World Cup End of Day Report: Belgium and Algeria win, USA almost do

Port authority: a late equaliser delayed US progress

Another day, and World Cup 2014 moves further off script. Adam Shearwood looks at how Betfair customers reacted to the thrilling action.

They traded at a low of 1.031/33 to win the game only to be denied by the last action of the match, yet USA remain well-placed to go through to the Last 16. Their opponents, Portugal, were better than they were against Germany in their opening fixture - they couldn't have been any worse - but still lacked adequate team spirit or taste for the battle, which their US opponents displayed in abundance.

If it hadn't been for a momentary lapse from midfielder Michael Bradley late in the game, USA would have held on for a deserved 2-1 win and Portugal would be out. As it is, Portugal retain a slim chance of qualification from Group G, although they need to beat Ghana in their final game and hope that Joachim Lw gets one over on former boss Jrgen Klinsmann by navigating Germany to victory over the Americans.

Betfair customers see this sequence of events as unlikely, with USA strong favourites at 1.271/4 to join the Germans in the knockout stages. The draw in the USA v Germany match is currently trading at just 2.6813/8.

Earlier, Algeria showed resilience in bouncing back from an opening defeat to Belgium to overcome a disappointing South Korean side. A first half three-goal blitz helped them on their way to an eventual 4-2 victory - a scoreline that was matched at a high of 460.0459/1 on Betfair. Algeria are now odds-on to progress from Group H - 1.910/11 - knowing a draw with Russia in their final game will see them through to the Last 16.

Russia may consider themselves slightly unfortunate not to be in a stronger position going into the showdown with the Algerians. They had looked set for a deserved point against Belgium in the day's early kick-off, only to be denied by young prospect Divock Origi's 88th minute game-winner.  

Belgium had put in another performance that suggested their sum may equate to less than their impressive parts. Betfair customers certainly remain far from convinced that they have what it takes to win the tournament; Les Diables Rouges are only slightly more popular in the Winner 2014 market despite a 100% record so far - 23.022/1 from a pre-tournament 28.027/1. A struggle for team cohesion may be the telling factor in their lack of market support.