Betting odds Holland

World Cup betting will pay much head to the deadline announcement day, as it is packed with some interesting International friendly matches. Team have to submit their final 23 man World Cup squads to FIFA on the deadline of June 1st, and while some, like Brazil, have already named their 23, there is much speculation about over the likes of who England manager Fabio Capello will cut from his squad after less than impressive warm up matches. All of the speculation will be over on June 1st, as the world learns who will be showing up at South Africa 2010 from all nations. It will also help in picking out the best of World Cup Odds, because some big players who are waiting on late fitness tests, could have a huge influence over proceedings, whether they make it or not. England’s Gareth Barry is one of the major names up there. All will be revealed,  but the announcements won’t take away from some interesting action, which could also influence your World Cup betting.

Australia v Denmark
The Australians can at least boast that they were the first team to arrive in South Africa for the World Cup. The Socceroos have landed themselves in Group D along with Germany, Serbia and Ghana, and so they have no easy task on their hands. They beat New Zealand in a warm up, but with all respect, that’s not much to write home about. Denmark won their qualification group ahead of Portugal, and it will be very interesting to see what they can do at the World Cup. They have a great chance of moving on to the second round, as they are in Group E with Holland, Japan and Cameroon. Denmark work well as a team and have some threatening talent up front, but it is their defence which will largely get them through. Their defence should be able to keep the Socceroos at bay, and further their claims as being an interesting outside bet.
Australia to win: 11/8 at Coral
Draw: 12/5 at Bwin
Australia to win: 9/4 at Victor Chandler

Switzerland v Costa Rica
Costa Rica gave France a good run for their money in a recent International Friendly, but are not on their way to the World Cup. Switzerland however, have a lot to play for, and will be quietly confident of reaching the second round. Much like Denmark, they are strong in terms of team spirit and fight. They impressed quite well in their qualification group from the European zone, but have to face leaders in World Cup Odds Spain, as well as Honduras and Chile. This match will give Switzerland some kind of taste of what is to come from the Latin sides they will meet at the World Cup, who will deal in speed and movement, whereas the Swiss will take a more neutral, efficient approach. Would lean towards Switzerland edging this one in the betting.
Switzerland to win: 3/5 at Totesport
Draw: 11/4 at Victor Chandler
Costa Rica to win: 9/2 at Bet365

Netherlands v Ghana
World Cup betting at Bet365 has seen Holland quietly creeping up in the World Cup Odds, shortening in price to 10/1 in the outright market. There has been little fuss or news coming out of the Dutch camp, as they have been going about their business without grabbing any headlines. The only big debate was over whether or not Ruud Van Nistelrooy would make the squad. He didn’t as the squad was cut down to size well ahead of the deadline. Holland made the USA look woeful in an international friendly, and took down Mexico as well. Now the Dutch, who got through their abridged qualification group with a 100% record, face World Cup participants Ghana.. For Ghana, they have lost Chelsea’s Michael Essien, but should still be a very strong team, as they showed at the African Cup of Nation. This match will be a great test of seeing where both teams are standing at ahead of the tournament, but Holland should edge it.
Holland to win: 5/11 at Coral
Draw: 10/3 at Bet365
Ghana: 8/1 at Victor Chandler

Portugal v Cameroon
Cameroon have been having to deal with a public spat between Samuel Eto’o and former World Cup star Roger Milla. Milla cited Eto’o for not having done anything for his country. Eto’o who has netted 44 times in 94 appearances for his country, was debating whether to go to South Africa 2010 after the personal attack on him, wondering why he should bother. But boss Paul Le Guen has picked him in his final 23, and the Inter Milan man will be going. Cameroon recently drew against Slovakia, and appear to be lacking a lot of punch, and may not be as much of a threat as hoped on African soil. Portugal have been unconvincing, and their World Cup Odds are reflecting that. They have plenty of talent, but coach Carlos Queiroz has not been getting the best out of them. They showed a lot of bottle in battling and scrapping to overcome a poor start in qualification to reach the finals, but don’t look strong enough. Interesting match, as both teams should be better than they are. Portugal maybe will have just a little more punch.
Portugal to win: 4/6 at Boylesports
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Cameroon to win: 4/1 at Paddy Power
 

Group E World Cup Betting Preview: The Netherlands are strong stand out favourites in this group, but the chasing pack in the odds, are all capable of claiming second place in this tight group.

