted into packets. The colors and odds: gold (approximately four in every online-exclusive packet), blue (one in every two packets, on average), red (1:26), purple (1:205), green (1:1,445) and black (numbered 1/1). It’s possible that fans can build an entire book with blue parallels. Over 20,000 retailers carry the product including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and others.
The black 1/1 of Messi was purchased by a young fan in Virginia, and it may eventually make it onto the secondary market. What would it be worth? Depends on whether Messi has a World Cup that resembles Aaron Judge s most recent season.
https://twitter.com/PaniniAmerica/status/1595417959350116355
Where Else Can New Yorkers Watch This Match?The most popular place will probably be Times Square. But Saturday s forecast calls for rain, so options need to be addressed. Every sports bar will have this game on television. But if you want to wear your stars and stripes and mingle with the Dutch, one place that will require a train ride or a trip up I-87 is Meyer’s Old Dutch in Beacon, NY, which is named after Chef/Owner Brian Arnoff’s great grandfather Meyer, who once owned and operated Old Dutch Grocery across the river in Middletown, NY.
They serve Heineken beer, which is brewed in the Netherlands. The best bet Saturday is that a whole bunch of Heineken will be consumed.
