Monday 28^th November 2022

World Cup alert:

80/1 Golden Ball contender...

Good evening. Your Day 10 email will be with you at 12 noon on Tuesday. But before I hit the hay tonight, I want to get this Golden Ball pick out to you. As this is a price that I can see trending (and dropping) over the next couple of days...

While my original, pre-tournament 18/1 choice Kevin De Bruyne has drifted to 66/1, with Belgium's survival in the competition hanging in the balance to say the least. We can revisit this 'Player of the Tournament' market right now, and get Brazil midfielder Casemiro in the book at a massive price...

Age 30 and playing in midfield, with plenty of admirers this autumn for both Manchester United and now Brazil. Casemiro fits the experienced, classy midfielder niche that we went after with De Bruyne.

Key points this evening, after Brazil beat Switzerland on Monday to win their first two World Cup group games for the first time since they last won the trophy in 2002...

Casemiro scored the only goal of the game in that victory over the Swiss, and it was a great strike, rocketing into the top right-hand side of the net. He was duly named Official Player of the Match on the FIFA website.

I could see the FIFA technical committee liking him. They ultimately decide on the Golden Ball winner, named at the end of the tournament. And Brazil are fancied to be there...

Brazil are now 5/2 (3.5) favourites to win the World Cup. And with star name Neymar out injured until at least the end of the group stage, the door could be open for one of his teammates to take a slice of the glory...

Indeed, after Casemiro's match-winning contribution today, Neymar called his compatriot 'the best midfielder in the world.' That's the kind of headline-making statement that can gain traction, and the Casemiro-for-the-Golden-Ball narrative could grow as this tournament progresses...

Winners of this award universally come from teams that go very deep in the competition. As stated in my Golden Ball pre-tournament analysis, every single previous recipient of this award has played for a country that made at least the semi finals.

With the injured Neymar drifting from 10/1 a week ago to 33/1 now. And fellow gold-shirted forwards Richarlison and Vinicius Junior now trading near the top at 16s each. A few more commanding midfield performances from Casemiro sitting in behind them - and maybe another big goal - with a fair headwind, this is a player that could end up mixing it with the favourites in this market in a couple of weeks from now...

France's Kylian Mbappe is the 3/1 favourite right now. He's also the current favourite for the Golden Boot, and joint-top scorer in the tournament after two games. It's worth pointing out that no player has ever won both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot in the same World Cup.

The final piece of the pie for me right now is the price. Odds of 80/1, 66/1, and 50/1 for Casemiro could turn out to be great value. Take them while you can.

It's goodnight from me for now - but I'll see you again at lunchtime...

TODAY'S PICKS

World Cup 2022

GOLDEN BALL (Player of the Tournament):

• Casemiro @ 80/1 William Hill, 66/1 Bet365 (Carlos Casemiro), Betway, 50/1 Skybet

P.S
Want to get in touch? You can email me direct at:

oliver@acrosstheleagues.co.uk

Enjoy the football…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Across the Leagues