2010 World Cup odds

The provisional squads for the World Cup have been named, and if all of the group favourites stick to the plan laid out by World Cup odds, and progress through the first knockout round against their respective second-placed opponents, the Quarter Finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup would be a tough place indeed. If it happened, and there is every chance of it happening, then it would be extremely difficult to pick out a winner from that lot, and the prices at which the teams are now, are certainly not the ones which would be on offer at that stage of the competition. That is why, if you really want to get behind one of the participating teams of the World Cup with a strong bet, then it is better to do so with ante post prices before the tournament kicks off.

Likely quarter final draw after the progression of all group favourites:

• France v England
• Holland v Brazil
• Argentina v Germany
• Italy v Spain

Following the progress of South Africa 2010 can be done by getting the free download of our printable World Cup fixtures chart, where you can plot the courses of these teams. Then, simply translate your findings to one of the best bookmakers for betting on the World Cup and you will be able to secure your early bet. The thrill of betting early and then seeing the team which you backed in the quarter finals, is greater than betting on them once they are there. Again, the earlier the bet placed, the better the odds will be. Planning ahead can certainly be beneficial, and eyeing up that possible quarter final draw, who would your money be on?
 

When looking at World Cup betting odds, it is often easy to forget that all matches have the potential of finishing in a draw. It has as much chance of happening at kick off, as a win/loss result does, and it is something which a punter should bear in mind throughout the tournament. Unexpected draws do happen, and while the stronger teams at the World Cup will start as clear favourites, especially going up against group minnows, it is the teams which are expected to finish second in the group which should generate the most interest in drawing matches. Those kind of stubborn teams which base their game on defence and closing the opposition down from the start, in the hope of snatching a break away goal. There is  often a great fear of losing which makes teams hesitant to take too much of an attacking approach to a game. This is unfortunate, but it happens, and it can lead to drawn matches.

Predicting World Cup Draws
Remember playing the pools on a Saturday, and trying to pick out score draws from the list of forthcoming fixtures? Picking a drawn match in World Cup Betting is not easy, for on the flip side of teams which take a somewhat defence first approach to proceedings, teams like Brazil, Argentina and Spain enjoying rampaging forward and displaying their attacking powers. The teams which are further down the list of World Cup Outright betting, are the ones more likely to draw matches, the teams which are deemed average sides. The likes of France and Portugal for example are clearly going to be better than the likes of Australia and New Zealand, but the former can be classed as middle of the road teams as they will probably struggle against higher quality opposition.

Because drawn matches are harder to predict, there are often decent prices to pick up, and the option should not be ignored. Through the group stages, which contain the bulk of the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, there are matches which will be hard to pick a winner out of, and these should be carefully considered. One of the great options on trying to pick drawn matches, is looking at the Draw No Bet Option, or its Asian Handicap betting equivalent of “0 Goals” for a team. What these options for World Cup Fixtures mean, is that you will back a team to win, but if they do happen to get held to a draw, then you will get a stake refund. Naturally the odds on Draw No Bet selections will be a lot shorter than backing a team straight out to draw a match. Still, the option gives a certain level of coverage all the same, even though you don’t win on a drawn match, at least you won’t lose.

World Cup Kncokout Stage Bets
One of the important factors to remember when betting on the knockout phase of tournament football, is that the fixed odds outright bets will probably only be covered by the main 90 minute result. Whatever happens in extra time is not going to count, so let’s say England play Serbia in the last 16 knockout stage. If you have backed England to win against their European counterparts, but the underdogs hold out for a draw in 90 minutes, only for England to go on and win in extra time, your bet likely won’t stand as it will only be covered by regulation time and nothing else. If you bet on a draw, then you will be enjoying your profits. However, to cover yourself on the eventuality of extra time and penalties in the knockout stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, there are always options to pick out “To Qualify” bets on individual matches at your online bookmaker. These shorter priced selections allow you to pick a winner, regardless of what manner that victory is achieved in.

