Germany World Cup Betting

Odds: 14/1

Positives

If success was measured by the number of finals and semi-finals reached then Germany would be level pegging with Brazil. They have participated in a total of seven World Cup finals and an additional three semi-finals and are the third most decorated nation in World Cup history with three tournament victories next to their name. It seems that regardless of their form when they enter the competition they are capable of pulling everything together for the finals and every year they are one of the strongest nations which teams hope to avoid in the competition.

They also have a penalty shootout record envied the world over; since being defeated by Czechoslovakia from the spot in Euro 76 they have not lost a penalty shootout in a major tournament since.

Negatives

The lack of an experienced goalkeeper since the retirements of Oliver Khan and Jens Lehman is an area of major concern for the German national side as is manager Joachim Low’s ongoing public dispute with the German FA. Although a press conference was called in February to draw a line under the spat it is widely believed that there is still a lot of bad feeling between the two parties and the prospect of that acrimony filtering down to the players is not good.

Key Player(s)

Striker Miroslav Klose has a superb international goal scoring record which reads as better than one goal every other game. He won the World Cup Silver Boot in 2002 then the World Cup Golden Boot in 2006 and became the only player in World Cup history to score five (or more) goals in consecutive World Cups. His 10 goals in 14 World Cup finals games make him one of the most prolific strikers in the history of the competition.

Captain Michael Ballack also has a remarkable goal scoring record for the national side (yes Chelsea fans, it is true), despite playing as a midfielder and being just shy of 100 caps he is marginally short of one goal every two games. The German side for this 2010 World Cup will be constructed around the midfielder and the general rule of thumb is that if Ballack performs well then so do Germany, he leads by example for the national team and with him on top of his game Germany have a real chance of once again going all the way to the semi-finals and perhaps beyond.

Best Bet

From time to time you come across a bet which just simply stands out from the crowd. Sometimes the logical part of your brain will tell you that if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is, but other times you dismiss that logic and follow your instincts. In this instance it could prove profitable to go with the latter scenario using the betting exchanges. Germany’s relentlessness in reaching the business end of major tournaments means that the current odds of 14/1 look a great ‘back to lay’ option. Their odds will plummet as the tournament progresses and you will be able to lay off any liability for a nice free bet when they reach the quarter-final stages.

Back Germany to win World Cup at 14/1 (with a view to trading on the exchanges)