A lot of the favorites have been knocked out of action in this World Cup, but perhaps the biggest surprise is that the team that ranked #66 in the world has been able to make it through to the quarter-finals. And it could become an even better story if Russia, the host squad, is able to bull its way to the semi-finals by beating Croatia. This match is slated to get underway at 2 PM ET on Saturday, and those people who are signed up for accounts at BetAnySports can get almost unlimited action, not only before the game with a wide variety of options, but also after the game has kicked off, with the real-time wagers that come through Live Betting Ultra.

While admittedly FIFA placed Russia in a group that allowed for the optimum chance to be one of the top two to advance (with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as Uruguay), there were enough people who did not expect them to do much anyway. They had not been through the process of qualification, because the host nation is an automatic qualifier to the World Cup; they had not shown a whole lot in friendlies, and they were also banged up. Coach Stanislav Cherchesov had to navigate his way around a number of injuries, and he also introduced his team to a new formation that used only three backs. His rationale was that they just weren't going to gain any traction in the World Cup, against teams with more firepower, if they kept four people back.

Still, you have to applaud the remarkable job these guys did against Spain, since they held one of the most talented offensive teams in this tournament to just a single goal to force the shootout, and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev excelled there. He has now made 14 saves during the proceedings. Akinfeev has over 100 international caps to his credit, but on the whole, Russia is a younger team than in years past, and the transition to more youth has also been a challenge for Cherchesov.

In the odds at BetAnySports upon which we will make our World Cup picks, Croatia is the clear favorite:

Croatia +110
Russia +330
Draw +220

Croatia -1/2 Goal +107
Russia +1/2 Goal -122

Over 2 Goals -106
Under 2 Goals -109

On top of all this other stuff, Cherchesov has had to deal with the loss of one of his best players. Alan Dzagoev, a midfielder who is a long-time member of CSKA Moscow, suffered a hamstring injury in the opening victory over Saudi Arabia, and that took him out of the tournament. He was replaced by Denis Cheryshev, who has scored three times. But one of the concerns is that once the opposition has improved, he got silenced for the most part.

Croatia has been about as good as anybody on an all-around basis. And they have the ability to dominate, as they did in taking Argentina, which was the 2014 runner-up and brings Lionel Messi to the table, and handing them a 3-0 spanking. Until facing Denmark last time out, they had scored six of their seven goals in the second half. And they had to play from behind right from the outset against the Danes, who scored a goal in the first minute. But then they came right back a few minutes later. After the rest of the game went scoreless, they were able to best Kasper Schmeichel in a very hotly-contested shootout.

Zlatko Dalic was named the new coach for the Croats after a draw with Finland in qualifying, and his challenge has been to ramp up the level of offense. They have an unquestioned star in Luka Modric of Real Madrid, who has been named the top midfielder in UEFA. And then there's Mario Mandžukic, the two-time Croatian Footballer of the Year.

This is a team that has balance, and even if the Russians get a lot of hometown officiating (which some people fully expect), they are probably too much to deal with.

There is a price of -195 on Croatia advancing, and we'll lay it at BetAnySports, which has props in profusion, not to mention Live Betting Ultra for you to enjoy........... Remember that you have options when it comes to opening an account - you can use your Visa card, as well as person-to-person transfers (like Western Union) and the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which is fast and easy with their automated system, and NEVER incurs a transaction fee!

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