Spain World Cup Betting

Odds: 4/1

Positives

Spain are the form team in world football and are the unsurprising favourites to win the 2010 World Cup. They recently went on a record equalling 35-game unbeaten run which included a record breaking 15-game winning streak and won all 10 of their World Cup qualification group games. They should also progress through their World Cup finals group with relative ease.

Negatives

It is hard to ignore their poor World Cup record and suggest that 4/1 is a value bet in the Outright Winners market. Their triumph at Euro 2008 put pay to their ‘bottlers’ tag but the fact that they have only made it past the quarter-finals stage once in the World Cup – they were semi-final losers in 1950 – makes it a little tougher to side with them at such short odds here.

Also, although they should win their group comfortably, if either they or Brazil have a slight slip up and finish second in their group then they would face each other in the round of 16. Spain are deserved favourites for the 2010 World Cup but at 4/1 to win it there are certainly better places to put your money.

Key Player(s)

Spain’s strength lies in their abundance of talent throughout the team and strength and depth in the squad. Midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta are the centre piece around which their recent success has been constructed; familiar with each other from their Europe dominating Barcelona side it is little wonder that Spain have been catapulted to favouritism for this year’s World Cup given such a strong foundation from which to build around. Ask yourself this, would Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso be kept out of any other midfield in world football?

In front of the dynamic midfield duo is the deadly strike force of Fernando Torres and David Villa who have more than 50 international goals between them. One factor of concern here for manager Vincente del Bosque is Torres’s stuttering domestic campaign for Liverpool where the striker has been plagued with injury. It could work in their favour and mean that he comes into the tournament fresh and raring to go or, more likely, it could mean he will be a little rusty when things get underway in South Africa. This could prove to be one of the keys to Spain’s success or possible lack thereof and punters would be well advised to keep an eye on how the striker performs toward the latter stages of the Premier League.

Best Bet

Villa was the Golden Boot winner in Euro 2008 scoring four goals compared to Torres’s two and looks to be a good bet to take home the accolade of Spain’s top goal scorer at the World Cup. He has enjoyed another good season at club level for Valencia and will come into this tournament on top of his game as appose to the aforementioned concerns over his strike partner.

Back David Villa to be Spain’s Top Goalscorer at 6/4