World Cup Betting – Latest Prices and England Specials

With the Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup now having been completed, the world of football has a better picture of who will be likely to progress through the groups. This is clearly an important factor in the arena of World Cup betting, as teams being drawn in tougher groups, will obviously have their odds stretched just a little bit. Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Ivory Coast, Serbia and Ghana are the main factors in play after the draw, simply because of how much harder it will be to get out of their respective groups. A look at the draw for the 2010 World Cup will help draw a bigger picture of how betting across the board at online bookmakers will take shape.

2010 FIFA World Cup Draw:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

With the draw finalised, the vast array of online bookmakers have released options for full coverage of the World Cup 2010, even down to the prices on the individual group matches. Here we take a look at some of the early bets that keen punters will be able to get. With these being long range forecasts they are prices which are likely to be cut once we are on the threshold of the tournament which begins on June 11, 2010. This is because teams will continue their preparations through friendlies, and as domestic seasons progress, key players could suffer injuries, weakening the national squad. So this is a great time and a good opportunity to pick up some good prices on the 2010 FIFA World Cup if you are bold with your betting. First of all, let’s look at the draw, group by group, along with the prices for winning the group, qualifying from the group and the all important outright winners markets:

It will be incredibly difficult for an unknown quantity to come along and win the World Cup, that is why it is very hard to look beyond four of five potential winners, however much an underdog tale would be nice. The strongest nations are those with great World Cup history, pedigree and consistency on the biggest stage. In that respect, Brazil and Italy lead the way, and the other factor to take into consideration, is of course, form. For that you look to the likes of Spain, England, Germany and Holland who are in the chasing pack of the two-front runners. Beyond that the prices will stretch out, proving how difficult it will for anyone else to come in and take the tournament. Argentina, France and Portugal all made it into the tournament by the skin of their teeth and therefore their form and quality aren’t as good as the top teams, although Argentina has consistently been seen at around fourth favourites despite all of their problems. Both Portugal and Ivory Coast’s prices have drifted a little because of being drawn in the Group of Death with Brazil.

The rest of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, is therefore filled up with emerging nations and teams who will be struggling to cope with the quality of the cream of Europe in footballing terms. Spain’s odds have shortened a little, as have England’s, thanks to their favourable draws in their groups. But while for a handful of teams, negotiating their way out of their groups will be tougher than hoped for, in order to win the World Cup, you are likely going to have to come up a very strong team in the knockouts. That is why the prices even for the likes of Holland and Frances stand in the mid-teens.

So what of England’s realistic chances of Fabio Capello leading them to the World Cup Finals? Many fans believe that a man with incredible tactical knowledge is at the helm of the good ship England, and performances during qualification have shown that they can also find the back of the net with some consistency. The familiar faces will be there, but for once there is a lot of competition for places up front, and that should give Capello good options and put England in good stead. Goalkeeping and defensive cover look to be England’s problems at the moment, highlighted in the friendly defeat against Brazil recently. Capello has about six months to fine tune his team ahead of the tournament, and coming at the end of a long domestic season, Capello will be hoping his star players like Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney stay injury free. Here are some of the more interesting World Cup Betting England Specials that can be taken on England’s apperance during the 2010 World Cup.

England’s Top Goalscorer:
Wayne Rooney: 11/4 at Boylesports
Frank Lampard: 6/1 at Bet365
Steven Gerrard: 13/2 at Bet365
Jermain Defoe: 7/1 at Victor Chandler
Peter Crouch: 14/1 at William Hill

Any England player to be sent off during the tournament – 11/10 at William Hill
-Chances: With Rooney on the pitch, it’s always a possibility.

England To Win All Three Group Games – 7/4 at Coral
-Chances: Good. Why not?

Any England player to score a hat-trick – 7/2 at 888Sport
-Chances: Difficult. Even playing weaker opposition in the Group stages, it will still take something special for a World Cup hat trick to happen.

England To Be Top Goalscorers In The World Cup – 4/1 at William Hill
-Chances: Fair. The good side of Rooney will help this. England scored heavily during qualification.

England to be knocked out on penalties – 6/1 at Blue Square
-Chances: Fair. It usually boils down to this cruel end.

David Beckham To Score Against USA – 10/1 at William Hill
-Chances: Unlikely. No guarantees he’ll even play against his adopted home.

John Terry to miss a penalty – 20/1 at 888Sport
-Fair: Unlikely to be taking one during regular games, if it comes to a shoot-out he wouldn’t shy away from responsibility.

David Beckham To Score The Winning Goal For England In The World Cup Final 2010 – 33/1 at Coral
-Chances: It would be very fitting in a way, but unlikely.

England Stage of Elimination:
Group Stage – 8/1 at SkyBet
Second Round – 7/2 at SkyBet
Quarter Final – 4/1 at Paddy Power
Semi Final - 9/2 at Coral
Runner Up – 6/1 at BetFred
Winner - 6/1 at Victor Chandler

GENERAL WORLD CUP BETTING
Outside of picking the winner and the teams who will win, or qualify from the Group stages, there are plenty of other early World Cup bets to jump on right now.

Top Goalscorer: (general rule of thumb, look for teams who will stay in the competition the longest).
David Villa (Spain) – 11/1 at Bet365
Fernando Torres (Spain) – 12/1 at Victor Chandler
Luis Fabiano (Brazil) – 16/1 at William Hill
Wayne Rooney (England) – 16/1 at Victor Chandler
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 16/1 at Bet365
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 20/1 at Ladbrokes

Winning Continent:
Europe: 4/9 at Bet365
South America: 9/4 at Boylesports
Africa: 16/1 at BetFred

Those are just a selection of the kinds of bets that can be made right now, with the draw for the 2010 FIFA World cup having been done, and the fixtures released. Everyone knows who they are playing, where they are playing and when. In the build up to the World Cup in South Africa, we will take the opportunity to explore more of these bets in detail as part of the countdown to the big kick off on June 11, 2010. Betting and the World Cup are as synonymous as England and heart break at the major tournaments, but is as exciting as the matches themselves. Make sure you’re on board with a good online bookmaker and start your World Cup Betting now!