Online sports betting is a big business and there are many things to bet on besides horse racing. Here are ways to bet on the results of the FIFA World Cup.
The next FIFA World Cup is expected to be the most watched sporting event in the world considering the extensive reach of YouTube to the masses and it can add an extra layer of interest to bet on the results. Many people think that sports betting is about picking which of two teams in a match will win but these days there are a multitude of different things about the game that can be bet on, and for those with a good knowledge and understanding of soccer it is also a way to make a little money.
Where to Bet on the World Cup
Options on where to bet depend on your location. Many countries like the Thailand sports betting have totes and bookmakers where you can bet but the easiest option for those who know little about betting is to search online for a sports betting agency. Larger agencies often advertise on television or radio and you may remember the name of a local agency from advertisements. Many online betting agencies will also offer bonuses for new customers.
World Cup Betting
The simplest bet is to pick the overall winner of the tournament. You can bet on the likes of Argentina or Brazil or Uruguay or Spain or any other qualified team. You can simultaneously even bet on the individual semi-final games where you pick either team to win or pick that the result will be a draw.
More exotic bets include picking the two teams that will go into the finals and picking the World Cup top goalscorer. Some betting firms have odds on whether the winner will be from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) which is now a very short-priced favorite over CONMEBOL which run the main club competitions in South America.
Other Bet Types for the World Cup
Each betting agency will have different offerings but here are some of the things you can bet on depending on your knowledge and expertise.
You can bet on “firsts”such as:
First goalkeeper to touch the ball after kick-off
First team to be awarded a free kick
First goal to be an own goal
First to score for their team
First team to score
There are also a range of “half-time” bets:
Half-time correct score
Half-time lead and fail to win
Half-time double chance
You can bet on the timing of certain events:
Time of first goal
Time of first corner
Time of last goal
There are many other bet types including FIFA Man of the Match, number of team goals, who will keep a clean sheet, total goals in match and number of penalties awarded.
If you decide to bet, pick something you feel confident about and don’t bet too much as gambling can become a social problem. Good luck!
Some Interesting FIFA World Cup Facts
It could be argued that England has been regarded as a consistent performer at the FIFA World Cup without troubling the final four too often as it can boast the most 5th–8th place finishes in the tournament. The Three Lions have finished within this range on eight occasions, which includes FIFA World Cups in 1950, 1954, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1986, 2002 and 2006.
Meanwhile, Korea Republic is notorious for making the FIFA World Cup, but failing at the first hurdle, as it upholds a record five finishes outside of the top 16. The Asian powerhouse meekly posted these efforts in 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006.
Germany’s Miroslav Klose is only one of two players (the other being Peruvian forward, Teófilo Cubillas) to score at least five goals in two different FIFA World Cups since the tournament’s inception. Klose grabbed five goals each at Korea Japan ’02 and Germany ’06 making him the only player to score at least five goals in consecutive tournaments.
Iranian striker, Ali Daei, boasts the record of scoring the most goals in FIFA World Cup qualifiers with 35 goals over the space of four World Cup campaigns dating from 1994 to 2006. The former Iranian captain and coach helped his country to qualify for the 1998 and 2006 tournaments, while scoring an amazing 109 goals in 149 caps for Iran. Funnily enough, in Iran’s encounter against Angola, Daei had 40 more goals than the entire Angolan squad present at Germany ’06.
Four players celebrated their 100th caps for their countries in Germany ’06: Serbia-Montenegro’s Savo Milosevic, Holland’s Philip Cocu, South Korea’s Lee Woon-Jae and Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro all became centurions for their countries. Cannavaro in particularly would’ve enjoyed his 100th cap, as it was in Italy’s triumphant final against France.
Australia registered its first win at the FIFA World Cup when it overpowered Japan, 3-1. With ten minutes remaining, the Socceroos trailed 1-0, but two goals to Tim Cahill and another to John Aloisi confirmed the victory for the Australians.
Brazil and Portugal Establish Memorable Winning Streaks at Germany ’06
Brazil retains the record of the longest winning streak in FIFA World Cup history with eleven consecutive victories over the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Following its clean sweep of seven straight wins in 2002, the Samba Kings recorded a further four first-up triumphs before eventually being overwhelmed by France in the quarter-finals of Germany ’06.
Luiz Felipe Scolari set two remarkable records in achieving the most consecutive wins and also the most consecutive matches without defeat in the FIFA World Cup with eleven wins and twelve matches respectively over the course of Korea/Japan ’02 and Germany ’06. Scolari guided Brazil to seven wins from seven matches before leading Portugal to four consecutive wins in Germany ’06, where the West Iberians’ won on penalties against England (which as previously stated, technically goes down as a draw).
Portugal established the unusual record of appearing in consecutive World Cup matches without drawing when it either won or lost 16 matches in a row spanning 40 years from 1966 to 2006. After defeating Hungary, 3-1, in England in 1966, the Portuguese record was brought to an end in the quarter-final of Germany ’06 when, as mentioned earlier, they coincidentally defeated England.
