Not Messi and certainly not Brazil. The best World Cup bet is …
Published:Brazil winning the World Cup on home soil and Lionel Messi ending the tournament as top goalscorer will certainly be among the more popular bets in the run up to the competition getting underway.
However, punters wanting the absolute best bet for the World Cup should look no further than the continent from which the winner will derive from.
There have been four previous examples of World Cup tournaments being held in South America and it is has been a nation from the same continent that has lifted the trophy on each occasion.
For those of you that enjoy the weekly Thursday night quiz down the Dog & Partridge, the correct answers are Uruguay winning on home soil in 1930, Uruguay beating hosts Brazil in the 1950 final, Brazil winning in Chile in 1962 and Argentina landing the spoils at home in 1978.
Not only that, but two South American teams have finished in the top three in the competition on each occasion, which indicates that the conditions give them an added edge.
Throw in that a South American country has also come out on top in three World Cups in the nearby areas of Mexico and the USA and it is obvious they are at an advantage.
Yet, 10/11 remains available for a South American World Cup winner, even though Brazil (3/1) and Argentina (9/2) lead the tournament winner market and Colombia (25/1) and Chile (50/1) have been among the more popular longshots.
The obvious difficulties that European nations, in particular, face is the difference in humidity compared to what they are used to and the troubles that come from constantly moving through altering timezones.
For example, in 2014 host nation Brazil, there is a distance of 3,000 miles dividing cities in the north and south and three different timezones can be found throughout the country.
In the north, conditions will be hot and humid, while in the south will be slightly lower temperatures and even the prospect of some welcome rain.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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