If you go through the World Cup probabilities you have to look down a little bit to find defending champ Italy.
Despite the fact that they won the title 4 years ago, the Italians will not be getting a lot of respect in World Cup wagering.
World Cup odds post Italy at 10.5 to 1 to preserve their title. Italy is posted behind Spain, Brazil, England and Argentina as the fifth option in general to get the World Cup. Even a number of Italy’s supporters will not be giving the team a great chance to do it again. Head coach Marcello Lippi was ripped in the media because of the players he chose for the World Cup lineup. Not taking the journey to South Africa will be Fabrizio Miccoli, Antonio Cassano, Francesco Totti and Mario Balotelli.
Italy remains a heavy favorite to win Group F. Italy is -310 in World Cup odds to win Group F with Paraguay a faraway 2nd option at 3-1. Slovakia is barely over 6-1 while New Zealand is a huge longshot. In this group, Italy is the team that everyone will be watching. They could be watching a lot of low scoring matches considering that Italy does not have much goal scoring capability. They do have Captain Fabio Cannavaro who was good 4 years ago. He was FIFA world player of the year, and he won the Golden Ball. This will be his 4th World Cup and his last. He is retiring from International play after the World Cup and he won’t in all likelihood go back to Juventus.
Cannavaro not only has to contend with the Italian team, he also has to contend with his own circumstances. Head coach Marcello Lippi is supposed to depart after the World Cup, and the lineup looks poor. Cesare Prandelli is supposed to be named Lippi’s successor.
Lots of experts are proclaiming that Italy is just too aged to defend their title in World Cup wagering. They even so have goalie Gianluigi Buffon, defender Gianluca Zambrotta and midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo but the goal scoring is a major question mark. Cannavaro is attempting to hold everybody together as the team captain but there appears to be plenty of questions surrounding this Italy team. The good thing is for the Italians in World Cup betting is that Group F is not that hard. Paraguay and Slovakia ought to battle for 2nd place while New Zealand probably won’t get a point.
The World Cup is the most well-known sporting event in the world, with an enormous audience of more than 700 million viewers. With a couple of exceptions, it is hosted every 4 years since the first competition in 1930. For the 18 events that have been hosted thus far, justsole 7 nations have won the championship. With a record 5 wins, Brazil tops the bunch. They are furthermore the only team to play in every competition. Italy, who won the championship last year, is next with four titles. Germany has picked up three. With one title each, Uruguay, Argentina, England and France complete the list. This year’s World Cup will begin on June 11 and finish July 11. Brazil will be the host of the next World Cup in 2014.
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