Mario Balotelli to Outscore Everyone for Italy: Early World Cup Odds

Italy’s form is not the best leading up to World Cup, but they are renowned for getting it together for the big events.

Italy is another team, considered by many experts and fans to be one of the favorites for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. The Italians have a huge number of supporters at home and around the world, not to mention that lots of punters wager on the national team at land-based and online sportsbooks in Italy.

The Italian football season is over with Juventus winning another Scudetto this time with a record number of 102 points. Naturally, there will only be a short break for Italian footballers before the World Cup commences. This will serve well for those wishing to bet under Italian gambling laws, giving them a little time to rest.

Italy may not be the favorites to win the World Cup, but they are certainly among the top teams going for the title. Their odds at destinations where people can bet on sports in Italy are equal to 25/1. Making them fifth in line to win the title, which could be their fifth, meaning they will catch up to Brazil in this respect. The last time they won was in 2006 in Germany in the famous final against France.

The squad

Betting on Italy at World Cup

• Italians are fifth in line to win the World Cup

• Majority of online sportsbooks in Italy offer great odds for the team

• Betting on Italy to make it to the last 16 from any position is a smart bet

Most betting destinations favor Mario Balotelli to become the top scorer for Italy with 13/8 odds. There’s no doubt that if Super Mario is in a goal scoring mood he will deliver the goals Italy need to succeed. But the Milan forward is too temperamental and inconsistent to provide hard guarantees.

Another goalscoring talent to consider betting on is Ciro Immobile, the Torino striker who’s success is valued at 10/1 odds. Naturally, Prandelli has got a long rooster to choose from including Giuseppe Rossi, Mattia Destro and Lorenzo Insigne, and that is besides Balotelli, Cerci, and Cassano. All things considered, betting on Immobile to be Italy’s top goalscorer is a high-value bet with great opportunities to score big.

The World Cup draw for Italy

Italy had a pretty decent qualification campaign, but their recent form leaves space for improvement. The warm up friendly matches against Ireland and Luxembourg won’t provide a real challenge for Italy, and the head coach together with the horde of fans will have to hope Italy picks up fresh inspiration once the tournament kicks off.

They have been drawn into group D with Uruguay, Costa Rica, and England. Not the easiest one, but not the hardest either. They are the favorites to win the group with 7/4 odds on this occurrence at the bookies. But Uruguay with their Suarez and Cavani are a very tough challenge indeed. This means that betting on Italy to qualify from the second spot is perhaps a safer wager with 9/5 odds, but there’s also an option to bet on them qualifying from any position at 4/9 odds.

The more likely outcome of the group is the battle between Italy and England for second place. Given that both teams come from Europe they will definitely have problems coping with the heat and humidity of South America. All things considered the Azzurri look better on paper than Hodgson’s men.

Italian prospects

Team Italy boast a good record of shifting up a gear when it comes to big competitions. Their recent draws against Armenia and Nigeria, coupled with a loss to Spain, can’t really provide the full picture of the Italian status. Italians have always been unpredictable, and Prandelli is renowned for inconsistent tactical setup, which will make things that much harder for their opponents.

Complementing this with Balotelli’s erratic form we will have a very interesting Italian team in Brazil with a very hard-to-predict outcome. However, all these factors make betting on Italy at the World Cup more interesting and rewarding, with bookies giving them slightly longer odds, compared to the competition.

In any case Italy should definitely improve on the disappointing result of 2010 World Cup and make it into the Last 16 this time around.