World Cup Preview by Graham

The wait is finally over and here at Starspreads we have hundreds of markets, both on long term and all the individual matches, to make the football carnival in Brazil even more exciting.

Much has been said about how difficult it will be for the European sides to prevail on South American soil and the markets suggest that will be the case with the hosts Brazil and arch-rivals Argentina heading up the outright markets. Neither represent value and the fact that there has been at least one European team in each World Cup Final since 1950 means the theory that the Europeans cannot win in Brazil is false and therefore they represent a bit of value when looking on the Outright Index.

Portugal look massively underrated as they performed very well during Euro 2012 and were arguably unfortunate to lose on penalties to Spain in the Semi-Final. Many will have you believe that their chances revolve around one man, Cristiano Ronaldo, but this is true for a few of the teams in the competition and even Brazil look like being very dependent on Neymar for the spark in front of goal so that isn’t off-putting. Indeed closer inspection of the squad shows a nice blend of youth and experience with Sporting’s yound midfield powerhouse William Carvalho expected to be a big influence on matters. Throw in a defence that boasts Real Madrid’s Pepe and Fabio Coentrao and you start to see that they are strong in every department, They shouldn’t have too much trouble getting out of Group G, probably alongside Germany, and then would face a less than daunting first knockout tie against Belgium, Algeria, Russia or Korea. All things considered i can see them making the quarter-finals at the very least so they look a good BUY on the Outright Index.

The other team to consider are France, who look to have more than enough to qualify from a Group devoid of threat that consists of Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras. The loss of Frank Ribery is no doubt a big blow but they still have sufficient firepower with Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud coming off impressive seasons, backed up by a multi-talented midfield that includes a potential star of the tournament in Juventus’ Paul Pogba. Again, I can see them making the Quarter-Final at the very least so they are also worth an investment on the Outright Index.

Make sure to log on to www.starspreads.com every day to see our latest prices on all the Outright markets as well as the matches being played that day and remember you have until 11pm on Saturday 14th June to sign up and avail of our fantastic World Cup offer where you will receive €/£10 for every day that England stay in the tournament.

Good Luck with your bets and enjoy the Greatest Show on Earth!

Advice
2pt BUY Portugal @20 – WC Outright Index
1pt BUY France @24 – WC Outright Index

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• Any spread prices quoted are indicative and as always prices are subject to fluctuation.
• Please note the opinion, views and forecasts above are of the author and not of Star Spreads.