David Villa

Manager:Vicente Del Bosque
Captain: Iker Casillas
FIFA World Ranking: 2
World Cup Appearances: 12
Best World Cup: Fourth Place – 1950

Spain Team Profile

Ah, the silky Spaniards. The favourites to win South Africa’s show-piece event, the side no-one in their right mind will look forward to playing, as the former World No. 1 now turned World No. 2 seek out a sensational double after winning the 2008 European Championships in their last major tournament.

The Spanish will try to complete a double of major honours as they prepare for South Africa 2010 with the objective being to become the first European nation to back a European Championship success up with victory in the World Cup. However, to do so Spain will need to make their first ever World Cup final to even stand a chance of making even more records under Vicente Del Bosque. In fact the further Spain have ever got in a World Cup is the semi-finals, and even then it was on just the one occasions over a decade ago.

Times have changed though since 1950, the one and only time Spain made the semi-finals of a World Cup, and 2010 is surely the year when Spain at least break their duct of having never reached a World Cup final. Their squad is lined with world-beaters, some of football’s biggest names, and under the wise old knowledge and guidance of Del Bosque, this Spanish team is arguably the best there has ever been. They sailed through qualifying with an immaculate record, winning all 10 of their qualifiers – The only team with a perfect 100% record going to South Africa, while it was only last year their run of 35 games without loss came crashing to an end at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Spain were widely known for being one of the biggest underachievers in International football but their success in the 2008 European Championships has put that unwanted tag to bed for the time being. However, big things are expected of the Spanish once again, and with one of the best squads in the tournament, the underachieving tag could come out of the closet should Spain not make serious inroads during their stay in South Africa.

Nicknames: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), La Roja (The Red One)

Manager

Vicente Del Bosque is a veteran in his managerial career and is not short of a success or two either. In his playing career, he spent all his days as a defender, winning five Spanish La Liga titles with Spanish giants Real Madrid. He then went on to manage Real Madrid after he hung up his playing boots and led the club to their most successful period between 1999-2003, winning a brace of Champions League titles along with two La Liga titles.

Del Bosque‘s also has bags of experience when it comes to managing ‘big players’. Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo were all under his guidance while at Real Madrid and moulded the three legends of football into a world class act. He will be aiming to do the same with Spain and he certainly has a host of quality players at his disposal.

Spain Key Players

Iker Casillas

There has been an ongoing debate for some time about who is the best goalkeeper in the world but for the last decade or so, Iker Casillas has always been in the frame. He has been Real Madrid’s best ever goalkeeper and arguably Spain’s greatest ever, also. Lightening fast reactions, quick reflexes and his immense presence in his own penalty area makes for one of the worlds finest goalkeepers and when Casillas is on top of his game, it really does take something extraordinary to beat him.

David Villa & Fernando Torres

For most countries, one world-class striker is hard to come by. Spain, though, they have two of the World’s best forwards on the planet in Valencia’s prolific David Villa; a predator in and around the opposing penalty area, and Liverpool’s own Fernando Torres; a player with immense talent and the composure of mind to crate and score a goal from a seemingly impossible position. These two are menacing together, almost unstoppable when partnered, and it bodes well for Spain that two of the favourites for the Golden Shoe are in their team.

Fernando Torres has scored 23 goals in 72 games for Spain, which is actually on the slim side, but Villa more than makes up for Torres’ sloppy looking international record, scoring a staggering 36 goals in 55 caps for his country. To say these two have goals in them would be stating the obvious.

Xavi & Iniesta

The World’s most skilful players often enjoy the limelight in football today but if you ask any football purist who they think the best player in the world is, we bet these two would get an awful lot of mentions. The pair have the ability to not only control a match but also dictate the tempo at which it will be played. They take the game by the scruff of the neck and make things happen with their swift one-two’s and their inch-perfect through balls. The duet are a lethal combination at both club and international level, and because they both play for Barcelona, the chemistry between the two is perfection. If you want to halt the Spanish express, you’ll need to find a way to stop the source; Xavi & Iniesta.

