2010 Football World Cup Spain and Brazil Favorite to win
From June 11th to July 11th, the whole world's attention will be on South Africa as the soccer world will eat and breathe World Cup. We will look at World Cup favourites as bookmakers will see them
Spain and Brazil - Main favorites
Spain's odds to win the World Cup are set at 5.50. This means that for every 1$ you bet on Spain winning the World Cup, your possible winnings are 5.50$. Spain has never really done much in the World Cup, surprising for such a strong soccer nation. After winning Euro 2009, Spain has set its eyes on the World Cup, the only trophy missing so it can assert itself as the best soccer playing nation in the last 5 years. Spain is in group H with Honduras, Chile and Switzerland, a group that doesn't provide much competition to a team of their calibre. Qualifying to the next round should be a breeze. But the next round will be extremely difficult. The two teams that come out of group H will meet the two teams that come out of Group G. This means that Spain will play in the round of 16, Brazil, Portugal or the Ivory Coast.
The odds offered by bookmakers are not that attractive. As much as Spain is playing the best soccer out there for the past 2-3 years, the prospect of meeting a strong team from group H makes betting on them unattractive and a long shot.
Brazil is favoured at 6 to win the World Cup. The selecao is usually the number #1 favourite, however, this time Spain is the #1 favourite with their great display at the Euro 2008 and their flawless World Cup qualification campaign.
England and Argentina – the outsiders
Led by Wayne Rooney, one of Europe's best striker and by Italian mastermind Fabio Capello, England is also expected to steamroll over their competition. Their group includes the USA, Slovenia and Algeria. Not a very hard group for the Brits, reflected in the bookies odds set at 8, meaning for every 1$ you bet, you can potentially win 8$ if England wins the World Cup.
As previously mentioned, their group is not hard to pass and have a strong team on paper. The reason why they are not in the same group of favourites as Spain and Brazil is due to their reputation for choking in the World Cup. Recent injury reports on Wayne Rooney and Gareth Barry have probably scared away the bookmakers.
The last time Argentina won the World Cup, their current coach Diego Maradona was a player and captain of Argentina. As a coach, Maradona will want to lead his country to another World Cup win. The bookmakers are setting Argentina's odds to 7. It is a very interesting odd for a team that should make it out of the group with no problems and have strengths in every area of the field. Their forwards are a dream team of Messi, Tevez and Aguero, a group that any coach would love to have in their arsenal. Their defence is rock-solid with Walter Samuel leading the pack, as he is having an amazing season with Inter Milan.
France – a longshot?
France's assigned odds are of 15! With France's performances in the qualifying campaign and recent form makes it a bet to avoid. Their mix of young players and older veterans is considered to be an unpredictable combination, with the odds of beating a strong field very slim. The potential of winning the World Cup is slim and the odds reflect that.
Other Outsiders
The Netherlands are considered to be the underdogs, but like the French team, can create a surprise. Bookmakers are putting their odds at 15. For a young upcoming team, the odd is very attractive and they should make it through the first round untouched. They possess an excellent offensive sector but an average defence.
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