Betting tips New Zealand

Manager: Ricki Herbert
Captain: Ryan Nelsen
FIFA World Ranking: 82
World Cup Appearances: 1
Best World Cup: Round 1 – 1982

New Zealand Team Profile

We think it’s safe to say that New Zealand won’t be winning South Africa’s show-piece event, but what New Zealand will bring to the fort is that fresh feeling, the feeling you get when you know a nation is privileged just to be involved and with this being just the country’s second appearance in a World Cup, with their last coming back in 1982 – the Kiwi’s will certainly appreciate the fabulous opportunity they’ve been handed.

Under the management of Ricki Herbert, the Kiwi’s remained a solid little outfit during Oceania qualification, cruising through their sector with an almost immaculate record of 5 wins and 1 loss. Last year though, New Zealand got their first real taste of what it’s like to play against some of the World’s best nations when they participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, a competition they earned many admirers in after some valiant and industrious displays. They were, unfortunately, thumped 5-0 by the then World No.1 Spain in a game which will have brought about some valuable experience playing against some world-class individuals, but the 0-0 draw they earned against Iraq ensured the Kiwi’s didn’t leave the tournament empty handed, while it gave the nation hope that perhaps New Zealand could attain their first ever point in a World Cup.

The one thing their qualification has done is boost the popularity of the sport back home in a country which before New Zealand had qualified, couldn’t care less about football or soccer in what was a Rugby mad nation. They still are rugby mad, but their progression into just their second World Cup has brought about a heap more followers back home, while their crucial World Cup play-off against Bahrain brought about the biggest turn out for a football game in New Zealand, which is a big indication in itself that New Zealand’s hard work is already beginning to show signs of priceless rewards. We hope, and remain pretty confident, that New Zealand will have a large number of fans back home cheering them on in South Africa, but even if they don’t, we’re certain they’ll attract the support from all those underdog fans out there as the Kiwi’s seek out a shock somewhere down the line.

Nickname: The Kiwi’s

New Zealand Key Players

Ryan Nelsen

The Kiwi’s captain is also the captain for Blackburn Rovers (England) and will be the player everyone looks up to in this New Zealand squad. He has bags of experience at the highest level and is a rock at the back for both club & country. He has 38 international caps to his name along with six international goals, which is a creditable tally for a defender who only raids forward for set-plays. He is agile in the air, quick at reading plays and a great tackler. He will need to lead by example at the back for New Zealand as their defence will come under plenty of scrutiny. 

Strengths

It’s hard to really say without seeing too much of them but they are a nation who like to attack and they could cause country’s a few problems at the back. They gave Italy, a team in their group at the world cup, several scares last year when the pair met in an international friendly. The Italian’s were victorious in the end, winning 4-3, but only after they came from behind on more than one occasions to overhaul a confident looking New Zealand side that day. They also shown plenty of attacking intent in the 2009 Confederations Cup  in which they bombed forward at every opportunity, although they did concede a fair few for their troubles. Still, we would have to say their attacking play is their strongest asset , while their enthusiasm for the game will increase their neutral following, we’re sure.

Weaknesses

There are several reasons why New Zealand won’t be winning 2010′s main event, the first being their lack of experience on this type of stage, the biggest in international football, while the second is their lightweight defence.

Their shining light is Blackburn Rovers’ Ryan Nelsen, who has picked up plenty of first-class knowledge and know-how from his many years in the English Premiership. However, Nelson’s knowledge of the game won’t be enough to carry what is a vulnerable, exposed and extremely weak New Zealand through the tournament without conceding it’s fair share of goals. The scary thing is, New Zealand don’t even like to defence. They’re an ambitious bunch who love to give it a good go. With this attitude, although remarkably admirable, they’ll get punished quite severely if they’re not careful.

New Zealand Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Oceania

Position: 1st

Win-Draw-Lose: 5-0-1

Goals Scored: 14

Goals Conceded: 5

The Kiwi’s secured qualification via a two-legged play-off with Bahrain, winning 1-0 on aggregate through a Rory Fallon header in the away leg. 

