Brazil vs Chile - World Cup 2010 betting

Here’s a statistic to warm the hearts of Samba fans everywhere and possibly persuade them that now is the time to scour the internet for attractive World Cup betting odds against Brazil facing Chile in the round of 16 immediately following the World Cup group stages…

Brazil have won every one of their last seven matches against Chile, during which time they have scored an incredible 26 goals and conceded just 3.

Brazil’s most recent victory over Chile came in September 2009 when they won 4-2 in a World Cup qualifier. That was the match which many online bookmakers felt was the de facto decider for who would win the South American qualifying group – and such predictions proved accurate.

Ultimately, Brazil topped the group with 34 points, whereas Chile finished second with 33 points.

Their rivalry could soon be resurrected because more than one online bookmaker believes there is a very strong chance of the sides meeting in Johannesburg on 28 June.

Brazil have dominated World Cup betting for years. Their reputation, style, class and worldwide support ensures that when people first start examining the World Cup odds, Brazil are the first name they look for. Indeed, as the tournament’s opening matches get under way, so Brazil have shortened in the World Cup betting as punters remain mindful of their outstanding record in this competition.

Crowned world champions five times, their World Cup betting odds are now into 17/4. When they struggled for a while during their qualifying campaign, it was possible to get prices nearer to 17/2 at several internet bookmakers.

Yet before they head towards the final on 11 July, it’s entirely possible that Brazil will have to face Chile in the last 16. Despite the playing history, according to several online bookmakers, this could be a difficult match to call.

“World Cup betting becomes a more serious proposition when teams realise they’re just three wins away from the final,” says one online bookmaker. “There’s a sense that history is within touching distance and although Chile have a poor record against Brazil – they’ve beaten them just eight times in 70 meetings – at that stage of the competition, World Cup betting odds begin to ignore such stats.”

Chile find themselves in Group H with favourites Spain, whose World Cup odds have hovered around the 4/1 mark for almost 6 months. Assuming that Spain win that group, there’s a good chance that Chile, ranked 15 in the world by FIFA, could meet the winners of Group G on 28 June. It looks certain that Brazil will top Group H, hence the Jo-burg face-off looks on.

“There has been sustained support from UK-based punters for such an outcome,” comments a spokesman for one online firm, “and quite a few bettors have opted to stake free bets on the match being played, although I have to say, I wouldn’t want my free bet on it as I think it’s far too likely to happen.”

If there are so many such accurate predictions, one wonders why the average punter / predictor has so much difficulty selecting winning bets. All the same, there does appear to be an excellent chance of Brazil and Chile facing each other before the end of the month – and given their impressive record against their South American neighbours, the World Cup odds against Brazil winning could soon be expected to be very short.