World Cup Penalty Shoot Outs
There is one more thrilling counterpart to drawn matches to watch out for if you are betting on England at the World Cup. That is the penalty shoot-out, which fans and punters will either love or hate. There is a reasonable chance that at least one of the top four favourites to win the World Cup, may face penalties along the way. Extra time at the World Cup is one of those realty tense half hours of international football, and that old fear of losing, again makes teams hesitant, and can lead to the nail biting event of a World Cup penalty shoot out for survival. Look at the last World Cup Final between France and Italy, which went to a shoot-out to settle the final! Italy won that, and the defending World Cup Champions are the specialists at getting through drawn matches after extra time, while Germany are the Penalty Shoot Out kings. Draws happen, and it is worth mentioning and looking at in World Cup football betting, because it can be a diamond in the rough of drawn match betting, especially when it comes to enjoying Live In Play betting for the finals.

Drawn Match, Extra Time and Penalty Shoot Out Records:

Brazil Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 3-4 against France in 86
Won 3-2 against Italy in 94
Won 4-2 against Holland in 98
AET Record: W2, D1 L0
Brazil have drawn 15.2% of all their World Cup Matches

England Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 3-4 against West Germany in 90
Lost 3-4 against Argentina in 98
Lost 1-3 against Portugal in 06
AET Record: W3, D1, L1
Have drawn 23.6% of their World Cup Matches

Argentina Penalty Shoot Outs
Won 3-2 against Yugoslavia in 90
Won 4-3 against Italy in 90
Won 4-3 against England in 98
Lost 2-4 against Germany in 06
AET Record: W2, D0, L0
Have drawn 20% of their World Cup Matches

Italy Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 3-4 against Argentina in 90
Lost 2-3 against Brazil in 94
Lost 3-4 against France in 98
Won 5-3 against France in 06
AET Record: W5, D1, L0 (+1 golden goal victory)
Have drawn 24.6% of their World Cup Matches

Germany Penalty Shoot Outs
Won 5-4 against France in 82
Won 4-1 against Mexico in 86
Won 4-3 against England in 90
Won 4-2 against Argentina in 06
AET Record: W1, D1, L3
Have drawn 20.6% of their World Cup Matches

France Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 4-5 against West Germany in 82
Won 4-3 against Brazil in 86
Won 4-3 against Italy in 98
Lost 3-5 against Italy in 06
AET Record: W1, D0, L1 (+1 golden goal victory)
Have drawn 19.6% of their World Cup Matches

Spain Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 4-5 against Belgium in 86
Won 3-2 against Rep. of Ireland in 02
Lost 3-5 against South Korea in 02
AET Record: W0, D1, L1
Have drawn 24.4% of their World Cup Matches

Holland Penalty Shoot Outs
Lost 2-4 against Brazil in 98
AET Record: W0, D0, L2
Have drawn 27.7% of their World Cup Matches

2010 World Cup betting odds can already be found on internet bookmaker sites. While the markets are narrow in terms of choice, you can still hedge your bets with all of the major online bookmakers, and in general the price on the teams will be a lot longer now than they will be when the qualifying stages are over. That is because there is still some uncertainty over which teams are definitely going to qualify, and because there is well over 300 days still to go, anything can happen in the world of football to chance the odds on a team.

While there will not be many varying prices available from one Bookmaker’s to the next, the world cup odds themselves may be presented in different ways. With online betting there are generally three different types of betting display, and the usage will vary depending on where you are in the world. One of the most common forms of betting, especially across Europe is the decimal system. The United Kingdom prefers to use fractional odds, and North America will more likely than not be using Moneyline odds. They basically all add up to the same thing, but in order to bet properly, you will need to know how to read the betting odds for the world cup laid out before you.