World Cup Potential: 1/5

We won’t be mean and put a ’0′ but this is a fair assessment on how little we rate New Zealand’s chances at the forthcoming African World Cup. Their squad is far too weak to even be competing at this level and they will find out in no time at all that they are punching well above their weight. However, this a special and rare occasion for their followers back home, and while they won’t travel to South Africa aiming to win the tournament outright,they will nevertheless saviour the moment and enjoy the unqiue atmosphere that you get at a World Cup. We wish them all the best but they are one of a select few in this summers finals that we can safely say WON’T be winning the competition outright.

New Zealand World Cup Betting Odds

New Zealand to win the World Cup: 1500 – Expekt

Before the World Cup the odds on New Zealand were 3000/1 

Official New Zealand World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

James Bannatyne (Team Wellington)

Glen Moss (Melbourne Victory)

Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix)

Defenders

Andy Boyens (New York Red Bulls)

Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix)

Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers)

Winston Reid (FC Midtjylland)

Ben Sigmund (Wellington Phoenix)

Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town)

Ivan Vicelich (Auckland City)

David Mulligan

Midfielders

Andy Barron (Team Wellington)

Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix)

Jeremy Brockie (Newcastle Jets)

Tim Brown (Wellington Phoenix)

Jeremy Christie (Tampa Bay Rowdies)

Aaron Clapham (Canterbury United)

Simon Elliott

Michael McGlinchey (Central Coast Mariners)

Strikers

Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle)

Chris Killen (Middlesbrough)

Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast)

Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 New Zealand Fixtures – Group F

World Cup 2010 Group F - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group F Teams: Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia, New Zealand. A fascinating betting group is this one. The defending Champions Italy were drawn in this group, and they have a great mix of opposition to test their mettle, as they look to retain their title. They are waiting news on the fitness of Andrea Pirlo, and World Cup odds are well worth casting an eye over in this one. What will Paraguay and Slovakia bring to the table? Can New Zealand take any points from their second ever World Cup? There is less than a week now to finalise your World Cup betting, before the big kick off in Johannesburg on June 11th. Here we take a look at the best value bets to be found on Group F, to help your betting decisions.

Group Outright: Italy 1/2 at Ladbrokes
The Italians, under Marcello Lippi have not been taking the same route to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and most other nations. Instead of honing their match sharpness, they have instead, been focusing on their conditioning at camp. What does this mean in terms of betting on Italy at the World Cup? Well, the defending champions have been labeled everything from Dad’s Army to Golden Oldies, describing the aging squad. While it is true they have some strong veterans in the squad, like Gianluigi Buffon, Gennaro Gattuso, Mauro Camoranesi, Gianluca Zambrotta and Andrea Pirlo, there is more than enough young legs in their side to run other teams into the ground. It is actually a very well balanced squad, and one thing that the Italians will have over most other teams in the tournament, is an incredible mentality. That is something which they will pull together on, even if they are not playing well. They came through European qualification comfortably, in their own style, which may lack a lot of flair of the likes of Spain, Holland and Brazil, but Italy know how to get the job done, and they have one of the best coaches in the world at handling tactics. How the Italians set themselves up, and how the Italians play won’t shock anyone, and that means teams will know how to play against them. It doesn’t mean that they will be able to beat them though. There is a lot to be admired about the defending champions, and they should be strong force in the group.

To Qualify: Slovakia 13/10 at William Hill
This really is one of the most exciting groups at South Africa 2010. Slovakia topped their European qualification group, edging out Slovenia, who beat the winners twice in the group. Slovakia though, still had enough to get over the finish line, and are worth looking at in World Cup Odds. They have had a few injury worries, including captain Martin Skrtel who has just found out that he will be able to participate in the World Cup after he received positive news about his injured ankle. Their key player is midfielder Marek Hamsik, who pulls all of the strings for Slovakia, as they head to their first ever World Cup. What benefits them on their debut, is that picking up points from their group opposition is extremely feasible. Being their first World Cup, they won’t be shy of taking on their group rivals, as they know they have nothing to lose. They should be able to pick up maximum points against New Zealand, and then it will be a test of their technical ability to beat out South American’s Paraguay for the second spot.