Strengths

Spain‘s biggest asset is their ability to retain the ball. Quick and slick should be their motto. Their crisp passing doesn’t just get them out of sticky situations but it also creates chance after chance and it’s a defenders nightmare keeping up with the pace of Spain‘s passing. They switch the flank at every opportunity in a bid to expose the opposing full-backs and their own full-backs forward and they will look to bombard the defence with crosses. The good thing about Spain’s play is they can vary their style of play. One moment they will be feeling out the oppositions defence with the short, crisp passing while the next they’ll be flinging the ball out to Sergio Ramos & Capdevilla to whip the ball into the forwards. This makes reading the play very hard and is one of the reasons why Spain have become so successful in recent years.

Weaknesses

Spain‘s passing maybe close to perfection but they’re a side who can pass the ball around too much in a bid to score the ‘perfect goal’. Spain generally don’t have a problem against sides that attack them, despite their defence not being the strongest, but when a team sets up in a defensive manner and puts 10 men behind the ball, Spain can often struggle to break these teams down. Too much time is wasted in the centre of the park and were a big side to go one-nil up, it’s feasible that they could then hold out the Spanish attacks and use Spain’s strength to their advantage.

Spain Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Europe
Group: 5
Position: 1st
Win-Draw-Lose: 10-0-0
Goals Scored: 28
Goals Conceded: 5

World Cup Potential: 5/5

Spain, with the array of talent within their midst, really should be targeting at least a semi-final, of not a final appearance as their squad is just too strong not to make serious progression in South Africa. The pressure, though, on Spain is massive and it remains to be seen just how the Spain players deal with the intense pressure and the expectations of a nation. They’ve generally faltered on the biggest stage of the lot, in the World Cup, and the fact they’ve never even made a final before is a big concern, although Spain have never had a team as good as this and it would be criminal were they not to go close during the summer.

The Spanish are the favourites to win and rightly so; there odds to win outright underline this, but whether their class will equate into a World Cup victory remains to be seen. For one reason or another, we have our doubts. Remember, this is a country which hasn’t just never won the World Cup before they’ve never even made the final of a World Cup. Even so, stronger claims for the crown than most.

Spain World Cup Betting Odds

Spain to win the World Cup (before the final):      1/2 – Bwin

Before the World Cup the odds on Spain were 17/4 

Official Spain World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Jose Manuel Reina (Liverpool)

Victor Valdes (Barcelona)

Defenders

Raul Albiol (Real Madrid)

Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)

Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)

Carlos Marchena (Valencia)

Gerard Pique (Barcelona)

Carles Puyol (Barcelona)

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders

Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)

Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

Javier Martínez (Athletic Bilbao)

David Silva (Valencia)

Xavi (Barcelona)

Jesus Navas (Sevilla)

Strikers

Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

David Villa (Valencia)

Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)

Juan Manuel Mata (FC Valencia)

Pedro (FC Barcelona)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Spain Fixtures – Group H

29 June – 19.30 – Round of the last 16: Spain v Portugal: 1-0

03 July – 19.30 – Quarter Finals: Spain v Paraguay: 1-0

07 July – 19.30 – Semi Finals: Spain v Germany

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

World Cup 2010 Group H - Table

 World Cup Fixtures and Results

The FIFA Golden Ball is an awarded presented to the most outstanding performer of the tournament, with some of the sport’s finest winning the prize down the years, and on this occasion it went to a player who in our opinion thoroughly deserved the recognition. Diego Forlan wouldn’t have been a name on the forefront of many a punters lips before the tournament, although looking back it wouldn’t have seemed that crazy a punt considering he’s at the peak of his form right now in domestic football and was easily the star inside the Uruguay camp. Even so, his valiant efforts in helping Uruguay, who were the last team to qualify for South Africa 2010, to the semi-finals was sensational. The fact he played for lowly Uruguay didn’t necessarily get him pity votes, far from it, as his performances throughout the tournament in a role he isn’t all that familiar with were of high class. There were times, more notably in the knock-outs, when Uruguay appeared dead and buried about Forlan’s courageous and never say die attitude ensured Uruguay were never beaten until the final whistle rung loud.

Like we said, this award was fully deserved and went to the player who we felt was the outstanding performer of these finals in a team which at best boasted averaged players by profile. Now, in an egocentric way to toot our own horn, we didn’t get on Diego Forlan before the tournament to win the FIFA Golden Ball but we did do so just before the quarter-finals kicked-off, meaning we highlighted a 33/1 WINNER!

Holland’s Wesley Sneijder grabbed his second piece of silver, following up his second in the Golden Boot contest with another second in the Golden Ball behind Forlan. Spain’s David Villa, who accounted for five of Spain’s eight goals in these finals and was so often their match winner, claimed third.

