Spain Favored To Win Group B
Published on April 18th, 2014 4:40 am ESTWe continue our coverage of the upcoming 2014 World Cup with our rundown of Group B.
Here are the four teams that comprise Group B:
Spain
Netherlands
Chile
Australia
The general consensus is that one of these things are not like the other, as Spain, the Netherlands and Chile all have strong clubs. Australia, on the other hand, is a LONG shot (to put it mildly) to win the group or even advance.
Here is how the four teams qualified for the World Cup:
Spain - won Group I of UEFA qualifying
Netherlands - won Group D of UEFA qualifying
Chile - finished in third place in CONMEBOL qualifying to earn a spot
Australia - finished in second place in AFC qualifying to earn a spot
It's not hard to see why Australia is considered such a long shot at the World Cup - after all, they played against the likes of Uzbekistan, Lebanon and Iraq to qualify for their World Cup spot. Not exactly the highest level of competition.
Here are the odds to win the group:
Spain, 1.73
Netherlands, 3.00
Chile, 5.50
Australia, 67.00
Here are the odds to qualify:
Spain, 1.17
Netherlands, 1.40
Chile, 2.20
Australia, 10.00
Finally, the straight forecast odds:
Spain/Netherlands, 2.75
Netherlands/Spain, 4.33
Spain/Chile, 4.50
Chile/Spain, 9.00
Netherlands/Chile, 11.00
Chile/Netherlands, 17.00
Spain/Australia, 21.00
Netherlands/Australia, 51.00
Australia/Spain, 67.00
Australia/Netherlands, 101.00
Chile/Australia, 101.00
Australia/Chile, 126.00
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Source: Fifa.com - World Cup Groups