World Cup Betting

Can Spain Repeat at Euro 2012?

Ian Rose — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:22:55 +0000

The Spaniards won both the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, and so are defending champions in both of their major competitions. We have a long way to wait before knowing whether they can do the nearly-impossible and retain the World Cup in Brazil 2014, but with Euro qualifying underway, it’s only mildly ridiculous to start thinking about Euro 2012. Teams change significantly between World Cups, with the old guards retiring or at least losing their edge (see Italy 2006-2010). But with the European Championships about a year and a half out, Spain will look vaguely similar to how they look now, which is to say fantastic.

Of course, once you get into the knockout rounds of a tournament, anything can happen, and as Spain proved in their first World Cup group match, on any given day they can be beaten. That’s why sports betting houses usually give pretty high odds even for the favorites – higher than in other sports anyway – it’s a funny old game, and surprises happen all the time.

Still, you have to put Spain on top of the favorites. You don’t win those two trophies in succession by accident, after all. The consensus is that they are about 4-1 to win the whole thing, which is actually pretty slim odds considering there are 20 months until the tournament even starts. Interestingly, Germany is tending to be the second favorite, not World Cup runners up Holland. The young side that they brought to the World Cup should be maturing nicely by 2012, and I think if I had to put money down, the smarter bet would be on them at about 6-1.

There’s also the small matter of France, who have been underperforming for so long that we almost forget how talented they are. With Raymond Domenech finally stripped of command, there is every chance that the days of training boycotts and other circus acts are over, and that they will find their feet again and make a run.

Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, England, Portugal (if they qualify) … there are a number of reasonable contenders. Now all we can do is wait for the next round of qualifiers to learn more.

Bet on Spain vs. Portugal

bet — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:42:17 +0000

Spain were on most people’s minds when thinking of finalists in this World Cup, and picked by many to win it all. When they lost their opener to Switzerland in a shock upset, a bit of doubt crept in, but they won their next two matches and ended up top of Group H. Portugal had a much different story, entering the tournament heavy on doubts after a demoralizing series of friendlies including a 0-0 draw to Cape Verde. But they dispelled many of the doubters with a 7-0 rampage over the North Koreans. They may be best known as the team behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but Portugal has a very tough defense, and didn’t concede a single goal in the group. The battle of the Iberian peninsula begins. Here are the odds:

Bet on Paraguay vs. Japan

bet — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:31:52 +0000

As a neutral in this match, I have to say this is probably the Round of 16 match I am looking forward to the most. Paraguay were unknown to many fans around the world, but those who watched the South American World Cup qualifiers could tell you how potent this team would be. Japan were widely expected to finish last in Group E, but shocked the world by not only beating Cameroon, but also playing Netherlands to a close 1-0 loss and beating Denmark handily 3-1. Their quality on set pieces and general organization is obscenely good, and they will give Paraguay fits. This one could really go either way. Here are the odds on Paraguay vs. Japan:

Bet on Brazil vs. Chile

bet — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:25:52 +0000

The story of this World Cup so far is the excellent performance of the South American teams. Five teams entered the tournament, and five are through to the first knockout round. Four of these sides (Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina) won their groups. Chile looked poised to make it five winners, but when Spain beat them on the last day of the group stage, they sank to second. One of the five will surely be eliminated in the round of 16, as Chile take on 5-time winners Brazil. Chile have turned heads at this tournament with their attacking style, whereas Brazil, always expected to be in the running, have stuttered a little on the way, not really winning any of their matches with all that much authority. This is going to be a very interesting one. Here are the odds on Brazil vs. Chile:

Bet on Netherlands vs. Slovakia

bet — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:27:08 +0000

The Dutch came into World Cup 2010 as one of the favorites, with one of the most talented and complete sides in the tournament. Their attack is especially deadly, with Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie and more. The Oranje won all of their matches in Group E, but failed to impress their many fans in South Africa with a definitive statement win like Germany and Portugal had. Slovakia is in a very different situation, coming into the tournament unfancied and largely unknown. But you can certainly remove the “unknown” tag from the Slovaks after they pulled off one of the great World Cup upsets by beating and eliminating world champions Italy. Can they do it again, or will the Dutch finally hit their attacking stride against these relative minnows? Here are all the best betting odds on Netherlands vs. Slovakia:

Bet on Argentina vs. Mexico

bet — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:18:02 +0000

Argentina is a force to be reckoned with, sporting a former footballing genius (Maradona) and a current one (Messi), along with an attacking lineup that would send any defense on Earth into fits. As has been proven in their perfect 3-0-0 group stage, if you double cover Messi, then Higuain, Palermo and others will hurt you. Mexico has less star power, but you don’t qualify for 5 consecutive knockout rounds in the World Cup without a lot of quality. The trick for them has been getting past the Round of 16, and Argentina will make it no easier this time. Here are all of the betting odds for Argentina vs. Mexico:

Bet on Germany vs England

bet — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:57:34 +0000

Germany and England – it is one of the great rivalries in football. The one World Cup that England won, in 1966, they did it over the Germans. Several times since, these two powerhouses have met in the knockout stages. This year, the English came to the tournament with huge expectations, after a fantastic qualifying campaign. But in the end, it took a 1-0 win in their third match to qualify them in second place. The Germans, always a contender, started their group with an impressive win over Australia before stalling and losing their second. Both sides will see this as more than a knockout match – it is the continuation of a historic rivalry, and whoeer comes out of this match will see it as a huge obstacle navigated on the way to raising the trophy. Here are all of the best odds on Germany vs. England:

Bet on USA vs. Ghana

bet — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:49:48 +0000

After a dramatic qualifying campaign that included 2 controversial goal decisions against them, the USA booked their ticket to the knockout rounds of the 2010 World Cup with a last-minute winner against Algeria. Ghana, on the other hand, made it through largely on the strength of their opening win over Serbia, and became the only African team in the second round despite not scoring a goal from open play in the group stage. Ghana knocked the USA out of the World Cup in 2006, and both sides will feel confident that they can progress past this match and into the quarterfinals. Here are the odds on USA vs. Ghana:

Bet on Uruguay vs. South Korea

bet — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:38:20 +0000

The World Cup Round of 16 opens on June 26th in Port Elizabeth with the kickoff of Group A winners Uruguay vs. Group B runners up South Korea. Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez head up a dangerous Uruguayan attack backed up by a defense that didn’t concede a single goal in group play. They face a South Korea side that both scored and conceded a fair number of goals in their group, so it should be an interesting clash of skills and styles. Here are the best betting odds for several aspects of this match:

World Cup Odds all over the place

bet — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:48:23 +0000

Many of you have been asking for betting odds on our site. We’ve delivered. We now have odds for all your favorite World Cup bets and teams all over the place now.

Argentina Odds at the World Cup

Brazil Odds at the World Cup

England Odds at the World Cup

Germany Odds at the World Cup

Italy Odds at the World Cup

Netherlands Odds at the World Cup

Portugal Odds at the World Cup

South Africa Odds at the World Cup

Spain Odds at the World Cup

World Cup Odds

World Cup Top Goal Scorer

Each of the pages above have bets and odds focused on the title of the page. So it’s easy to bookmark and just come back to the betting page on England for example- and the odds and bets will be auto updated. Pretty cool, eh?