Top Group Stage Scorers: Paraguay 24/13 at Bwin
Paraguay showed a strong attacking flair in their impressive qualification campaign in the South American Zone. Their top scorer was Salvador Cabanas, who won’t be at South Africa 2010, as he was the unfortunate victim of a shooting to the head. While he is on the road to recovery, his absence will be sadly missed at South Africa 2010. The goal scoring duties will fall upon Nelson Valdez, Roque Santa Cruz and exciting young talent Lucas Barrios. They finished qualification just one point behind winners Brazil, and level on points with Chile. They do not have the strongest of defences though, and coach Gerardo Martino has demanded his players work harder at the back. Still, they have beaten World Cup bound Greece, fought back twice from behind to hold the Ivory Coast, but suffered a loss against the Republic of Ireland in their international friendly warm up matches. Paraguay have never been beyond the last sixteen of the World Cup, but it shows that they can get out of their group, and with their current side, they should explode with goals.

Group Goals Total: Under 15.5 goals Evens at Bwin
This may fly in the face of the Paraguay bet above, but this is a good value bet to back. Typically, Italy will not be full of goals, and being the seeded team in the group, a lot of what happens in the World Cup Fixtures in Group F will be influenced by the defending Champions. Italy should also be tight at the back, with the capability of blanking the rest of the group out. New Zealand will likely struggle for goals, and with the relative unknown quantity of Slovakia, this should be a tight group, with not too many goals flying in. The best match of the group should be Paraguay v Slovakia which could have a huge bearing on the next best value of the group.

Italy to finish second: 13/5 at Boylesports
Yes, this is worth looking at because of the odds. The Italians have not been having everything their own way in their build up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and this is why this bet is in here. After losing to Mexico and then drawing with Switzerland, the Italians are looking for a little bit of match sharpness, and having to face a Paraguay side in the first match, a side who likes to attack with pace, then they could be caught cold. This group could run a lot closer than many may think, especially with Slovakia in the mix as well. It is hard to see Italy not qualifying from the group, but there is a chance of upsets happening in Group F, and if so, then it will be at Italy’s expense. Italy are a great tournament nation, but could have their hands full here, and be pushed all the way.
 

Manager: Ricki Herbert
Captain: Ryan Nelsen
FIFA World Ranking: 82
World Cup Appearances: 1
Best World Cup: Round 1 – 1982

New Zealand Team Profile

We think it’s safe to say that New Zealand won’t be winning South Africa’s show-piece event, but what New Zealand will bring to the fort is that fresh feeling, the feeling you get when you know a nation is privileged just to be involved and with this being just the country’s second appearance in a World Cup, with their last coming back in 1982 – the Kiwi’s will certainly appreciate the fabulous opportunity they’ve been handed.

Under the management of Ricki Herbert, the Kiwi’s remained a solid little outfit during Oceania qualification, cruising through their sector with an almost immaculate record of 5 wins and 1 loss. Last year though, New Zealand got their first real taste of what it’s like to play against some of the World’s best nations when they participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, a competition they earned many admirers in after some valiant and industrious displays. They were, unfortunately, thumped 5-0 by the then World No.1 Spain in a game which will have brought about some valuable experience playing against some world-class individuals, but the 0-0 draw they earned against Iraq ensured the Kiwi’s didn’t leave the tournament empty handed, while it gave the nation hope that perhaps New Zealand could attain their first ever point in a World Cup.

The one thing their qualification has done is boost the popularity of the sport back home in a country which before New Zealand had qualified, couldn’t care less about football or soccer in what was a Rugby mad nation. They still are rugby mad, but their progression into just their second World Cup has brought about a heap more followers back home, while their crucial World Cup play-off against Bahrain brought about the biggest turn out for a football game in New Zealand, which is a big indication in itself that New Zealand’s hard work is already beginning to show signs of priceless rewards. We hope, and remain pretty confident, that New Zealand will have a large number of fans back home cheering them on in South Africa, but even if they don’t, we’re certain they’ll attract the support from all those underdog fans out there as the Kiwi’s seek out a shock somewhere down the line.

