The odds on Germany winning the World Cup posted on ur green listed bookmakers have fallen after the holders were handed a comfortable group in today’s draw. Joachim Low’s men will be expected to breeze through a group featuring Mexico, Sweden and South Korea and they are now as low as 4/1 with some Green Listed Bookmakers to lift the trophy in Russia next summer. England will be relatively pleased to be in a group also containing Belgium, Tunisia and Panama, while hosts Russia should also be content with their draw. There are a couple of groups of death though, and it is all shaping up to be a fantastic tournament.
Who enjoyed a favourable draw?
Russia can count themselves fortunate to have avoided any big guns and have a good chance of getting out of a group containing Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. France were handed a great draw as they only have to contend with Denmark, Peru and Australia in Group C. Didier Deschamps’ men should join Germany in the last 16 without hardly breaking a sweat.
Who was handed a tough draw?
Argentina have landed in a real group of death against three extremely dangerous opponents. Lionel Messi and co are the 4/6 favourites with Paddy Power to win Group D, but there are no easy games for them as they take on Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland. Nigeria are underrated, Iceland have enjoyed some really strong results of late and Croatia have a phenomenal midfield. Brazil also landed in a tricky group against Switzerland, Serbia and Costa Rica, three organised and disciplined teams that defend well and give you a tough battle. England and Belgium will not relish facing one another, but they should be able to qualify ahead of Tunisia and Panama. Ditto Spain and Portugal, who should make short work of Iran and Morocco, although the latter looks a bit of a wildcard in Group B. Finally, Group H looks extremely intriguing as all four teams – Colombia, Poland, Senegal and Japan – are pretty evenly matched.
How has it affected the outright markets?
The odds on Germany have shortened, although you can still get 5/1 with Ladbrokes, Bet Victor, Sky Bet and a few others. 888 Sport has made Germany 4/1 and shunted Brazil out to 7/1, so if you fancy Neymar and co to lift the trophy that is where you should go. The odds on Argentina have soared out and 188Bet is now offering 10/1 on them. Many bookmakers have shortened the odds on Belgium and England, while the odds on Portugal, Croatia and Switzerland have drifted after tough draws for them.
Which teams look good value to win their groups or qualify for the knockout stage?
Group H is wide open and much of the early action is going on Colombia (11/8 with Boyle Sports), a strong team featuring the likes of James Rodriguez, Carlos Bacca and Radamel Falcao. But Poland look a really interesting option at 5/2 with Coral. They are as low as 13/8 with Paddy Power, so 5/2 is a generous price from Coral on a team that won eight out of 10 qualifiers to top their group. They are blessed with the talents
of Robert Lewandowski and will be difficult to play against. Germany are 3/10 with 10Bet and France are 1/3, which looks like free money as a double. Argentina are inconsistent and poor defensively so the 5/2 available at Betfred and Betway on Croatia winning Group D looks tempting. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic form a quality midfield pairing for Zlatko Dalic’s team, while Mario Mandzukic is a top striker and there is quality across the squad. The 7/5 that Ladbrokes is offering on England in Group G looks pretty tempting too. Belgium have a much better team on paper, but they are less than the sum of their parts and manager Roberto Martinez is unconvincing, so England could sneak that group before the inevitable knockout stage meltdown.
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