Decimal Betting Odds
When looking at decimal odds, the number you will be reading will be the amount which, in the event of you winning, will be paid out to you. If, for example, you are looking at the odds of England to win the World Cup on Bet365. There they are listed at 8/1 (fractional), with the decimal odds being equivalent to that of the fractional odds, plus one. So, in decimal terms, England are 9.00 to win the World Cup. The odds work out the same, for if you put one hundred British Pounds on at 8/1, you would win the £800, plus your £100 stake back. Why decimal odds are easier to read, is because all you have to do is multiply your stake by the number you see, and not have to worry about calculating fractional returns, especially when odds starts shortening to odd figures like 5/2, 6/5 for example. In this example a £100 multiplied by the odds of 9.00 gets you the £900 net return, exactly the same as the fractional odds of 8.1. Even odds will be expressed, therefore, as 2.00

Fractional Betting Odds
Much favoured in the world of horse racing in the UK, fractional odds will usually appear on British Bookmakers sites. If the chance of your team winning is less that 50/50, then it will be expressed in “against” fractional odds. For example, the USA are 80/1 against to win the 2010 World Cup at the moment. This means, that if by some miracle they did, and you had a £10 bet on it, you would stand to win your stake back, plus the amount of your stake multiplied by the odds against that event happening, which in this case would be 80. So £10 x 80 = £800, plus the initial £10 stake, so your return would be £810. In decimal odds, it would simply be stated at 81.00, which would give you the same return.

If your team has more than a 50/50 chance of winning, then they will be at “odds on” say for example at ½ on. What this means it that you would get your stake back, plus your stake multiplied by the odds of that event happening, which in this case would be one half (as the fraction will read as ½). So in return you would get your $10 stake plus half of that stake, which is £5, so your return would be $15 on a $10 stake. Odds of 1/5 on, would get you $10 stake return, plus 1/5th of that stake, which is £2, so your total return would be £12.
Things can get a little complicated looking when you start seeing fractions listed at 5/2 for example. Because these are fractions being worked with, then halves cannot by used, so odds of 5/2, would essentially equate to 2.5/1. If you are ever unsure of what return you will get from something like this, simply divide the first number by the second and then multiply by 100. That will give you the winning percentage return. For example 5 divided by 2 equals 2.5 x 100 = 250. A £10 stake multiplied by 250% equals £25, which is the same as the 2.5/1 odds expressed above.

Evens
If your team has a 50/50 chance of winning, then they will be listed at evens. Evens will be expressed as 1/1 in fractions or 2.00 in decimal odds. This simply means that you will win your stake back, doubled. So, on a £10 bet on evens, you will get the £10 stake, plus your stake multiplied by the odds, in this case it will be £10 x 1 which equals another £10. Your net return will be £20 for a £10 bet on evens. Again decimal odds express it more lucidly, as you just multiply the £10 stake by 2.00.

Moneyline Betting Odds
This is also known as American odds and vary again. In this case the odds are expressed in terms of how much you need to risk in order to win. For example, if Argentina are quoted at -150, then in order to win $100, you would need to bet that figure of $150, as stated by the -150. This is the equivalent of odds on betting. If Argentina triumphed, you would get your $100 winnings, plus the $150 stake back too. If the figure quoted is a positive number, for example +400, then the team would have odds equivalent to 4/1. For world cup odds of +400 against, then you have to risk $100 in order to win the $400.

Those are the most common forms of odds you will encounter when betting on the 2010 World Cup. Fortunately most online Bookmakers will have the option to change between decimal and fractional odds through a drop down menu somewhere. This will just give you the personal preference to view the markets in the form you are most used to seeing. Now is a good time to view the betting odds on the World Cup, and to select an outright winner.

Most bookies have Spain and Brazil at 5/1 (or 6.00 decimal), and Argentina hovering around just behind them at 6/1 (7.00 decimal). These of course, are early bird odds, but if you fancy a flutter now, then it is a good time to get some longer odds, for they will shorten by the time the World Cup starts. Look beyond the main three and you will find some really good outside chances. England, Germany, Italy, Holland and France should be able to get you world cup betting odds to win (outright winner) of anywhere between 8/1 and 14/1. For major nations going into a tournament, those are pretty good odds to snap up now.

It’s also very interesting to see how World Cup Outright odds change during the tournament, so here you can find the odds as they were before the first kick-off.

World Cup Betting Odds 2010 to win / outright winner