World Cup Outright Winner Betting

Only seven different nations have won the World Cup throughout its decorated 80 year history but that doesn’t make picking out the winner any easier. A combination of statistics, knowledge and luck are needed; there’s not a lot we can do about the third element but we can certainly give you a rundown on the former two.

One of the more favoured and best advised approaches to World Cup Outright Winner Betting is to back one of the favourites to win and also take a bigger priced team as an each-way bet.

The Favourites

Spain and Brazil are the two most fancied nations by the bookmakers both available at around the 5/1 mark. It is no accident that Spain’s favouritism has coincided with a record equalling run of 35 games unbeaten including winning Euro 2008 and an immaculate World Cup qualification campaign, whilst Brazil’s five World Cup wins ensure that they are never underestimated by the bookmakers. England aren’t far behind in the betting but are often a little shorter than they should be due to the weight of money placed by English punters, then we have a trio of multiple winners Argentina, Italy and Germany who are all priced at around the 10/1 mark.

The Outsiders

Serbia topped a group which included France, Austria and Romania in their qualification campaign and did so in a comfortable and controlled fashion. They have players – Nemanja Vidic, Zoran Tosic, Nikola Zigic, Dejan Stankovic and Branislav Ivanovic – who are familiar with the big stage through their club level experiences and will be a real force to be reckoned with in the 2010 World Cup at 66/1.

Chile finished the South American World Cup qualification group just one point behind winners Brazil after beating Argentina and Paraguay en route. They have been handed a favourable group draw in which they can be expected to qualify in second place behind Spain and will be one of few nations who can thrive in the high altitude stadiums of South Africa. At 50/1 across the board that could turn out to be a good price to keep on the right side of.

If an African team is to emerge victorious then the most likely candidates are Ivory Coast. They have a plethora of high profile European based players, many of whom are household names, but their tendency to underperform when it matters most – a quarter final exit at this year’s African Cup of Nations being a prime example – means that there won’t be many rushing to back them at the 25/1 that the bookmakers are offering.

World Cup History

The first ever World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and was contested between 13 nations and duly won by the hosts. England, Germany, Italy, France and Argentina have all since won on their home patch which means that including that inaugural year the hosts have now won seven of the 18 World Cups played. South African fans will cling to those statistics for some form of hope but having failed to qualify for their own continent’s African Cup of Nations they will need to improve dramatically if they are to amplify those figures.

Only Brazil have won the World Cup outwith their own continent and if that statistic is to continue it would narrow the choices for 2010 Outright Winner Betting down to Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria, the hosts and Brazil. You can get 9/1 that an African side will win it for the first time in 2010, in their own back yard.