Rio is readying itself for the arrival of thousands of football fans next May and in some ways, you couldn’t pick a better time to visit Brazil. If you want to visit this beautiful country and have an interest in football, it could be a perfect combination trip. On the other hand, prices for accommodation and everything else will be at an all-time high, so maybe it’s better to watch the World Cup action at home and go to Brazil at another time.
So who should you back as potential winners this time around? So far, of 19 World Cup tournaments held, seven have been in the Americas. And every one of those seven tournaments has been won by a South American side. The World Cup hasn’t been held in Brazil since 1950 (Uruguay beat Brazil in the final) and although Spain won the 2010 World Cup, that home soil advantage has meant that Brazil is already the favourite team to win in 2014. The South American nation also has the best World Cup record historically.
Take a look at the list of favourites to win the tournament next year on betting exchanges like Betfair. At the time of writing, Brazil is priced at 7/2 and Germany at 11/2. Argentina and Spain are both priced at 6/1, Belgium has the best team it’s had in a long time and so is offering great value at 16/1, while Holland is priced at 22/1.
Even people who don’t know much about football may have noticed there’s one name missing in that list of favourites. Italy is the second most successful World Cup nation in the tournament’s history, and yet Betfair has it priced at 23/1 currently. Putting some money down at this early stage to secure a value bet on Italy could win you enough to pay for a trip to watch the World Cup, but, of course, you won’t know if your bet has come off until the tournament is over.
Whether you get to watch any of the matches in Brazil itself or you’re watching at home, you can back and lay your favourite teams on the world’s biggest betting exchange Betfair during the tournament and even during the games. But for the best value bets, get onto Betfair today and pick who you think is going to be next year’s World Cup winner.