With the 2014 tournament just days away, it is likely that many of you will be assessing the teams, groups and fixtures in order to place your bets on who you think will be crowned World Cup winners in Brazil this summer. We take a look at some of the best bets and teams that could surprise a few people in in the samba heat this summer.
Germany – 6/1 – Bet365
Julian Draxler, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Bastien Schweinsteiger and Phillip Lahm. Just six of the reasons why Germany can win the World Cup this season and that’s before we factor in form, tactics, chemistry and many other World Cup-defining variables. The World Cup is considered to be the pinnacle of competition in the sport of football, and the reality is, the Germans are entering a new era, one of which contains tricky, skilful players who have the composure and quality to destroy any team put in front of them. Dropping just two points in qualifying helps as well and despite drawing a tough group with Portugal, Ghana and the USA, we are confident that the Germans will go far this summer.
Brazil – 3/1
The home side enter the tournament with serious momentum on their shoulders. A 3-0 scalping of reigning champions’ Spain in last year’s Confederations Cup tournament, also staged in Brazil, shows that the samba stars have what it takes to achieve victory on home soil this summer. A lack of preparation due to automatic qualification may seem like a poisoned chalice, but Brazil have looked sharp, exciting whenever they have took to the field in recent years. What’s more, the nation’s talisman Neymar appears to have waited all year for this tournament, claiming that a victory this year would mean “everything” to him. 3/1 might seem like a risky bet given the other teams involved, but after the Confederation Cup success it is just too risky to ignore this Brazilian side.
France – 25/1
France were left for dead after losing 2-0 to Ukraine in the opening leg of their qualifying tie with Ukraine, but they shocked the world and turned the game on its head to win the second leg 3-0 and advance to the World Cup. Fast forward a few months and while teams such as England and Holland, who performed admirably in qualifying, were dealt raw hands in the groups, France earned themselves a group of Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras, one that many believe they will not only succeed in, but thrive in. Not only this but the tournament tree looks like it will shape up to be relatively fine for France and with Didier Deschamps finally wielding the axe on the likes of Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, it seems France will be arriving in Brazil with only one objective this summer: to win.