World Cup 2018: Tunisia vs. Panama odds, expert picks, and insider predictions

Two teams looking for their first victory at the 2018 World Cup meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. Tunisia and Panama have been eliminated from advancing to the knockout stage after suffering back-to-back losses, but there will be plenty of pride on the line in Russia 2018. Tunisia enters its final 2018 World Cup match as a -125 money line favorite, meaning you'd need to bet $125 on an outright Tunisian victory to win $100. Panama enters this Group G fixture at +340 (wager $100 to win $340), while a draw is +265. The over-under on total goals is 2.5.

Before you enter your 2018 World Cup picks, you need to see what European football expert David Sumpter has to say. Sumpter is an applied mathematician who wrote "Soccermatics," a book that explains how math works inside the sport. Along with other experienced analysts, Sumpter developed the powerful Soccerbot model. 

The Soccerbot reads current odds and all team performance data, calculates key metrics and predicts upcoming matches. In nearly three seasons since its inception, the Soccerbot is up an incredible 1,800 percent on bookmakers' closing odds. 

The Soccerbot has already nailed draws for Argentina-Iceland (+385) and Brazil-Switzerland (+360). It also correctly predicted Iran upsetting Morocco at +275, just to name a few of its big calls. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now, Soccerbot has digested the film, crunched the numbers and broken down every single player on the rosters for Tunisia and Panama. The model has released a very strong money-line pick, which it is sharing over at SportsLine. 

The model surely anticipates a spirited effort from a pair of clubs that are known for their aggressive play on the defensive side. Both will also be looking to salvage some dignity from the 2018 World Cup as both have been on short end of some of the most lopsided outcomes in the tournament.

The Soccerbot is aware this will be the first ever meeting between Panama and Tunisia. Tunisia enters this match winless in its last 13 World Cup matches. Its last World Cup victory came against Mexico in 1978. 

Tunisia will be looking to break down Panama's defense, which has allowed nine goals from 13 shots on target at the 2018 World Cup. Tunisia will turn to Wahbi Khazri to provide an offensive spark. He scored and assisted in Tunisia's 5-2 defeat against Belgium. 

Conversely, Panama is trying to shake the perception that it is just content to have made its first World Cup appearance. Panama has been outscored by a combined total of 9-1 in losses to England and Belgium.

So which hungry nation wins Thursday? Or does it end in a draw? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong Tunisia-Panama money-line pick, all from a European soccer expert whose powerful model is up 1,800 percent in less than three years.