10 Must-Have World Cup Bets

World Cup | selectabet | June 10, 2010 at 9:30 pm

So what are you betting on in the World Cup? Most of us will have a punt on the winner, the top scorer or even how well England will do but look a little further and there’s real value to be had on markets. Here’s my ten must-have bets for the 2010 South African World Cup;

1. New Zealand Zero Points 5/4 (Bet365)

One of the lowest ranked teams in the World Cup at 78th the world, they’ll do well to get on the scoresheet never mind win some points. Their previous Finals appearance was a bit of a disaster; 3 defeats in three games, losing 12 goals in the process back in 1982. Looks like it could be more of the same.

2. South Africa to Finish 4th in Group A 11/8 (Ladbrokes)

The hosts find themselves in arguably the toughest group of them all. Their opponents are ranked 9th, 16th and 17th in the world, whilst the South Africans are a lowly 83rd. Had they not been hosts they’d be spectators this summer and despite home advantage they’ll do well to make any impact on Group A.

3. Tim Cahill to be Australia’s top scorer 3/1 (Bet365)

Coach Pim Verbeek has only listed 3 recognised strikers (including Harry Kewell?!?) in his 23-man squad so Cahill is likely to be deployed in an advanced position. He’s the highest scoring player in the squad with an impressive 20 goals in 40 games. Verbeek has already bemoaned his lack of striking options so Cahill will be expected to step up to the plate.

4. David Villa to outscore Wayne Rooney 5/4 (Paddy Power)

Tournament favourites Spain are expected to go a long, long way. Assuming England don’t go quite as far, that means they could play more games, thus giving David Villa more opportunities to bag some goals. The stats don’t lie either, Villa has scored 38 in 58 games for his national side, that’s 0.66 goals per game, compared to Rooney’s 25 in 60 (0.42). Spain face a potentially tougher route to the final but can rack up some goals in the group stage against Chile, Switzerland and Honduras.

5. Brazil to score a penalty v North Korea 7/2 (Totesport)

This game has the potential to be the most one-sided in the tournament. It pits the number 1 ranked team in the world against the tournament’s lowest ranked side. That suggests to me that there will be plenty of action in and around the North Korean box. Will there be a penalty? Who knows, but at odds of 7/2 (Totesport) it looks like a bet worth taking on in a game that sees Brazil ridiculously short a 1/9 to win the match. The Brazilians scored two pens in qualifying and like most teams will no doubt have been practising from the spot. It’s a bit of a punt this one but fairly decent odds.

6. Torres to be top Premier League Scorer 11/2 (Paddy Power)

A lot of people will be piling some money on Liverpool’s Fernando Torres being tournament top scorer at 14/1 (Bet365) but what if you could take the likes of Messi, Higuain, Fabiano, Ronaldo, Klose, Gilardino out of the market? 11/2 looks a great price on the Spaniard to score more than his Premier League rivals. Rooney is favourite in Paddy Power’s market and Robin van Persie is also available at 11/2 so it’s well worth a look. I’m siding with Torres as the man to score more than the rest.

7. Robin van Persie to score 3 or more 5/6 (SkyBet)

Since returning from injury, van Persie has looked like a man on a mission. He’s been banging in the goals in Holland’s warm-up matches and represents really good value for the Golden Boot at 12/1 (William Hill). My only concern is that Holland could face Brazil in the quarter finals and their tournament might end there. That would leave him 3 games shorter than some other Golden Boot contenders. So instead I fancy him to get a few goals in the Group stages where he faces Denmark, Cameroon and Japan. Then he’ll most likely be up against either Paraguay or Slovakia so another chance to hit the back of the net. I wouldn’t be surprised if he scores 2 or more in a game, which means he only needs to find one more to land this bet at 5/6 (SkyBet).

8. England to go further than France 4/9 (Betfair)

With a coach who has been pre-sacked (Laurent Blanc will replace Domenech after the tournament) and an ageing squad seemingly full of egos the French camp appears to be in dissaray. If they don’t get out the blocks quickly they could struggle in Group A. Even they do a quarter final against England looms on the horizon. England should cruise to that date but France may struggle. Even if they do make it my money would be on England to beat them every day of the week.

9. Argentina to reach the Semi-Finals 6/4 (William Hill)

For all their difficulties in qualifying, at the end of the day Diego Maradona did what was asked and got his side to the finals. Now they’re there they’ve landed a pretty decent draw. They should be good enough to top their group, which then gives them a second round match against the runners-up in Group A (any one from France, Uruguay, Mexico or South Africa). You’d fancy them to see off any of those sides and if things go to form elsewhere they’ll most likely face Germany in the Quarter-Finals. I’d happily take 6/4 (William Hill) on the Argentinians to win that one.

10. Argentina to win the World Cup 7/1 (Coral)

Following on from tip number 9 it makes sense to back the Argentinians to win the tournament. Their main rivals in the betting are Brazil and Spain, who are destined to meet each other in the other half of the draw at the Semi-Final stage. If this comes to pass then many will view that as the final before the final and in actual fact whoever wins that game may well think they’ve done enough to win the trophy. Argentina have definitely managed to avoid the hard half of the draw and could gradually ease their way into the tournament. With a forward line to choose from of Messi, Higuain, Milito and Tevez, why wouldn’t you bet on them? Either take the 7/1 at Coral or why not take it at Betfair and watch the price fall as the tournament progresses – then you can get out in profit whenever you like.

So what’s your best bets for the World Cup. Please post them in the comments below or join in the debate over at our Forum. Good Luck!