Can Spain Hold On to the Title: Early World Cup Betting Odds

Interestingly enough, the Spanish are not the favorites to win the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

Spain are the reigning World and European champions, but according to online sportsbooks in Spain the team are not the favorites to retain the title in Brazil. A couple of teams have got better odds to win according to the bookies: the hosts Brazil, Argentina and even Germany. Let’s try and understand why.

Betting on Spain at World Cup

• Spain are not the favorites to win the World Cup again

• Majority of online sportsbooks in Spain are ready for betting action

• Smart bet is to wager on Spain being eliminated in the quarters

La Roja have dominated the football game on international arena for the largest part of the last six years. But even at home the optimism of fans and those who bet on sports in Spain is not so high with less than a month to go before the start of the event.

The general idea is that the Spanish have already achieved everything they could by winning the previous two European champs and the World Cup in South Africa. The odds given by those betting destinations under Spanish gambling laws confirm this pessimism. Spain are given 7.50 odds to lift the trophy again, which might be a good bet to make since everyone is thinking they will not win anyway.

It was the first title for La Roja in 2010, before that they have only finished 4th once back in 1950. And even their home World Cup in 1982 have not helped them climb to anywhere near the top.

The road to Brazil

The qualifying campaign was quite solid for the Spaniards, but nothing spectacular. They managed a series of very low scoring wins, but still finished top of the group ahead of France, who had to survive a Ukrainian scare to go through in the playoffs.

That’s why the Spanish are only given 7.50 odds to become the top scoring nation in Brazil. It’s nowhere near a safe bet considering their qualifying, but this is football and anything can happen. This fact is also confirmed by the lack of high-quality striker, however, it wasn’t a problem for them in the past, so they might just escape it this time around as well.

The squad

Vicente del Bosque called upon Fernando Torres and David Villa, despite them having not the best of seasons in their leagues. Alvaro Negredo was also called to the team even though he didn’t really play much for Manchester City. Diego Costa had a wonderful title-winning season with lots of goals, but he’s now injured and that might ultimately prevent him from going to Brazil.

Fernando Llorente can make the final squad, despite coach’s poor opinion of him, but the18 goals he scored in his debut Juventus season speak for themselves.

The draw and betting odds

The reason for the general pessimism towards Spain’s chances at World Cup can also be explained by the ultra-difficult group they have been drawn into. Besides the Dutch, they will also have to face Australia and Chile, who are not considered to be easy opponents by any account.

But still, Spain are the favorites to win the group with 1.72 odds. The odds of them qualifying to the next round are even smaller – 1.16, while reaching the semis is paying at 2.62, and the final – at 4.33. Interestingly enough, the line for Spain being eliminated at group stage is pretty good at 5.00, which might be a good bet, but a better one is elimination in the quarters, which is also 5.00 odds.

As for the top goalscorer odds for Spain, Diego Costa is leading the way with 4.00 odds, while Alvaro Negredo is next with 6.50, followed by Pedro at 7.00, and Fabregas at 9.00. Torres has only received 10.00 odds to be Spain’s top scorer, which is surprising and quite a good bet. David Villa’s chances are even less with 11.00 odds.

Some interesting combo odds Brazil and Spain final odds are equal to 13.00, while Germany and Spain in the final will pay at 21.00. In a wild event that Spain wins and Diego Costa wins the golden boot, the bookies will pay at 51.00 odds.