Cristiano Ronaldo Golden Boot betting

Cristiano Ronaldo odds for 2010 World Cup

Being perhaps the best-known player in the world right now, the spotlight is most certainly going to be placed on Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. The Real Madrid and Portuguese star has been recognised as one of the best players in the world in recent years. His Fifa World Player of the Year (2008) and astonishing £80 million transfer from Manchester Utd to Real Madrid certainly reflect that. Odds of 20/1 (bwin.com) are available on him winning the golden boot award.

It has been fairly underwhelming first season in Madrid for Ronaldo, he has struggled with injuries and seen his side knocked out of the Champions League unexpectedly at the hands of Lyon in the second round. However, despite his team’s poor performance, Ronaldo has still managed to score 25 goals in 31 appearances which shows he hasn’t lost any of the ability he showed in a Manchester Utd shirt.

Although his club form has remained impressive, his form for Portugal hasn’t matched it, and he failed to score in their World Cup qualifying campaign despite making 7 starts. Scoring has been a major problem for Portugal throughout the qualifiers, and without Ronaldo on top form they struggled. They did eventually scrape through to the finals after a play-off win against Bosnia Herzegovina. However, this shows that the current Portugal side is not as good as in previous years and they may struggle in South Africa. Being drawn in the ‘group of death’ alongside Ivory Coast and Brazil may mean they will leave the competition at the group stages. Should this be the case, it will be nearly impossible for the flamboyant winger to win the golden boot.

Although seeming generous to many, the odds of 20/1 in my eyes do not reflect much value given the chances of Portugal falling at the group stages. And despite the obvious talent of Ronaldo, I see him having little chance of finishing the competition as leading goal scorer.

Cristiano Ronaldo Golden Boot betting odds

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World Cup Player of Tournament betting

Player of tournament odds for 2010 World Cup

The Golden Ball is presented to the player who is voted as the tournament’s best player. The award has much sought after and has been won by some of the world’s greatest ever players, such as Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona and Pele.

The battle for the Golden Ball in South Africa is an intriguing one, with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo battling over who is currently the best player in the world. Both would love to add the Golden Ball to their C.Vs to further argue their case. However, there are several other world class players ready to pounce should the opportunity arise.

For a start, there are several Spanish players who could win the award. Either one of their strikers, David Villa or Fernando Torres could be amongst the main contenders for the award should either of them recapture their form from Euro 2008.  At the opposite end, Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Casillas is one of the only goalkeepers in the world that can be a regular match winner and he’d love to repeat the achievements of German ‘keeper Oliver Kahn who became the first goalkeeper to win the award, in 2002. Of the Spaniards, Villa and Torres are the most likely to win the award, but Xavi has received a lot of praise over the past season and doesn’t have anything to show for it yet. The Golden Ball would be the perfect way to cap off his season and he seems like a very good outside bet.

Brazilian’s have won the award more times than any other nationality, having won the award at seven of the eighteen tournaments so far. Due to Brazil’s unique brand of attacking football, the most likely candidate for them is Real Madrid’s €70 million man, Kaka. The last two Brazilian winners have been Romario and Ronaldo. Two potent strikers in their prime, but coming into 2010, Brazil look short of quality strikers which may hinder their chances of winning the award. Kaka hasn’t had his greatest ever season but he’s the sort of man who can turn a match with a single touch. Although an outsider, he still might give himself a chance.

Many people have talked about Wayne Rooney as a man who can almost single handedly win England the world cup in 2010, and his form for Manchester United this season backs that up. Rooney has been named PFA Players’ Player of the Year this season and is in exceptional scoring form at the minute, recognised as one of Europe’s most feared strikers. It all comes down to whether England win the tournament, because England lifting the World Cup and Rooney winning the Golden Ball are likely to go hand in hand. Expect to see both, or neither.

However, regardless of how many other great talents there will be on display in South Africa, many are expecting the battle for the Golden Ball to be a direct shootout between Ronaldo and Messi; without doubt, the two best players in the world at the moment. Portugal had Eusebio, Argentina Maradona. Now they have two new stars with a shot at greatness.

Player of Tournament betting odds

Recommended Bet: Lionel Messi has been lighting up Europe this season and everyone’s eyes are going to be on him which gives him a real chance to shine. If Messi can handle the pressure of the World Cup and recreate his club form then he should win the Golden Ball.

Outside Bet: Xavi has been undoubtedly the best midfield player in Europe. A fellow club mate of Messi, Xavi’s phenomenal statistics are often highlighted. During the 2nd leg of the Champions League semi final, Xavi completed more passes that the entire Inter Milan team. The media love these sorts of stats and if Xavi can pass Spain to glory this summer then he has a great chance of winning the Golden Ball.