World Cup Teams: Holland, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Holland were drawn in the one smaller qualification group in the European Zone, which meant they didn’t quite have so much work to do to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their cause was further boosted by being drawn against opposition that were always going to have a hard time matching them, and indeed, the Dutch qualified with a 100% record. This is, perhaps, one thing which will cause hesitation when betting on the Netherlands at the World Cup, as they have not really flexed their muscles against top sides. They are on a long unbeaten run, and should be a force to be reckoned with in South Africa all the same. The Dutch are a good passing side, and beat the United States comfortably in the last round of international friendlies. With stars like Arjen Robben, Klaas Huntellar, Van Der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder, Holland possess great ball control as well as an eye for goal when it matters. They netted seventeen times in their eight qualification matches, conceding just the two. The Netherlands are a great price to win the World Cup outright, and while the faces will have changed, the old Dutch philosophy of producing attractive football remains in place. Quite what they will do when they come up against tougher opposition remains to be seen, but they have a lot to make amends for after being so disappointing at the 2006 World Cup when they lost to Portugal in the last sixteen. A country which has always provided a lot of flair, with their total football approach, they have yet to get their hands on the trophy. Denmark are not one of the glamour nations from the European zone, but they really stepped up their game during qualification. In an excitingly tense group with Sweden and Portugal, Denmark won the day thanks to a 1-0 victory over rivals Sweden in the penultimate game. They proved their mettle with a win and a draw over Portugal, who were favourites to win their group, and only lost one match during qualification, a one-nil defeat to Hungary in their last match. Certainly not as full of household star names as Holland, but two stand out players, upon which a lot of their success will be resting upon the shoulders of, are Soren Larsen (who is a race against time to be fit) and Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner. Not the strongest team in defence, and not the strongest team in offence either, Denmark are one of those awkward European teams, against which, ranked teams do not always fancy playing. They could prove to be really stubborn in these World Cup Fixtures and push hard for second place. They are a good stable side, with experience coming from their players plying their trade around Europe, and are a good enough standard to make second place in Group E, a tough battle. Asian representatives Japan, who had the honour of being the first nation to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, will be looking to make headway to the last sixteen of the tournament. They will have ambitions with their rebuilt, yet just as enterprising side, and have proven before to bring some great entertainment to the World Stage with their attacking play. They will have the speed which will cause problems to teams, and it will be a test of how far they have come in their efforts to showcase Asian football. Japan endured a miserable 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they lost all three of their group matches against Brazil, Australia and Croatia. This is their fifth consecutive World Cup, with their best showing coming in 2002 when they reached the last sixteen. If they carry through qualifying form, they can push for second, but Denmark and Cameroon will fancy their chances against them. African nation Cameroon have fallen from their heady days of reaching the quarter finals, and were disappointing along with the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations this year. They do have touches of star quality in the likes of Samuel Eto’o, and if they can get things going, and get some confidence up from their first fixture against Japan, they could be a good bet for second place. Their opening match against Japan could be the crucial match for them, and could make or break the Lions’ hopes of making the last 16. With Paul Le Guen at the helm they have experience, and just need to put things together. A little unpredictable, but can provide a lot of African flair on their home continent.

Group E Betting Stats (World Cup History form in brackets)
(Final outcomes of Golden Goal, Extra Time and Penalty Shoot Out results count as wins or losses)

Netherlands: One of the great sides to watch throughout World Cup history, either for their approach to the beautiful game, or their unpredictable losses at crucial times. Virgin territory for Holland against all three opponents, as they have not played any of them before in the World Cup. (P36, W16, D9, L11)

Denmark: Best result for Denmark out of their three previous World Cups, was a Quarter Final exit against Brazil in 1998. Haven’t played any of their Group E opponents at the World Cup before. Quite a decent record though. (P13, W7, D2, L4)

Cameroon: Good chance of getting out of the Group, but not the strongest of the African sides, and didn’t perform great at the African Cup of Nations. They will need a little more confidence and direction from a sharp start, and they do have the experience of five previous World Cups. Out of those, they only made it past the first stage in 1990, where England beat them in the Quarter Finals. No tournament history against the other teams. (P17, W4, D7, L6)

Japan: Mixed signals from Japan, and this will be a test of how well the rebuild has gone. Not a great history in the World Cup, and they will be looking to improve against teams they have not encountered before in the competition. (P10, W2, D2, L6)

World Cup Group E - Table

Group Stage Fixture List

World Cup Betting at SkyBet for Outright Winner of Group E, has Denmark at 4/1, Cameroon at 4/1, Japan at 8/1 and Holland are favourites at 4/6 (and 12/1 to Win the World Cup Outright).

Manager: Bert Van Marwijk
Captain: Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
FIFA Ranking: 3
World Cup Appearances: 8
Best World Cup: Runner’s-up – 1974, 1978

Holland Betting Article

Holland Team Profile

It’s rare that the Netherlands, or Holland – whichever you prefer – turn up at these major events without their own unique party atmosphere, and the crazy Dutch could meet their match with the locals in South Africa. On the pitch, however, Holland will mean business as their explosive players will look to drive Holland towards their third final appearance in a World Cup and possibly to win the competition for the very first time as well.

Holland have been the bridesmaid on two occasions after twice coming up short in the final of a World Cup; 1974 & 1978. Recently, though, the Dutch haven’t even got close and will seek inspiration only from their 1998 semi-final in France when they came oh so close to their third World Cup final but lost out on penalties to Brazil. They haven’t really had a squad strong enough to mount a genuine World Cup push since though, but 2010 could be different as a whole host of players within the Holland squad are branded as ‘World-Class’ in their own right.