Diego Forlan World Cup Statistics:

Games Played: 7
Minutes Played: 654
Goals: 5
Assists: 1
Shots: 32
Shots on Target: 15
Passes: 309 (54% pass completion rate)
Man of the Match: 2

At one stage, David Villa went as short as 1.55 on betfair to be the leading goalscorer at the World Cup, although his failure to score against Germany means that the Barcelona new boy is level on goals with Wesley Sneijder ahead of the final in Johannesburg.

Two weeks before the tournament, Blue Square were offering a generous 9/1 about Villa following his high-scoring success in Euro 2008 by landing the spoils in 2010. They also had each-way terms of ¼ first 5 places, although Spain’s opening game defeat against Switzerland saw their star striker matched at odds of around 20/1 on betfair.

Going into this final weekend of the World Cup, Villa is still favourite (10/11 bet365), although he has plenty of competition for the much-coveted award which is often won by a player who isn’t part of the victorious team.

Sneijder was an amazing 100/1 with Ladbrokes before the action got under way, although the Dutchman had done brilliantly with Inter last season and has played in an advanced position for most of the competition. After the group stages, the midfielder has only scored one goal and that saw odds of over 400/1 being matched on betfair, especially as his team looked like going out against Brazil.

However, FIFA’s decision to award Sneijder both goals against the Selecao saw the bookmakers cutting the odds on the Netherlands player winning the Golden Shoe. He’s now into 3/1 with Ladbrokes and if he remains tied for a share of the lead with Villa, then the bookmakers will pay out half your stake at 3/1 so you would still make a profit.

Nevertheless, the pair have Miroslav Klose breathing down their necks and the Germany striker needs no extra motivation when he takes to the field at Port Elizabeth on Saturday night. The Bayern Munich player needs one more goal to equal Ronaldo’s all-time World Cup goal record and two more to re-write history! While the World Cup final is likely to be low-scoring, the same cannot be said of the 3rd-place play-off if recent history is anything to go by.

Klose is 11/2 (Victor Chandler) to win the Golden Shoe four years after winning the prize during the 2006 World Cup and there are two more reasons for thinking this bet could yield a profit. Firstly, as this match is a ‘friendly’, he might expect team-mates to supply him with more ammunition (including any penalties that are awarded to Germany). Secondly, Uruguay conceded three goals to the Netherlands in the semi-final and looked pretty jaded towards the end of the game.

With Thomas Muller back from suspension, Klose can reward those punters that backed him at 33/1 before the World Cup kicked off, although the former has an outside chance (14/1 Victor Chandler) of landing the prize himself. The youngster also has four goals to his name and will be fresh from sitting out Wednesday’s match.

Diego Forlan is the final name in the mix, as he has been ever since that brace against South Africa during the group stages. Victor Chandler offer 16/1 that the Uruguayan walks off with the Golden Shoe, although he claimed after the Netherlands semi-final that he wasn’t 100% fit and manager Oscar Tabarez might use the occasion to use some fresh legs.

Before the start of the World Cup, Spain were no bigger than 7/2 to win the competition and although they have reached Sunday’s final, Vicente Del Bosque’s team certainly haven’t done things the easy way. An opening game defeat by Switzerland saw La Furia Roja drift out to 6/1 on the outright market and it appeared that a potential last sixteen clash with Brazil was on the cards.

However, Spain regained their composure after that early slip-up and now stand on the verge of greatness. It wasn’t until that last sixteen victory over Portugal that the team went shorter than the 7/2 that had been on offer at the beginning of June and they were still quoted at 2/1 before their semi-final against Germany. However, William Hill now offer a best price 4/7 that they become the eighth team to win the World Cup.

It’s been an amazing journey for the Spanish team, who are victims of their own success. Due to the way that they keep possession and try to work openings, it means that the opposition naturally get men behind the ball and go on to the back foot, something that a previously attack-minded Germany were doing on Wednesday night.

It will be interesting to see whether the Netherlands end up employing the same tactics, especially as Arjen Robben is not someone who naturally tracks back to help his team defend. Germany’s success in the World Cup was founded on Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller trotting back to help out the full-backs and the Dutch instead rely on two midfield enforcers by the name of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong.

