World Cup: Spotlight On Spain, All The Odds
April 2nd, 2014 by G WaldorfWith 70 days to go before the FIFA World Cup 2014 kicks off, there are pundits all around the world starting to look at the teams that will clash in the group stages, and how they measure up on paper. There are already plenty of World Cup odds to look over, and some specific World Cup odds for Australia that don’t make the most encouraging reading, if we’re honest – but today we’re going to take a closer look at the elephant in the room, the biggest challenge for Ange Postecoglu’s young Socceroos, World Cup holders Spain…
That’s the fact that comes to mind first off: Spain currently have the trophy in the cabinet, and that always counts for something when we’re looking ahead to which teams will still be involved at the business end of the tournament. The fact that Spain have won two Euro Championships, one either side of that World Cup triumph, only goes to show that this is a generation of Spanish footballers who know how to win the big tournaments. They’re not the favourites for the 2014 FIFA World Cup – Brazil will carry that tag into their own tournament – but it’s safe to say that few will be writing Spain off. In case you’re curious, Spain are an $8.00 bet to lift the Cup on Sportsbet right now. There are plenty of other Spain World Cup odds that might be worth a close look, too – they’ll be real contenders in Brazil.
And Spain’s performance through the qualification process will have lit a few warning lights in the Socceroos camp. The holders got themselves on the scoresheet in every game, and only conceded three goals in total: this is an organised side that not only passes fluently – the patented tiki-taka that gets the headlines and likely will do again in Brazil – but also does the basics well. Spain’s defensive organisation is good, and they scored plenty of goals from corners in qualifying, so they are able to make pressure tell on the scoresheet. All in all, they will present a very stern challenge indeed to an emerging Australia side – at the same time, the Socceroos who run out against this Spain side will always be able to say that they played against greats, and a result against them would make instant legends…
- 2023
- 2022
- - June
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2000