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Paraguay World Cup Betting Preview

Paraguay odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

This is Paraguay’s fourth consecutive appearance at the World Cup Finals. The squad will want to build on the progress made in 1998 and 2002 when they reached the last 16 both times. The Paraguayans do not want a repeat of their first round elimination at the 2006 finals in Germany. The current squad is strong and relies on both defence and attack. Their new found resilience could be key for Paraguay to be a major threat in South Africa. The shortest odds for a Paraguay triumph are offered by Paddy Power at 40/1. Coral however offer odds of 66/1 for the same bet.

Paraguay are situated in Group F along with holders Italy, Slovakia and New Zealand. It is widely believed that Slovakia and Paraguay will be vying for second spot behind the Italians. However an upset is possible and Paraguay are priced at 4/1 by SkyBet to win the group. Bwin prices Paraguay at 6/11 to qualify from the group and BlueSq price Paraguay at 7/4 for a failure to qualify from the group stages.

Paraguay qualified for the World Cup finals with their best ever points tally in a hugely impressive campaign. The Paraguayans notched up thirty three points and finished third behind Chile and Brazil. Paraguay secured qualification by beating Argentina 1-0 in their final game. The president of Paraguay was so proud of his players that he declared a national holiday.

The Paraguay squad is strong; it boasts key players in all areas. The strongest players are in Paraguay’s attack. Roque Santa Cruz who plays for Manchester City and had a very successful spell with Blackburn Rovers is the strongest striker however injury prevented him from playing for most of the qualifiers. If fit for the finals; Santa Cruz is priced at 125/1 by expert.com to finish as the tournament’s top goal scorer.

Reccomended bets: With both Argentina and Brazil in the tournament it is unlikely that Paraguay will be the South American team to go the furthest in the finals however Brazil and Argentina have stuttered at late and if Paraguay have a strong campaign there is a chance that they will be the highest placed South American team, SkyBet price this event at 14/1. Another bet worth taking would be that Paraguay are eliminated at the Quarter Final stage with BetFred pricing this at 9/2. BetFred also prices the Paraguayans at 13/8 to get eliminated at the Last Sixteen.

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Nigeria World Cup Betting Preview

Nigeria odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Nigeria are often considered to be one of the strongest African teams and the fact that they have reached the semi finals at 5 of the last 6 African Cup of Nations reflects this. At the most recent tournament Nigeria finished third, only losing to eventual runners-up Ghana 1-0 in the semis. The 2010 tournament will be Nigeria’s fourth tournament and they have qualified from their group at 2 of their 3 previous attempts.

At the final stage of the qualification for the 2010 World Cup Nigeria were drawn in a group alongside Tunisia, Mozambique and Kenya. They went through the group undefeated (3 wins, 3 draws) but only won the group from Tunisia by 1 point. By winning their group, Nigeria qualified for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Nigeria’s qualification was aided by the goalscoring of Ikechukwu Uche and Victor Obinna who both scored 4 goals each to help propel Nigeria to South Africa, although neither player will be considered to be a major threat for the golden boot award in the summer. In fact, neither player is likely to start for Nigeria. Nigeria, instead, have a potentially lethal strike-force, of pacey, former Newcastle striker, Obafemi Martins and powerful, Everton striker Yakubu. The Nigeria midfield could feature three Premiership players in Dickson Etuhu, Seyi Olofinjana and John Obi Mikel. Mikel is considered to be the main focal point of the side and the real star of the team. Everton defender Joseph Yobo should also feature at the back for Nigeria. Both Martins and Yakubu are available at a price of 125/1 to finish the tournament as the top goalscorer.

Nigeria will have their sights set firmly on second place in Group B. To beat Argentina would obviously be a huge bonus, but Nigeria’s aim will be to beat Greece and South Korea. Nigeria are available at 5/1 to win the group or 11/10 to qualify. While if they do qualify it is likely to be as runners up (9/5) the odds of 11/10 to qualify in either position reflects good enough odds to not need to take the extra risk. Nigeria are likely to be competing with Ivory Coast and Ghana for the accolade of top African team. However, Nigeria probably have the best chance of qualifying from their group as Ivory Coast face Portugal and Brazil and Ghana must play Germany, Australia and Serbia. This means Nigeria present tremendous value at 11/2, as they may well be the only African team to qualify from their group. The tournament being hosted in Africa can only be a bonus to an already experienced and talented Nigeria side.

