Betting Odds and Game Preview - Mexico vs. Italy - FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 - Group A



Mexico vs. Italy - Matchup and National FlagsMexico and Italy meet in the first round match of the FIFA Confederations Cup in Group A on June 16th, 2013 at the newly renovated Estadio do Maracana in Rio De Janeiro.

Italy are in good form and currently on top of their World Cup qualifying group that features Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Armenia, Denmark and Malta. Their last two games were draws against Czech Republic 0-0 and Haiti (Friendly match) 2-2.

Mexico are coming into this match having scored just one goal in their last three World Cup qualifying matches vs. Jamaica (1-0), Panama (0-0) and Costa Rica (0-0).

The FIFA Confederations Cup is a fairly short tournament and every game counts. This is an important match for both Mexico and Italy as they still have to face tournament hosts Brazil and Asia Cup winners Japan in the group stage of the competition.

Italy have travelled to Brazil with a relatively fresh squad filled with untried players at national level. Mexico, on the other hand, will be playing the experience card featuring several of their veterans. Names to look out for on the Italy team are Mario Balotelli and Stephan El Shaarawy, while Javier Hernandez, Giovani dos Santos and Andres Guardado are the players to watch on the Mexico team.

The odds for the upcoming match at Estadio do Maracana are as follows:

Mexico: 12/5
Draw: 21/10
Italy: 5/4

Italy are the slight favourites to win this match. A $100 bet on the Euro Cup 2012 runners-up could yield $125 in profit, while the same bet on Mexico, the CONCACAF Gold Cup winners, could yield $240 in profit.

The most likely score according to the odds is a 1-1 draw offered at 5/1.

Mario Balotelli (6/4) and Stephan El Shaarawy (15/8) are the favourites to score for Italy, while Alberto Gilardino (9/4) and Javier Hernandez (9/4) are the favourites to score for Mexico.

Considering that Brazil are the favourites to win the tournament on home soil and the fact that Japan are the underdogs in Group A, the match between Mexico and Italy could very well determine who finishes second and advances to the next round of the competition.

Kick-off is at 16.00 local time.

This should be a great game!