Nickname: The Kiwi’s

New Zealand Key Players

Ryan Nelsen

The Kiwi’s captain is also the captain for Blackburn Rovers (England) and will be the player everyone looks up to in this New Zealand squad. He has bags of experience at the highest level and is a rock at the back for both club & country. He has 38 international caps to his name along with six international goals, which is a creditable tally for a defender who only raids forward for set-plays. He is agile in the air, quick at reading plays and a great tackler. He will need to lead by example at the back for New Zealand as their defence will come under plenty of scrutiny. 

Strengths

It’s hard to really say without seeing too much of them but they are a nation who like to attack and they could cause country’s a few problems at the back. They gave Italy, a team in their group at the world cup, several scares last year when the pair met in an international friendly. The Italian’s were victorious in the end, winning 4-3, but only after they came from behind on more than one occasions to overhaul a confident looking New Zealand side that day. They also shown plenty of attacking intent in the 2009 Confederations Cup  in which they bombed forward at every opportunity, although they did concede a fair few for their troubles. Still, we would have to say their attacking play is their strongest asset , while their enthusiasm for the game will increase their neutral following, we’re sure.

Weaknesses

There are several reasons why New Zealand won’t be winning 2010′s main event, the first being their lack of experience on this type of stage, the biggest in international football, while the second is their lightweight defence.

Their shining light is Blackburn Rovers’ Ryan Nelsen, who has picked up plenty of first-class knowledge and know-how from his many years in the English Premiership. However, Nelson’s knowledge of the game won’t be enough to carry what is a vulnerable, exposed and extremely weak New Zealand through the tournament without conceding it’s fair share of goals. The scary thing is, New Zealand don’t even like to defence. They’re an ambitious bunch who love to give it a good go. With this attitude, although remarkably admirable, they’ll get punished quite severely if they’re not careful.

New Zealand Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Oceania

Position: 1st

Win-Draw-Lose: 5-0-1

Goals Scored: 14

Goals Conceded: 5

The Kiwi’s secured qualification via a two-legged play-off with Bahrain, winning 1-0 on aggregate through a Rory Fallon header in the away leg. 

World Cup Potential: 1/5

We won’t be mean and put a ’0′ but this is a fair assessment on how little we rate New Zealand’s chances at the forthcoming African World Cup. Their squad is far too weak to even be competing at this level and they will find out in no time at all that they are punching well above their weight. However, this a special and rare occasion for their followers back home, and while they won’t travel to South Africa aiming to win the tournament outright,they will nevertheless saviour the moment and enjoy the unqiue atmosphere that you get at a World Cup. We wish them all the best but they are one of a select few in this summers finals that we can safely say WON’T be winning the competition outright.

New Zealand World Cup Betting Odds

New Zealand to win the World Cup: 1500 – Expekt

Before the World Cup the odds on New Zealand were 3000/1 

Official New Zealand World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

James Bannatyne (Team Wellington)

Glen Moss (Melbourne Victory)

Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix)

Defenders

Andy Boyens (New York Red Bulls)

Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix)

Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers)

Winston Reid (FC Midtjylland)

Ben Sigmund (Wellington Phoenix)

Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town)

Ivan Vicelich (Auckland City)

David Mulligan

Midfielders

Andy Barron (Team Wellington)

Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix)

Jeremy Brockie (Newcastle Jets)

Tim Brown (Wellington Phoenix)

Jeremy Christie (Tampa Bay Rowdies)

Aaron Clapham (Canterbury United)

Simon Elliott

Michael McGlinchey (Central Coast Mariners)

Strikers

Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle)

Chris Killen (Middlesbrough)

Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast)

Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 New Zealand Fixtures – Group F

World Cup Group F - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group of New Zealand