Recommended bets: Nigeria to finish as top African team (11/2 with totesport)

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New Zealand World Cup Betting Preview

New Zealand odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

This is New Zealand’s first appearance at the World Cup since Spain 1982. The team are nicknamed the All Whites as a contrast from the famous All Black Rugby team. New Zealand qualified for the 2009 Confederations Cup; however they failed to win a game and finished the tournament with only one point after a hard fought draw against Iraq. The playoff game against Bahrain to qualify for South Africa finally managed to get the Rugby mad nation to get behind their football team. The match in capital Wellington was a record capacity for the All Whites. New Zealand are predicted not to be a threat the World Cup finals at all with Coral offering odds of 2500/1 for a New Zealand triumph, Paddy Power offer far shorted odds at 750/1. One thing is for sure, all bookmakers predict that New Zealand have no chance of lifting the World Cup trophy.

New Zealand’s qualifying campaign was fairly straightforward. They topped their Oceanic qualifying group with only one loss. This earned them the right to play a play off eleven months later against Bahrain, the first leg ended 0-0 and the return leg in Wellington ended 1-0 to the All whites and sealed qualification to South Africa and only their second world Cup finals.

New Zealand have been drawn to play Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia in Group F. This is a strong group which New Zealand are highly unlikely to qualify from. The Bookmakers reflect this with William Hill offering odds of 12/1 for them to qualify to the next stage and SkyBet offering odds of 1/25 for them not to qualify.

New Zealand are clearly regarded as one of the tournaments weakest teams, however there are several players who will hope to aid the All Whites’ World Cup cause. Captain and Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nielsen is the most well known player in the team and the only player to feature in the national team. Middlesbrough striker Chris Killen is a player tipped to cause defences some problems as is Shane Smeltz who is the Australian A league top scorer, Smeltz is priced at 500/1 to be the tournament’s top scorer.

Reccomended bets: New Zealand are unlikely to be a threat in South Africa; the best bets are bets on single matches against the other group sides as like all teams they are capable of causing an upset. Firstly Victor Chandler offer odds of 7/1 for a victory against Slovakia and Sportingbet offer odds of 16/5 for a draw.

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Mexico World Cup Betting Preview

Mexico odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Mexico have very much been World Cup underachievers. Their best World Cup results have been two quarter finals, in 1970 and 1986 and arguably the nation’s best ever player, Hugo Sanchez, was denied the chance to play at a World Cup during his prime years when Mexico were banned from the 1990 competition.

The CONCACAF qualification process consists of 4 stages. As one of the top seeds, Mexico were awarded a bye to the 2nd round, where they drew Belize and beat them, convincingly, 9-0 over two legs. In the 3rd round they finished second in a group of 4, behind Honduras, to qualify for the final round. In the final round they finished 2nd once more (W6, D1, L3) behind the U.S.A. which meant they qualified for South Africa. Mexico didn’t really finish with any standout goalscorers, with their goals being spread throughout the team.

Mexico’s talisman is their 37 year old forward, Cuauhtémoc Blanco who has played 107 times for his country, scoring a total of 37 goals. He could be supported in attack by young, energetic, Arsenal striker, Carlos Vela. Mexico have a solid base in defence as well, with a very goalkeeper, Guillermo Ochoa and Barcelona centre-back Rafael Marquez both very dependable. The most exciting player for Mexico is likely to be Deportivo La Coruña left winger, Andres Guardado, who could be a real one to watch for Mexico. Moments of magic from players like Guardado could make the difference in a tough group for Mexico.

Mexico will probably be fairly confident ahead of the World Cup. Although not being amongst the favourites to win the tournament, they will definitely expect to qualify from their group. Mexico are certainly good enough to finish at least 2nd in the group and may well even trouble France. Odds of 4/1 are available for anyone who fancies Mexico to win the group, which is without doubt a possibility. France are unpredictable and a slightly off form French team would struggle against Mexico. The safest money is definitely on Mexico to qualify at 10/11, which represents fairly decent value. The alternative is to try and predict their exact finishing position, which in this group, could be anywhere from 1st to 4th, but should be 2nd. There is some great value in Mexico to finish 2nd, with them available at 40/17.  On paper, Mexico are undoubtedly the second best team in the group and should finish there if everything goes to form.

Reccomended bets: As Japan are one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament, the best bets to make on them are bets on single matches. William Hill prices Japan at 13/5 to beat Cameroon whereas Bet365 offer odds of 23/10 in the event of a draw. SkyBet prices a Japan victory against the Netherlands at 13/2 and Victor Chandler offers odds of 11/4 for a draw in this match. Finally SkyBet offer odds of 3/1 for Japan to beat Denmark and also offer odds of 9/4 for a draw in this tie.

