With the World Cup right around the corner, we’ll be handicapping the field and assessing their chances of winning the tournament. Most importantly, we’ll look at the World Cup betting odds to determine whether each team is a good value. We’ll be starting with the favored teams and working our way down the list over the next couple of weeks. After that we’ll recommend specific betting positions on futures and prop bets, and once the tournament starts we’ll have World Cup betting free picks every day. Make Oddsbay your home for the best soccer betting free picks and handicapping information anywhere!
Despite having won only one World Cup championship in their history, England is the third favorite to take the 2010 tournament. Not surprisingly given their soccer mad home country, there’s considerable pressure to at least improve upon their 2006 showing when they were eliminated by Portugal in the quarterfinals. Their best showing since their victory at home in the 1966 tournament was a semifinal finish in 1990 under the guidance of the legendary icon of British football, Sir Bobby Robson.
The good news for England is that they’ve got a good chance to advance deep into knockout round play and with a few breaks could actually win the cup title. This will be the first World Cup appearance for team manager Fabio Capello, who was hired to revive the ‘Three Lions’ after they failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships. Capello has an impressive resume in European league play—he led three teams to titles in Italy’s Serie A (AC Milan, AS Roma and Juventus) and coached Real Madrid to two Spanish La Liga championships. Known for a conservative, disciplined approach to the game his guidance is crucial as he hopes to get much more out of the wealth of soccer talent at his disposal than did predecessor Steve McClaren.
England’s best weapon is also their biggest question mark—Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is on a short list of the world’s best offensive players. Rooney scored 26 goals in 32 Premier League games, but was hampered late in the campaign by several injuries. There’s a lot of concern about Rooney’s fitness for the World Cup—he re-aggravated his injured groin in Man U’s season ending game on May 9th. Both Rooney and Capello have tried to assure concerned British soccer fans that he’ll be 100% before World Cup play begins, and he did play all 90 minutes in England’s recent warm up game against Mexico.
Rooney’s fitness is crucial, as England doesn’t have much depth up front. They’ve got decent talent on the roster including Tottenham Hotspur’s Peter Crouch and Sunderland’s Darren Bent, but no one on the team is in the same league as Rooney. Another concern is the goalkeeper position, although West Ham United’s Robert Green may have the inside track after a solid showing in the first half against Mexico.
Defense and midfield play should be a strength, with talent and depth up and down the roster. The defense will be anchored by Rooney’s Man U teammate Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea teammates John Terry and Ashley Cole. The midfield focus will be on Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Liverpool’s Steven Gerard, who are as good as any duo in the tournament.
England should have little problem advancing out of Group C and into the knockout stage. They open play against the USA—a team with some talent, but after witnessing the dismal performance of the American’s defense in their warmup game against the Czech Republic it’s hard to see England having much trouble with them. Slovenia and Algeria are simply overmatched. If Rooney stays healthy and gets some help scoring goals, and if Robert Green or whoever ends up claiming the goaltending job can perform well England has a legitimate shot at winning the tournament.
From a soccer betting perspective, however, it’s difficult to recommend a play on the ‘Three Lions’ not because of a lack of talent but because of the price. Along with England’s passion for soccer exists a passion for gambling, and there may not be a sports league on the planet where betting is much of an integral part of the game as the English Premier League. British bookmakers are expecting a record handle on the World Cup, with much obviously bet on England’s national team. For this reason alone, England is likely overvalued at their current price +635. They don’t quite have the talent of co-favorites Brazil and Spain, nor do they offer the value of teams like Argentina, Germany or Italy.
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