Nevertheless, Holland were equally as impressive as their opponents when qualifying for the tournament and they have maintained that 100% record in South Africa. The Dutch were on offer at around 12/1 on betfair’s outright market before a series of impressive friendly displays saw their odds cut before they had played a single game. Italy’s failure in Group F led to the Netherlands making the quarter finals reasonably easily, although the game against Brazil saw them trailing at half-time.

At this point in proceedings, you could have backed Holland at around 23/1 on betfair to win the World Cup and there was little in that performance at Port Elizabeth which suggested that the Oranje were potential winners of this tournament. However, you need luck to win any cup competition and the Brazilians were happy to shoot themselves in the foot due to lack of concentration when defending set pieces and ill discipline.

Therefore, Bert van Marwijk’s team are 6/4 (Paddy Power) to triumph at the World Cup for the first time and they will probably watch videos of how Switzerland managed to stop Spain in Durban three weeks ago. Coral offer 11/4 that they follow the blueprint of Ottmar Hitzfeld and win in ninety minutes and they do have three excellent counter-attacking players in Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.

Quite simply, this is a huge game of football and many people will have wished this contest to be the World Cup final on Sunday. It’s a repeat of the Euro 2008 final where Spain won 1-0 thanks to a Fernando Torres goal, although the net might bulge more than once when these two attacking teams clash swords in Durban.

The bookmakers are also getting excited about the match and have started to produce a number of special promotions for the biggest game of the World Cup so far. Totesport should be applauded for a wide range of moneyback specials on all the big events and the UK firm will refund all losing correct score bets on this game if Germany manage to get their revenge for Euro 2008 and win the game 1-0.

Meanwhile, bet365, Paddy Power and Blue Square will be running with their customary ‘Bore Draw’ cashback promotions, with refunds being offered on selected markets if the game ends goalless. While Germany have been scoring for fun recently, they will surely adopt a more defensive approach against a free-flowing Spain and they will have Thomas Muller suspended for the big game.

Ladbrokes are continuing to offer their unprecedented 500% new customer bonus during the World Cup, where you will get a free £25 bet simply by depositing £5 when you register. It’s been a popular offer and they are also providing special odds on the two teams going through in extra-time or on penalties.

Only three matches in the 2010 World Cup have gone to extra-time so far and two were decided on spot kicks. However, Germany and Spain might be evenly-matched at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and you can get 10/1 with Ladbrokes that Vicente Del Bosque’s team win after extra-time. However, you can’t rule out Die Mannschaft winning on penalties as they have done so many times before, with odds of 12/1 available about this possibility.

Over at Coral, you can get a free £20 bet when you deposit and wager £10 on the Germany v Spain match. There are so many markets to choose from and it’s noticeable that they are offering a best-priced 4/1 that Miroslav Klose finishes as Top Goalscorer in the 2010 World Cup. While they might be looking to balance their books, it could be a value offer as the Bayern Munich striker looks to break Ronaldo’s record.

Talking of goalscorer bets, Paddy Power are offering customers the chance to bet on ‘First to Score for their Team’ and ‘Insurebet First Goalscorer’ on the Germany v Spain match in addition to First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer and Anytime Goalscorer. The Insurebet option means that if a player doesn’t score the first goal in a match but scores later in the game, you will get your stake refunded. David Villa has scored first in the last three Spain games and is on offer at 13/5 on the Insurebet market or 4/1 if you just think he will score first.

Less than a week ago, I made the point that Germany were being underrated by the bookmakers despite thrashing England 4-1 in Bloemfontein, with Sporting Bet offering Die Mannschaft at 7/1 on the outright market before they taught Argentina a footballing lesson on Saturday. Since Fabio Capello’s team were knocked out of the World Cup, there has been much criticism levelled at the players, manager, set-up and the fact that too many foreign players feature in the Premier League. The English media seem to be missing an obvious point – they were beaten by superior opponents.

Germany are now 21/10 (Paddy Power) win the World Cup for the first time since they became a unified nation and it would be apt considering how united the team have been over the past fortnight. They have produced three outstanding performances to score four goals against Australian, English and Argentine opposition, while they were the victims of a bad refereeing decision when losing their second game of the tournament to Serbia.

These odds are roughly the same as the price you will get for Spain or Holland to win their first ever World Cup and they both possess some excellent individual players. However, there’s only one team were the sum of parts is greater than the individuals on show and that’s Germany. Joachim Loew’s team defend with two rows of four players when they haven’t got the ball, while Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller are all quick to support Miroslav Klose in attack.