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Premier League betting – Liverpool vs Everton 06/02/2010

Liverpool vs Everton betting preview

Saturday lunchtime sees the 182nd top flight Merseyside derby contested between Liverpool and neighbours Everton at Anfield. Rafa Benitez’s men will be aiming to complete a 12th league double over the Toffees live in front of the Sky cameras, as they look to leapfrog Spurs into that fourth Champions League spot. The home side are 4/5 favourites with Sky Bet to extend their unbeaten run in the league to seven games; the visitors are best priced at 4s and the draw pays out at 12/5.

Only Stanley Park separates the two teams in geographical proximity but a 9 point gap exists between the two clubs in the Premier League. However, both teams have been in good form of late, the reds are now just one point behind Spurs in 5th, a feat which seemed unlikely after their poor start to the campaign. Couple their sluggish start to the season with their early Champions League exit and some disgruntled fans were calling for Benitez’s head.

Everton manager David Moyes meanwhile, will have been buoyed by his sides battling 1-0 victory away at Wigan last weekend. Tim Cahill’s headed winner continued Everton’s great winning streak which stretched to nine unbeaten and lifted the Toffees into 9th place. Quite a turnaround considering the Goodison Park club were only 2 points clear of the relegation zone in early December. The return of influential midfielder Mikel Arteta will provide added impetus and creativity they have sorely missed thus far.

A tense affair might be expected on Saturday if recent results are anything to go by. Both sides are bidding to keep fourth successive clean sheets in the league and the goalless draw at 9s with Paddy Power may see some cash. However, Merseyside Derbies are often fiery affairs and with local pride at stake I think both sides will be playing for all three points. Moyes’ men will want to avenge the reverse fixture defeat which saw Liverpool come away from Goodison with a 2-0 win. With Fernando Torres out injured, Local boy Steven Gerrard will be rallying his troops to topple the Toffees and is a good bet at 11/2 to open the scoring and add to his 5 goals already this term. Everton’s main goal threat well lies with Tim Cahill and he has a habit of scoring important goals so lump on the Aussie star at 9s to breach the Liverpool rearguard.

Personally I think this one will be a tight affair but I think Liverpool will make home advantage count and claim victory by the odd goal in this hotly contested local derby. Liverpool are 6/1 to win by a solitary goal but are good value at 13/2 to win  2-0 considering they have amassed this score line no fewer than five times already this term, four of those at Anfield. The referee will be in for long 90 minutes as recent encounters have been marred by sendings off with 17 red cards in the Premier League. This is the highest tally for any fixture and Betfair are offering a plausible 19/10 that someone receives their marching orders.

Recommended bets: Tim Cahill first goalscorer at 9/1 with Sportingbet – click for free bet

Any player to be sent off 19/10 with Betfair – click for £25 free bet

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Japan World Cup Betting Preview

Japan odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

This will be Japan’s fourth appearance at the World Cup finals. Boasting the strongest squad in Asia Japan have won three of the last five AFC Asia Cup finals. The Japanese hope to perform much better than the finals in 2006 when they failed to qualify from the group stage. Their most successful World Cup campaign came at the finals held in Japan and Korea in 2002, it was here that Japan managed to progress form the group stage and were unlucky to lose to Portugal at the Last Sixteen stage. The Japanese are not fancied to be a major threat at South Africa and the shortest odds for a Japanese winning campaign are offered by Ladbrokes at 125/1, William Hill offer the most attractive odds at 250/1.

Japan are placed in Group E along with Cameroon, Denmark and the Netherlands. This is a strong group and if Japan were to qualify they will have to perform above the expectations of all football fans. Odds for a Japanese qualification reflect the near impossible task ahead of them, SkyBet offer the best odds for this at 11/4. Also offered by Sky Bet are odds of 1/4 for the likely event of Japan not qualifying from the group. However Japan managed to qualify from the group in 2002 so the task isn’t beyond them. Another Last Sixteen elimination for Japan is priced at 15/4 by expert.com also offered by this agency is odds of 14/1 for a Japanese elimination at the Quarter Final stage.

Japan qualified for South Africa with relative ease, only losing one match, drawing three and winning four. The Japanese finished he group second to Australia and five points above closest rivals Bahrain.

