On the 11th of June, which is now just over a fortnight away, the world will stop still as it turns to South Africa to provide fans around the globe with the most prolific tournament of the year – the 2010 World Cup.
Kicking off with the host nation taking on Mexico at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, the highly anticipated tournament will span a month, with the final taking place on the 11th of July in the same location to crown the newly named world champions.
Sportsbet have some great markets on offer to punters looking to get in on the action.
With avid football fans watching and picking apart the performances in these last few friendlies, SportsBet have some great markets on offer to punters looking to get in on the action.
There are already head-to-head odds for each match in the opening group phase – for more information click on Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G or Group H.
At Sportsbet, each nation has its own market for the stage they will reach before being eliminated, and the Socceroos’ safest bet is not to pass the group stage – at $1.33.
However if they make the final, but fail to win the overall tournament, the current odds are worth a spare dollar punt at $81.
Currently the safest bet in the market is New Zealand not to pass the group stage at $1.02 – equal in the odds with North Korea not to progress past the first round.
On the other hand, the two are also offering the largest payout due to the un-likeliness they will emerge from the tournament as winners, as if they did so, the odds are currently standing at $2,001.
There are also several markets on offer for those looking to back who they believe will come from the tournament as the highest goal scorer.
Currently topping the overall odds is Spain’s David Villa at $10.
As Spain are current favourites to win the 2010 World Cup at $5, Villa may well have more opportunities to score due to being in the competition for longer, and the newly named Barca number seven is coming into the competition on top form.
There are markets for certain nations’ top scorer, with Tim Cahill topping the odds for the Aussies at $3.75, while Josh Kennedy and Scott McDonald are close behind at $4 and $4.50 respectively.
Pre tournament contenders Brazil and England will be looking to Luis Fabiano and Wayne Rooney to score plenty of goals as they go into the 2010 World Cup at $2.62 and $2.50 respectively to hit the back of the net the most for their own countries.
The Golden Ball award is one of the more prestigious awards at the FIFA World Cup tournament, and is given out to the man considered to have been the best player in the finals competition.
Currently favourite to be named the golden ball winner is Argentina’s Lionel Messi at $8 – and has had a fantastic 2009/10 Season resulting in the Barca player being announced as the FIFA World Player of the Year.
Spain’s Xavi and Villa are equal in the odds with England’s Rooney and Brazil’s Kaka – who are the closest to Messi at $15.
Heading into the tournament as the confederation to home the winning nation is currently UEFA (Europe) at $1.44 – and as they have three of the top five favourites in the outright winner odds, could certainly be a safe bet.
However the two remaining nations are from South America, which sees the CONMEBOL (South America) close behind in the odds at $3.
As Spain are current favourites to win overall, and having not won a world cup title previously, it is interesting to note the odds supporting the winner of the 2010 World Cup not being a first time winner at $1.57, while a first time winner is at odds of $2.25.
Topping the odds for the nation to be stopped from advancing in the tournament due to losing in a penalty shootout are Spain at $5, while England, Brazil and Argentina are all close behind in the odds at $5.50.
In what is always a fun market – who will knock England out of the 2010 World Cup – Germany are current favourites at $6.
England winning the tournament is at $7, while being knocked out in the group stage is $8.
Another market on offer is the double of the winning nation/top goal scorer, with Spain and Villa the safest punt at $23.
There are also markets for the top team in each region, with Australia being the safest bet in the Asia region at $2.60, USA the top CONCACAF side at $1.91, Spain the top European nation at $3.40 and Brazil at $1.83 – the top for South America.
So to place a bet, or just to check out the huge range of markets, which also include group exactas, group quinellas, group winner and many more – just head to SportsBet now!