Spain are 2/1 (Blue Square) to win the 2010 World Cup and it’s set to be an intriguing encounter between themselves and Germany on Wednesday night. There seems to be persistent rumours that many members of the Spanish squad are feeling the burn after a long season, especially as Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres were injured in the lead-up to the tournament. While it hasn’t stopped David Villa being brilliant in every match, one wonders about how the slow defence of La Furia Roja can stop the Germans flowing forward in numbers, with Gerard Pique appearing to be a liability.

Then we have the Netherlands, a team that were trading at 25/1 on betfair when trailing 1-0 to Brazil at half-time of their quarter final match. Wind the clock forward three days and they are now trading at 9/4 (Victor Chandler) to win the World Cup with Uruguay an opponent that appear to be there for the taking. However, an improved second half performance against the Selecao can’t disguise the fact that this Dutch team have flattered to deceive all tournament and that previous performances against Slovakia, Cameroon, Denmark and Japan were all winning ones without playing well.

If the Uruguayans stop Robben, then they might have some joy and Diego Forlan will be hoping to see plenty of the ball, with Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong missing for the Dutch. They are carrying the flag for South America and Paddy Power offer 12/1 that La Celeste win the World Cup.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that a player will score more goals during a football tournament if he plays more games. Therefore, it’s little surprise that only five men can win the 2010 World Cup Golden Shoe and that the quintet are all playing for teams left in the competition.

It’s been a highly competitive betting market this summer which saw Gonzalo Higuain installed as early favourite after a hat-trick against South Korea took the Argentina striker well clear of the chasing pack. However, the Real Madrid forward was only able to add one more goal to his tally and was leapfrogged by a Spanish striker in the form of his life on Saturday night.

David Villa has been nothing short of phenomenal in South Africa, with the Barcelona forward scoring in every match since that opening game defeat against Switzerland. His late winner against Paraguay has taken him a goal clear at the top of the scoring charts and he may not need to find the net again to add a world award to the European one that was landed two years ago. The 28-year-old is no bigger than 7/10 on betfair, with the fixed-odds firms no bigger than 8/15 (Sporting Bet).

Perhaps Villa will struggle to get any change out of Philipp Lahm, the German right-back and captain who is one of the best in the business. The Bayern Munich player will be looking to also get forward and support his club team-mate Miroslav Klose, who seems to turn from Clark Kent to Superman when he dons the international colours. Four years ago, the Munchen forward won the Golden Shoe and he’s 4/1 (Paddy Power) to repeat this achievement. If you back him at 4/1 and he dead heats with one other player, you will get half your stake paid at odds of 2/1.

Meanwhile Wesley Sneijder is right in the thick of things after FIFA made the odd decision to award Holland’s opening goal against Brazil to the Inter midfielder. Although the ball took a clear deflection off the head of Felipe Melo, the football body’s Technical Study Group has decided that the Netherlands’ number ten is worthy of the goal and that means he’s on four for the tournament with Uruguay lying in wait. Totesport offer a stand-out 12/1 that he finishes top of the pile and it’s possible that his team will fill their boots against the south Americans.

The final player in contention  is Diego Forlan, who stands on three goals after firing a brace home against South Africa and then managing an equaliser against Ghana on Friday night. The Atletico Madrid striker has been crucial to the team’s progress at this World Cup, although it’s asking a lot for him to manage a brace against the Netherlands, especially with strike partner Luis Suarez missing suspended. Ladbrokes offer 25/1 that the former Manchester United forward gets the goals he needs.

We’re midway through the tournament now, although the vast majority of matches have been played, so we now have a rough idea of who will be in the shake up to claim this year’s FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Player of the Tournament). For irony’s sake, the last two winners have both been losing finalists while the last time a player won the award without actually competing in the final itself was Italy’s Salvatore Schillaci back in the 1990 finals. Make of that what you will.

Here’s our honest yet brief assessment of those currently in the running…

David Villa

You could argue that without David Villa’s goals Spain would be sat at home right now, as the newly signed Barcelona hitman accounts for 4 of Spain’s 5 strikes so far, which in fairness is a meagre tally for a team previously touted as overwhelming outright favourites. Nevertheless, Spain are still plugging away and so long as there are games to be played for Spain, David Villa notably, then there’s opportunities for the stars to shine. So far, with five games down, David Villa has been the only player to really stand up and be counted, with perhaps Xabi Alonso an exception, the only exception mind as Spain have been well below par in South Africa.

