MEXICO - 40/1 to win cup (Paddy Power) 6/4 to win group (UK Betting).
Mexico qualified comfortably for this year's World Cup after finishing joint top of the group in the North American zone along with the USA. However they did suffer one embarrassing result by drawing 1-1 with Panama who were the whipping boys of the group.
In last year's Confederations Cup the Mexicans exceeded everyone's expectations after finishing fourth in the tournament. Along the way they beat Brazil 1-0 and were knocked out in the semi-finals on penalties by Argentina.
Mexico have been very consistent in the last three World Cup tournaments, as they have qualified into the round of sixteen on all three occasions but unceremoniously dumped at that stage. For them to do it four in a row you can get odds of 5/4 with
The Latin Americans will be relying on their strike duo of Jared Borgetti and Fonseca to fire them into the knockout stages of the competition. Borgetti was the top scorer of their qualifying campaign netting 14 goals. Fonseca is the more potent striker; He scored four goals in one match against Guatemala, and that is the type of striker who wins the Golden Boot. A perfect example is Oleg Salenko who scored five goals against Cameroon at USA 94 and went on to share the Golden Boot trophy with Stoitchkov. You can get odds of 66/1 for both Borgetti and Fonseca with Sky Bet and
My tip - An each way bet on Fonseca winning the Golden Boot at 66/1 with Sky Bet and
IRAN - 750/1 to win cup (Sporting Odds) 14/1 to win group (Total Bet).
One of the most controversial teams to be entering into this year's competition is Iran. The Middle East outfit qualified after finishing second in group two behind Japan. The highlights of their qualifying campaign were a 2-1 victory over the Japanese, and two 7-0 demolitions of Laos.
Iran have been touted to be rank outsiders of this years World Cup by many of the bookmakers who are offering 750/1, but I believe Iran are going to be the surprise package of this year's competition. They have four players who currently play in the Bundesliga, which could prove vital for them to have a good run in the tournament. They also play a fluid passing game and do score an awful lot of goals. I fancy them progressing to the final sixteen and 9/2 with Sporting Odds is a great price.
Iran have scored a glut of goals on their road to the World Cup with Ali Daei scoring the most with nine goals, which is three more than his nearest rival. Daei is currently priced at 250/1 with Bet and Win to be top scorer by the end of the tournament.
My Tip - Iran to finish second in the group - 9/2 with Sporting Odds.
ANGOLA - 750/1 to win cup (Paddy Power) 18/1 to win group (
The Angolans qualifying for Germany is possibly the biggest surprise of the thirty-two entrants. They manage to advance to the finals after finishing top of Group Four beating off Nigeria who were widely expected to make this years competition. This is Angola's first ever appearance in a World Cup and there is not much experience in their squad. Mantorras of Benfica is the only player who plays for a major European club. Rui Marques is the only player to represent the English leagues for Angola. He is currently contracted at Hull City.
No one knows what to expect from Angola, as their normal expectation is just to qualify for the African Nations. A surprise may be on the cards and for them to progress to the next round you can get odds of 7/2 with
My tip - Save your money and don't back Angola at all!
PORTUGAL - 25/1 to win cup (Sporting Odds) 5/6 to win group (Total Bet).
The Portuguese booked their ticket to Germany after comfortably winning group three by seven points ahead of Slovakia and Russia. The highlight of their campaign was a 7-1 thrashing over Russia. The only mishap in their qualifying matches was a 2-2 draw with Lichtenstein, Portugal were 2-0 up at half time which made it even more embarrassing. Apart from that slight blemish the Portuguese were very dominant, and Pauleta was the highest scorer in all of Europe with eleven goals to his name. You have to believe that the Paris St-Germain striker is one of the main candidates to take home the Golden Boot and is currently 33/1 with Sky Bet.
Believe it or not this is only Portugal's fourth World Cup appearance and it's their first ever back to back showing in the footballing showpiece. They have only ever made it past the group stages once, and that was back at the 1966 World Cup in England. The record book is not kind for Portugal and another group exit is more than possible. You can pick up odds of 9/2 with Sporting Odds for an early trip back home. However they were the runners up in the European Championships two years ago and have put to bed the "big time curse" they have suffered since their existence. If they can emulate their success in Euro 2004 and finish as runners-ups you can get odds of 18/1 with Bet 365.
My tip - Portugal to go home early at 9/2 with Sporting Odds.
BACK TO WORLD CUP INDEX PAGE
