Spain v Portugal - World Cup 2010 betting

There isn’t an online bookmaker around who doesn’t make Spain clear favourites in their World Cup betting. Although the Spaniards have never enjoyed a World Cup finish better than fourth place (in 1950), their abundant talent, style and craft has ensured that predictions regarding success have been widespread and their World Cup odds have inexorably shortened.

Spain’s World Cup betting odds have also been affected by their position in what many punters feel is a relatively ‘easy’ group – they’re 2/9 to win Group H – and it would surprise few observers (or online bookmakers) were they to be waiting for the runners-up of Group G in Cape Town on 29 June. Surely only complacency can prevent Vincente del Bosque’s charges coasting through the tournament’s final group.

Online bookmakers are less convinced about who they’ll meet in the last 16. “About the only certainty is that it won’t be North Korea,” says a spokesman for one internet-based firm. “World Cup betting can often be quite predictable, especially when punters start chasing free bets, but Group G is a very, very tough call, especially if you’re trying to predict who will finish second.”

Indeed it is. Brazil’s presence means that all eyes are on Ivory Coast and Portugal, with the latter the marginal 8/15 favourites in the World Cup betting to qualify ahead of the African side.

However, Portugal scraped through to South Africa via the play-offs, while Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t scored an international goal for ages and Nani, familiar to most UK football fans, has been ruled out of the tournament altogether.

Nevertheless, if the World Cup odds are a reliable predictor of the future, then we can prepare for a Spain vs Portugal clash on the penultimate day of June.

Not surprisingly, the duo have faced each other 32 times, with Spain winning 15 and 12 ending all square; Portugal have emerged victorious on just five occasions. However, should you be in receipt of a free bet on this fixture, you would be well advised to back a close outcome.

Only one of the last 11 meetings of the pair (dating back to 1958) have been settled by more than one goal – and that was in 1981. Ordinarily, duels between this Iberian twosome are incredibly tight and no doubt the World Cup betting odds would reflect this should they find themselves face-to-face on 28 June.

Portugal beat Spain 1-0 when the sides last met in 2004 and it’s unlikely that an online bookmaker would offer odds of longer than 7/1 against such an outcome being repeated; Spain would probably be considerably shorter. As predictions go, such a result has a firm basis in history; whether Portugal can escape Group G however, remains to be seen.