THE WORLD CUP TIPSTER
JUST four teams are now left in the 2010 World Cup and, shockingly, one of them is not Brazil. After England’s disastrous exit, at least we can look on all of these latest developments with almost dispassionate interest. It is certainly perfect for spread betters. As readers will know, Holland beat Brazil on Friday 2-1 to set up a semi-final clash with Uruguay tomorrow evening at 7.30pm. This is the first time that Holland and Uruguay have ever played each other so football punters unfortunately can’t look to past games for guidance. Holland are the only team to have won every game so far this tournament and they have done so with quiet efficiency rather than flashy style. With a place in the final at stake, this is unlikely to change.
Uruguay will also be missing their star striker Luis Suarez, who has been suspended by Fifa following his Hand of God incident against Ghana. So the Uruguayans may well try to keep the play tight and catch the Dutch on the break. Consequently, it’s unlikely to be a smooth game for the Oranje and it could be a lot tighter than most people are expecting. You may want therefore to look at selling total match goals at 2.2 with Sporting Index. An alternative market on the first semi-final would be to buy Dutch Supremacy (margin of goal) at 1 with Spreadex.
Germany and Spain meet on Wednesday evening for the remaining place in the 2010 final and the knock-out stages are traditionally tense, low-scoring affairs. In the past four semis in the 2006 and 2002 tournaments, there were only three goals scored in total across all four matches. If you think this trend is likely to continue and that Germany won’t be as free-flowing against the Germans – when the two teams met in the 2008 European Championship final, Spain only won 1-0 – then look to sell goals at 2.2 with Sporting Index.
On the other hand, Germany have been finding the back of the net with abandon, humiliating Argentina 4-0 and England 4-1. Total goal minutes (whereby you add up the time each goal was scored during the match) made up 233 in the Argentina match and 226 against England. Spreadex quotes total goal minutes for the Germany-Spain match at 117-127 so a buy at this price would be very profitable if Germany continue to be as free-scoring as they have been so far.