Denmark – Romania

Denmark and Romania square off in the Women’s Handball World Cup quarterfinals, with the Nordic side rated as a 1.45 odds favorite by the bookies, but with Romania coming off a big win against Brazil.

Denmark wasn’t particularly impressive in the group stages, losing two matches against Norway and Montenegro, but the Danes really stepped it up in the Round 16 and got a 26-19 win over Sweden. The defense was obviously Denmark’s main advantage and that was to be expected. This is a very good defensive team and proved it in the groups as well, the only hiccup being that 22-29 loss to Hungary, where they should have done better.

Romania finished 4th in the group, losing all the matches that counted against Norway, Spain and Russia. While it was a very difficult group, Romania was disappointing and not many were expecting them to defeat Brazil in the Round 16. However, the Romanians put on an excellent display for a 25-22 win, which proved this team can still compete at the top level, even if it does not have the star power it once did.

Bet on Denmark vs. Romania with the highest Women’s Handball World Cup odds.

Romania has two world class weapons, keeper Ungureanu and particularly Cristina Neagu, arguably a Top 3 player in the world, but that’s about it. The rest of the team is old and the younger girls are not (yet) good enough for this level. With only Neagu guaranteed to deliver offensively, Romania might have big problems scoring against this rock solid Denmark side. The outsiders often have long stretches in which they can’t score against top opposition and, similar to Denmark, rely more on defense.

I fancy the under a lot and it’s no wonder that the odds are dropping for this type of bet. The two teams played a combined total of 8 matches that counted in this competition (leaving aside the games against very pooor opposition). Five of those 8 matches saw under 48,5 goals, with another seeing 49 goals.

With the stakes being higher than ever, both sides know that defense will win them this match, as it’s their main and most reliable quality. I expect Denmark to play the same way they did against Sweden, creating huge problems for Romania. The Romanians were on fire against Brazil, with almost all girls clicking offensively, scoring a lot of goals and even so Romania only scored 25 goals. It’s highly unlikely that old veterans like Bradeanu or Elisei can all have another world class night in a row, particularly against Denmark, a much better defensive team than Brazil.

My tip is under 48,5 goals to be scored. Denmark should win, but an upset is not out of the question if Neagu and Ungureanu have big games and another 1-2 players step up for Romania. Prediction: Denmark – Romania 22 – 20.

Pick: under 48,5 goals
Odds: 1.85 @ 1xBet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 7.65
Event date: 16 December