Check Out the Variety of Early World Cup Betting Odds at Online Sportsbooks
Posted: May 15, 2014
Updated: October 4, 2017
Browse through the long list of early World Cup betting odds already available a month before the kick off.
The whole world is living in anticipation of the biggest football event of four years – the World Cup, kicking off in Brazil in less than a month. Besides hordes of fans making their way to Latin America or to the nearest shopping mall to get the biggest TV in the place, all land-based and online sportsbooks in Brazil and elsewhere prepare to offer a huge amount of betting odds.
Some of the bookies, operating under Brazilian gambling laws, are already providing their members with early lines for a variety of occasions. Naturally, traditional markets will still be the most popular ones before and during the World Cup, expect a multitude of outright winner odds, goalscorers, winning margin, overs/unders and so on.
Let’s take a look at what kind of odds are already available for those wishing to bet on sports in Brazil, particularly on the World Cup outcomes.
Outright Winner odds
The hosts, Brazil, are the favorites to lift the cup, which will become their 6th, a record-breaking number. The team has a talented rooster, and a wealth of tournament-winning experience all over the world in a variety of competitions. Brazil are currently 11/4 to win the competition.
Variety of betting odds for 2014 World Cup
• Early odds offered at online sportsbooks in Brazil
• Host nation are the favorites to win the Cup
• Current holders, Spain, are fourth in line
Brazil has taken last year’s Confederation Cup, and with the competition including Spain, Uruguay, and Italy, it was a pretty decent achievement indeed. The holders, Spain, are 13/2 favorites to retain the title, while Italy has got a line of 25/1, same as Uruguay.
According to Bet365, second behind Brazil are Argentina at 9/2 odds, while Germany seems to be the strongest contester from Europe. Their success is valued at 11/2 odds, they haven’t won since 1990, so this must be the year for them to add a fourth crown to their existing three.
Interestingly enough, no team outside the Old Continent has won the World Cup, when they needed to travel to South, North, or even Central America. That is why the odds for the European teams are a bit lower this time around. Even considering the fact that Spain are not only World Cup title holders, but European champions as well.
Since Argentina are the second favorite, and they have been drawn into the opposite to Brazil side, it is very likely that the two biggest rivals will meet in the final. The possibility of the all-South American finale in Rio is valued at 10/1.
Top Goalscorer betting odds
The betting lines on goalscorers are also extremely popular with bettor worldwide. Lionel Messi is considered to be the best footballer on the planet right now, so there’s no surprise he is leading the top goalscorer market with 8/1 odds to shoot more goals than anyone else this summer.
Next up is his Barcelona partner, Neymar, playing for Brazil and enjoying 14/1 odds given by BetVictor to outscore everybody. Naturally, Messi’s La Liga rival Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luis Suarez from Manchester City are up there too, but their teams aren’t expected to last long during the World Cup, giving them a disadvantage in this respect. Ronaldo has got 14/1 odds and Suarez – 20/1 to become the top goalscorer.
Naturally, there are outsiders too. For example Diego Costa playing for Spain, odds on him are 25/1, which could be a very nice payout for punters.
Back to Neymar odds, they look like a safe bet. The last time a Brazilian has won the Golden Boot their team has also won the World Cup. It was back in 2002 when Ronaldo found the back of the net eight times. Odds for Neymar breaking this record are 20/1.
Best Player betting odds
While the Top Goalscorer or the Golden Boot award is pretty straightforward: score the most goals and it’s yours. The Golden Ball or Best Player is much more harder to predict. The last time both awards went to the same player was back in 1990 when Salvatore Schillaci added them to his collection.
The candidates for the award are selected by FIFA technical committee during the World Cup, and the winner is chosen by a vote among media representatives. Interestingly enough, the last four winners, Forlan, Zidane, Kahn, and Ronaldo, weren’t even playing in the winning squad. This fact proves that the Golden Ball award is not easy to predict and bet on at all.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are Bovada‘s top favorites with 15/8 odds. Suarez follows the arch-rivals with 13/1 odds, Neymar has got 15/1 odds. The rest of the field are too far away, but betting on them could deliver a nice payday. Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are 29/1 favorites to win the Golden Ball during the World Cup.
Winning Continent betting odds
It is only natural to expect that both South America and Europe receive equal odds in this market: 10/11. The rest are plain outsiders with Africa getting 40/1, Central/North America – 50/1, and Asia – massive 100/1 odds. Considering all the above-mentioned facts and figures, the safest bet is a team from South America.