Which underdog story will lead to the semifinals?
There will be a surprise semifinalist. That much is already clear ahead of our Norway vs. Latvia tip, as these two teams are facing off in the quarterfinals. Between them, both teams have won just a single medal in the history of the World Championships (Latvia: bronze in 2023).
Determining the favorite, however, isn’t so straightforward. Bookmakers clearly favor the Norwegians—likely due to their slightly better group stage record. Since we consider the Latvian group to be the slightly stronger one, we don’t entirely agree with that assessment.
For us, this is a duel between evenly matched teams, though with a 51:49% edge in favor of the Latvians. Therefore, our prediction for Norway vs. Latvia is a close match, in which a Latvian victory would not be a major surprise—nor would a possible overtime.
We’ve already touched on under bets for our tips, but for Norway vs. Latvia, our focus is on the odds that capitalize on Latvia’s slight underdog status. X2 would be one such option, as we’d be covered even if the match ends in a draw.
Norway – Latvia Head-to-Head Record
The head-to-head record adds another point in Latvia’s favor. Eight of the last ten meetings went to Latvia, with Norway’s only two wins coming in friendly matches.
Since the Latvians have already shown with their 2023 bronze medal that they can perform under pressure, we see them as slight favorites here. Thus, for Norway vs. Latvia, the betting odds on a Latvia win at up to 2.45 odds points (1/X/2) are definitely worth considering.
Norway – Latvia Tip
On the final matchday, Latvia swept Hungary out of the arena 8-1 under pressure, while the Norwegians had to go into overtime for their 4-3 victory against the similarly ranked Danes. This indicates a loss of momentum for the Scandinavians and also a slightly weaker current form.
In knockout matches, a final game like the one the Latvians had is a major advantage. That’s why a bet on X2 is our preferred betting option for Norway vs. Latvia. After all, given their defensive form, the Latvians should at least make it to overtime here.
In addition to the picks for Team Latvia, the alternatives are also better for the Balts when it comes to goal predictions. We recommend a bet on a goal by Rudolfs Balcers, who even leads the World Championship scoring chart with seven goals in seven games.
