Russia v Saudi Arabia on June 14th is the first of 48 games in the group stage of the World Cup 2018. It will kick off a two-week period of top international games from the tournament in which the bulk of the matches will be played. The following two weeks of the World Cup will see the knockout phase of the competition then completed.
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Are Russia ready for the big kick off?
Host nation Russia haven’t had the greatest couple of years in terms of form but they are trading at 4/11 odds* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) to get the opening victory over Saudi Arabia. Will that game be as routine as the bookmakers are thinking that it is going to be or will punters take a chance on the underdogs producing something special?
Because Saudi Arabia are such big underdogs, punters could look in the Double Chance market for them where they are at 2/1 odds* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) with Sportingbet to get some kind of result out of the match.
Looking for those match alternatives in Sportingbet World Cup 2018 odds can help push your betting towards a little more value and it is always worth looking around for something to try and either complement or act as an alternative to the match outright market on a World Cup match.
Sportingbet World Cup 2018 odds
Heading up the outright winner market in Sportingbet World Cup 2018 odds is Brazil who are 4/1 to taste success this summer. They are the most celebrated nation in football thanks to their five previous World Cup titles and they will be out to heal some wounds after they failed so badly in their semi-final challenge against eventual winners Germany four years ago on home soil.
They have headed in the right direction since then and with the quality that they have in their squad, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. But so too are current reigning World Champions Germany who are 9/2 second-favourites* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) in Sportingbet World Cup 2018 odds and they just look as strong and as balanced through their squad and right on point as ever and so they should be in the mix for a title defence.
England’s outside chance
England are an outside chance at 18/1 odds* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) in the Sportingbet outright winner market for the World Cup 2018 and the challenges that could await them in the knockout stages, notably at the quarter-final stage where it is likely to be Brazil or Germany, is where their biggest hurdles are going to start. But they can enjoy success before then and they are odds-on to win their opening two games against Tunisia and then Panama, but are underdogs for their June 28th meeting with Belgium which should be a group decider. England are 11/8 odds second favourites* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) to win Group G.
Sportingbet World Cup 2018 Outright Winner Odds*
Brazil 4/1
Germany 9/2
Spain 6/1
France 13/2
Argentina 9/1
Belgium 11/1
England 18/1
Portugal 22/1
Uruguay 28/1
Croatia 33/1
Colombia 40/1
Russia 50/1
Poland 60/1
Denmark 100/1
Mexico 100/1
Switzerland 100/1
bar 150/1
* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018)
Sportingbet World Cup 2018 Top Goalscorer Odds
Some famous footballing names from history have landed the individual award of the World Cup Golden Boot and four years ago it was James Rodriguez from Colombia who etched his name into the history books by winning it. His haul of six goals in five games for his country was enough to seal him the title and it was a rare occasion where the winner of a World Cup Golden Boot had not made it to the final.
Eight of the last ten winners of the World Cup Golden Boot had played seven games in their successful campaign. So that is the norm and players are going to have to bring their A-games to try and secure success because the field is so tremendously talented and rich with goal-scoring talent. You have the prolific likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi at the head of the market with Messi going as the 9/1 odds favourite* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) in the Sportingbet World Cup 2018 top goalscorer odds.
But you can even scan past the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and even Cristiano Ronaldo to land on bigger priced options likes Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez for Uruguay are who are 25/1 odds* (betting odds taken at 4:50 p.m. on June 5th, 2018) each to finish with the Golden Boot at Russia 2018 and both have been prolific for their country. The top goalscorer market is tougher to call than the World Cup outright winner market because you are looking at such a deep and varied field.
Look at what Rodriguez achieved four years ago, his success built on the back of a tremendous group stage campaign. So even if you are thinking of not backing someone like Kane, Lukaku or even Robert Lewandowski because they won’t get enough games at the tournament, then just look back to the feat Rodriguez achieved in just the five games. Although it’s rare the last two winners of the Golden Boot have done it with playing less than seven games (Thomas Muller 6 in 2010 and Rodriguez 5 in 2014).
Sportingbet World Cup 2018 Top Goalscorer odds
Lionel Messi 9/1
Neymar 9/1
Anotine Greizmann 9/1
Cristiano Ronaldo 14/1
Harry Kane 16/1
Timo Werner 16/1
Gabriel Jesus 18/1
Romelu Lukaku 18/1
Diego Costa 20/1
Thomas Muller 22/1
Eidon Cavani 25/1
Luis Suarez 25/1
Robert Lewandowski 25/1
Kylian Mbappe 25/1
Sergio Aguero 28/1
Olivier giroud 33/1
Gonzalo Higuain 33/1
Radamel Falcao 33/1
Mo Salah 33/1
Eden Hazard 40/1
Bar 50/1
Other Sportingbet World Cup 2018 options
Look ahead to some live in play betting for Sportingbet World Cup 2018 odds as that will open up a whole new bag of betting options for the tournament. Other ways to approach your World Cup betting with Sportingbet is looking at things like Group Stage betting and making your predictions on the final standings with forecasts and tricasts, qualification and group winners. There are plenty of options around and the stage of elimination options on individual teams, say backing Uruguay to get knocked out in the quarter-finals is a good way to look for value in World Cup 2018 betting and it doesn’t involve a selection being the last team standing of the 32 nations that enter.
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