Although star player Hidetoshi Nakata retired from international football after the last finals in Germany at the age of 29 Japan still hold a host of good players looking to make an impact in South Africa. Former Celtic and current Espanyol playmaker Shunsuke Nakamora is Japan’s most important player, Boylesports prices him at 300/1 to finish the tournament as top goal scorer.  Left footed midfielder Keisuke Honda could also cause teams problems. Finally 31 year old captain Yuji Nakazawa will lead the side from the back. He is Japan’s third highest capped player of all time.

Reccomended bets: As Japan are one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament, the best bets to make on them are bets on single matches. William Hill prices Japan at 13/5 to beat Cameroon whereas Bet365 offer odds of 23/10 in the event of a draw. SkyBet prices a Japan victory against the Netherlands at 13/2 and Victor Chandler offers odds of 11/4 for a draw in this match. Finally SkyBet offer odds of 3/1 for Japan to beat Denmark and also offer odds of 9/4 for a draw in this tie.

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Ivory Coast World Cup Betting Preview

Ivory Coast odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Ivory Coast are generally considered to be the strongest African team in this year’s competition and have a slight advantage over most teams considering the World Cup is being playing on ‘home soil’. They are best priced 28/1 to win the trophy with William Hill in what would be considered a major upset. 

 It is probably inconceivable to see Ivory Coast in a World Cup final so I’m going to focus in particular on their group – Group G. They have been drawn alongside Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in what promises to be a hotly contested group. Portugal are probably their biggest rivals for second place and the bookies are finding it difficult to split these two teams. Ivory Coast are best priced 4/1 to win the group with Sporting Bet, but more relevantly are 10/11 with Betfred to qualify for the knockout stages.      

Ivory Coast were given a bye through to the second round of qualification in the African zone. They then topped the group table in both round 2 and round 3, without losing a game in the process.

When considering Ivory Coast’s chances in the tournament you immediately think of one player – Didier Drogba. He is his countries all time leading goalscorer, with 43 goals in 65 appearances and is one of the best strikers in the world. If Ivory Coast are to have any chance of progressing from their group, he will need to be on form scoring goals. Powerful, strong in the air and clinical when faced by the goalkeeper, Drogba looks a steal at 33/1 with William Hill for the golden boot, especially when you consider he could score a hatful against North Korea.

It looks unlikely that Ivory Coast will go all the way to the final as should they progress from their group as runners up, Spain would be the likely second round opponents. Getting to the last 16 would be an achievement and Betfred provides odds of 15/8 that they will be eliminated in the second round. One market Ivory Coast do have a great chance of winning is the ‘top African team’. They are best priced Evs with Blue Square to progress the furthest of all the African team and this looks realistic.         

Reccomended bets: Ivory Coast to be the furthest progressing African team at Evens with Blue Square.

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Italy World Cup Betting Preview

Italy odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Defending champions Italy fall into the same category as a number of teams behind the two main favourites – Spain and Brazil. On their day, they have the quality to upset the ‘big two’ but aren’t expected to reach the final. Nevertheless, expekt.com are offering good value at odds of 13/1 for to Italy successfully defend the World Cup.

You would say that the Group F draw has been kind to Italy. Other than Paraguay who pose a slight threat, their other two opponents – Slovakia and New Zealand should be dismissed with ease. Italy are clear favourites to win the group at 1/2 with Ladbrokes and bwin.com are offering odds of 23/10 for Italy to take 9 points from the group. Assuming they top the group, Italy should face Denmark in the last 16, Spain in the quarter finals and probably Argentina in the last 4.       

Italy progressed comfortably from Group 8, managing to stay unbeaten throughout the qualifying campaign.

Normally, a key player in a team would be a striker or midfielder. In Italy’s case these two positions have been very much in transition since the last World Cup, with many inexperienced players now occupying these roles. One man, however, has been at the heart of the Italian defence for over 13 years. Fabio Cannavaro may be 36 but he has been one of the greatest defenders of his era. He is the most experienced Italian international ever with 136 caps and has been captain for 8 years. As with many Italian teams, their emphasis is mainly on defence. They only conceded 7 goals in the qualifying campaign and only 2 in the last World Cup. If Italy are to have such a watertight defence this time around, they will need Cannavaro to perform at the highest level.

Italy don’t have a prolific strike force and this could prove to be their downfall. In years gone by they have been able to call upon on the likes of Del Piero and Inzaghi but this time around they have nobody of the same ilk. I think they will progress to the quarter finals where they will find Spain too strong. Odds of 5/2 with Paddy Power for a last 8 elimination look well worth the money.

Reccomended bets: Italy to be eliminated in the Quarter Finals at 5/2 with Paddy Power.

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