The Dutch fell at just the last-sixteen stage in their previous World Cup, while they were knocked out of the European Championships in 2008 in the quarter-finals. At one stage in those 2008 European Championships, the Dutch looked the real deal, the team everyone had to beat as they stormed through the Group of Death in emphatic fashion. But, however, they failed to deliver when the limelight was on them, and only time will tell if they fall ill to the same fate in South Africa. The group shouldn’t be a problem, they should complete that part of the mission fairly comfortably, but the knock-out stage is where the pressure will mount and Holland, in recent years anyway, haven’t coped at all well with knock-out football. There’s no time like 2010 to better that though…

Nicknames: Oranje, The Flying Dutchmen

Holland Key Players

All three mentioned below are exciting, explosive and exhilarating to watch. To have all three in the same team is breathtaking as the deadly combination of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie means Holland’s biggest flaw, their lack of a world-class striker, is now longer of great concern. All three are immensely talented when it comes to creating chances but they can also score plenty of goals themselves.

Wesley Sneijder has been a revelation at his new club Inter Milan since joining from Real Madrid. He has superb vision; possessing the ability to read, predict and influence the forward play, but he’s also a very good hitter of the ball as well. He’s a player which will look to shoot on sight and when he catches it right, they stay hit.

Arjen Robben is a magician on the ball, weaving in and out of defences with ease, using the quickness of his feet and his flexibility to dodge oncoming tackles. He occupies one of the flanks usually, often making the full-backs next 90 minutes a nightmare, but he’s prone to cutting inside and having a pop and he too is deadly from long range. Robben doesn’t get a lot of back lift with his shots but they fizz through the air at a disturbing rate of knots, often swerving from side-to-side that the keeper has no chance.

Robin Van Persie is one of our personal favourites; such a delicate little footballer, sort of Dennis Bergkamp like in how he goes about playing the beautiful game. His deft touches, jinxing little runs in between defenders and one lethal shot make the Dutch winger one of the best forwards in the modern game. He’s also a fabulous reader of the play, often seeing a move before it’s even happened. Great vision, the ability to pick out and implement the perfect through ball. Add to his game precision like set-plays and you’ve got one talented winger. 

Strengths

At the 2008 European Championships, Holland were shaping up as genuine contenders for the European crown after storming through their ‘Group of Death’ with France and Italy, emphatically beating two recent World Cup winners. The catalyst for their success on that occasion was the manner at which they counter-attacked. They were lightening quick, precise with their passes and emphatic with their finishing. The Dutch really did look a sheer delight to watch, and with some explosive and exciting players within their midst once again, we’re expecting some more quick breakaways in South Africa as they look to make the pace and guile of the three Dutch musketeer’s to good effect; Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie, all of which are more than comfortable when in possession, know how to take on a defender and certainly know where the goal is. Given the chance to run towards goal, either of the three will punish opponents. 

Weaknesses

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is a young lad with plenty of potential and raw talent, but he has his critics despite plenty of room for improvement, with age certainly on his side. He has, however, tried his hand with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and on some of the biggest occasions, but he’s disappointed massively and there is a big question mark hanging over Huntelaar heading into South Africa over whether the AC Milan flop has what it takes, has enough experience to score the goals Holland need him to score if they are to go far in South Africa.

In fairness, though, there are few strikers available for Bert van Marwijk to choose from, with Huntelaar likely to be the only out-an-out striker travelling to South Africa for Holland. The prolific Ruud Van Nistlerooy has retired, while the forlorn figure of Dirk Kuyt is perhaps the only back up for Huntelaar in that central-forward role.

Holland Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Europe
Group: 9
Position: 1st
Win-Draw-Lose: 8-0-0
Goals Scored: 17
Goals Conceded: 2

World Cup Potential: 4 / 5

Holland have some explosive players in their midst, players which can really make a difference and have that big game experience from club football. They’re a team jam packed with creativity and forward ingenuity, with the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie all boasting that vital match winning mentality. We aren’t entirely convinced with their defence but it does have more than enough caps to suffice on paper, while a big tournament is needed from wonder-kid Klaas-Jan Huntelaar if the Dutch are to be a big player in South Africa. We feel they can be and they are one of our personal favourites to spring a surprise at odds which would suggest they have only an outside chance of lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy.

Holland World Cup Betting Odds

Holland to win the World Cup (odds before the final):          3/2 – Bet365

Before the World Cup the odds on Holland were 11/1 

Official Holland World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax Amsterdam)

Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht)

Sander Boschker (FC Twente Enschede)

Defenders

Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart)

Edson Braafheid (Celtic Glasgow)

Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord Rotterdam)

John Heitinga (FC Everton)

Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg SV)

André Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven)

Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax Amsterdam)

Midfielders

Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven)

Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich)

Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)

Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan)

Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid)

Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar)

Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax Amsterdam)

Eljero Elia (Hamburger SV)

Strikers

Ryan Babel (Liverpool)

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan)

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Holland Fixtures – Group E

28 June – 15.00 – Round of the last 16: Holland v Slovakia 2-1

02 July – 15.00 – Quarter Finals: Holland v Brazil 2-1

06 July  – 19.30 – Semi Finals: Holland v Uruguay 3-2

11 July – 19.30 – World Cup Final: Holland v Spain

World Cup Group E - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group of Holland