World Cup Betting Market Update: Germany Slips, Brazil Steady on the Latest Odds
Each of the 32 nations has now played at least one game at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and with four of the top five pre-tournament favourites failing to win, it's fair to say things haven't gone as expected.
Germany lost 1-0 to Mexico, which was the first time Die Mannschaft have lost an opening game at a World Cup since Algeria surprised them with a 2-1 defeat at Spain 1982.
The reigning champions drifted from a $5.50 AUD favourite on the World Cup odds, according to Australian Gambling, to the fourth line of betting ($8.50) to become the first nation to win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1962.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Speaking of the Selecao, they are the new favourites—in from $6 to $4.50—to lift their first World Cup since 2002, despite their lacklustre 1-1 draw against Switzerland which drew some criticism from the experts.
Spain and Portugal played out the highest-quality match of the opening round of fixtures. A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick wasn't enough to see his team take all three points, but the 3-3 draw did see La Roja come in from $7 to second pick at $5 to claim their second championship in three attempts.
Just behind Spain at $7 are France, who were pushed all the way by Australia before winning 2-1 thanks to an own goal from Aziz Behich.
Argentina ($9) and Iceland played out a 1-1 draw, and while the Scandinavians were more than happy with a point, the same cannot be said for La Albiceleste and captain Lionel Messi, who missed a penalty.
England and Belgium both opened their campaigns with wins in Group G to see their odds move into $12 and $8.50 respectively.
Roberto Martínez's Belgian outfit were particularly impressive against Panama, as a stunning finish from Dries Mertens and a Romelu Lukaku brace saw the Red Devils cruise past their opponents.
The pick of the action over the next few days from an Australian perspective comes when the Socceroos ($4.50) meet Denmark ($1.80) in a do-or-die encounter in Samara, Russia, while favourites Brazil and Germany are expected to bounce back with respective wins over Costa Rica and Sweden.
Patriotism has been on full display for the host nation, who effectively secured their passage to the knockout stages for the first time since 1986 with a 3-1 win over Egypt.
The Russians are $3.25 outsiders when they meet Uruguay ($2.37) on Monday, but the South American side have been heavily backed ($1.14) to secure their passage to the second round with a win over Saudi Arabia ($23) before then.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