So with four goals under his belt, one Man of the Match award and a tonne of plaudits, is there even a need to debate whether or not Villa is worthy of favouritism for the 2010 Golden Ball? We think so, as Spain aren’t looking like worthy champions right now, and despite facing a pretty easy last-eight opponent in Paraguay, the Spanish are certainly exposed heading into a difficult semi-final encounter against either Argentine or Germany. And let’s face it, Villa, no player for that matter, will claim the award without at least making the final, while lifting the trophy aloft is arguably imperative as well. Far too short if you ask me, although seizing the 2010 Golden Boot isn’t out of the question (Joint-leading goalscorer with 4 goals).

Lionel Messi

I don’t think there’s any question that Lionel Messi, whom is currently the best player on the planet, has stolen all the tournament’s limelight with his breathtaking displays for Argentina. Granted he has yet to even open his account, but the Barcelona maestro has been instrumental in dragging Argentina out of their qualifying slump and nearly into World Cup favouritism. He’s dazzled us with his runs, amazed us with his close ball control and left us sighing with genuine disappointment when his spectacular mazy run-and-shoot efforts don’t come off. Moreover, he’s had a hand in just about every Argentine goal thus far and hasn’t shown any sign of discontent at playing the role of assistant instead of stealing all the limelight with his abundance of goals, like he does for his club.

Argentina arrived in South Africa somewhat of an unknown quantity. You knew exactly who played for them, well almost, you just didn’t know whether or not they would turn up, perform and play to their full capacity. Two weeks in and it’s safe to say Argentina have come to play, with Diego Maradona’s charges leading the scoring charts with 10 goals in 4 games. They’ve been the most attractive and enterta9ning team of the tournament so far, haven’t looked for one moment like wilting under the pressure and are quickly shaping up as a likely winner. If they are to win, they’ll need Messi performing at the top of his game. He’s been there for quite some time now, in South Africa especially, and if he continues where the left off against Mexico, which was terrorising their defence, then we see Argentina going all the way, as will Messi as he looks to claim yet another major honour in what is shaping up to be a remarkably promising career.

If I’m being completely honest, I don’t see how anyone else can win the award from this point on. It’s difficult to see a player winning the FIFA Golden Ball without actually winning the trophy itself but no one individual has excelled other than the two mentioned. Mesut Ozil has been a bright spark in the German mix, although we don’t see the Germans getting their hands on a fourth title, Arjen Robben will no doubt have had a say were it not for injuries, but were he to mastermind a cunning victory over the Brazilians in the quarter-finals then who knows. We think it’s safe to avoid both Higuain and Fabiano as while goals have been easy to come by for the South American pair, neither have set the world alight. Higuain doesn’t even look that great a footballer but has proven to be a clinical and precise finisher, whereas Fabiano has spent large portions of every Brazil encounter as an anonymous character despite finding the goal three times, and who can forget his ‘dubious’ goal against the Ivory Coast, where he handled twice before later denying he had done so to the referee.

If you’re looking for an outside punt then why not have a dabble of Diego Forlan. The former Manchester United flop has played the role of play-maker, despite being a lethal striker by trade, to perfection and has played a pivotal role in guiding Uruguay, a team very few fancied beforehand, into the last-eight of the tournament. Let’s not forget that their opponents in the quarter-finals are that of Ghana, who have been plucky and courageous but far from inspiring. The semi-final is a real possibility for the South Americans, so much so that we think they’ll get there without too much of a fuss, so should Forlan bolster his tally for the tournament  – Currently on 2 goals – then whose to say he won’t claim the player of the tournament award for his valiant efforts?

Current FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Betting Odds:

David Villa – 9/2 Bet365

Lionel Messi – 7/1 Bet365

Mesut Ozil – 8/1 PaddyPower

Luis Fabiano – 10/1 PaddyPower

Arjen Robben – 18/1 Bet365

Xavi – 20/1 BlueSquare

20/1 Bar the Rest

Betting Tips/Advice:

Lionel Messi to WIN the 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Player of the tournament) – 7/1 Bet365

Diego Forlan to WIN the 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Player of the tournament) – 33/1 888sport