Switzerland and Honduras both have a chance to qualify for the next round when they meet at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein on June 25. However, Switzerland has a slight advantage as they have three points to Honduras’ none. The Swiss have to at least get a win or draw to go through, while Honduras has to win. Chile leads the group with six points followed by Spain and Switzerland with three each and then Honduras.

If Chile beats Spain, Switzerland will go through with a draw or win. If Chile and Spain draw, Switzerland has to win. For Honduras to go through they have to win and Spain has to lose. They also have to wipe out Spain’s plus 1 goal difference as Honduras sits at minus 3. Switzerland earned their points in their first match against Spain with a 1-0 win and then lost 1-0 to Chile. Honduras lost their first match 1-0 to Chile and their second game 2-0 to Spain.

Honduras won’t be going anywhere though if they can’t break out of their scoring slump. Switzerland isn’t much better when it comes to putting the ball in the net as they have been relying on their defence so far. So, this could be a low-scoring affair, especially as Swiss goalie Diego Benaglio has been fantastic in net.
The Swiss will pin their hopes on the country’s all-time leading scorer Alexander Frei to land his first goal of the tournament with some help from fellow striker Eren Derdiyok. Midfielder Gelson Fernandes has the team’s only goal up to now. Midfielder Valon Behrami is suspended for the game after receiving a red card against Chile and defender Philippe Senderos could miss the game with an injury.

Switzerland set a World Cup-record in the game against Chile as they had gone 557 minutes of play in World cup games without letting in a goal. They played well after Behrami was sent off in the 31st minute, but finally cracked under the intense pressure. Some fans blame manager Ottmar Hitzfeld for taking Frei out of the game and trying to hang on for a draw instead of leaving in his attack force.

The attack of Honduras has been virtually invisible during the first two games and they have gone 300 World Cup minutes without scoring a goal, dating back to 1982. Nobody has really looked very impressive other than goaltender Noel Valladares and midfielder Ramon Nunez. Especially disappointing have been midfielder Amado Guevara, and forward Carlos Pavon. Honduras manager Reinaldo Rueda knows this and is urging his players to show some pride by going out in an attempt to win the game, especially as they can still qualify for the next round mathematically, even though the chances are remote.

Odds and Predictions

Switzerland should be able to do enough to win the game 1-0, but it still may not be enough to get them through to the next round. A bet on the Swiss gives you 1.45 (-222, 5/11) at Bodog

Switzerland and Honduras have never met before, but Ladbrokes has the Swiss listed as favourites with odds of 11/20, while Honduras to win is posted at 21/4, with the odds of a draw at 31/10.

Claim your bonus at Ladbrokes here

The Group E match between the Netherlands and Cameroon at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on June 24 is one of just a couple in the first round of the World Cup that means little in the way of points and group standings. The Dutch have already advanced into the second round after a 2-0 win against Denmark and a 1-0 victory over Japan, while Cameroon can’t advance after losing 2-1 to Denmark and 1-0 to Japan.

However, first place in the group is still up for grabs and Cameroon will definitely be playing for pride.
Holland leads the group with six points followed by Japan and Denmark with three each and Cameroon with none. Holland has a goal difference of plus 3, while Japan is even and Denmark is at minus 1. The right scoring combination could see Denmark or Japan take the group with the Dutch guaranteed of at least second spot. A draw would clinch first place for Holland though.

Cameroon is in a terrible slump at the moment as they’ve gone seven games without a win. They threw everything they had at Denmark, but failed to come up with an equalizer. Their confidence is shattered at the moment and this won’t bode well for the game against Holland. There have been rumours of arguments between players and manager Paul Le Guen has come under fire for his team selection.

On the other side of the coin, manager Bert van Marwijk’s Dutch team hasn’t set the world on fire with its play, but have been solid in their two wins. They play attacking football and midfield maestro Wesley Sneijder has been their best player so far with forward Dirk Kuyt also impressing. They’ve also done all of this without injured winger Arjen Robben so far, and his return from a hamstring injury could be imminent.

Cameroon will be depending on 36-year-old goalkeeper Souleymanou Hamidou to keep the Dutch at bay if they hope to pull of any type of result here. Robben might get some playing time as a substitute and it’ll be interesting to see how he performs as he’s been slightly injury prone throughout his career.

Cameroon forwards Pierre Webo and Samuel Eto’o have played well as Webo uses his strength and speed to create room for his teammates. He uses his speed well for off-the-ball runs and is an important fixture in Cameroon’s attack, but he needs to hit the net with his shots.

The Dutch have only let in two goals in their last six World Cup games, with four of them being clean sheets. Defender John Heitinga has taken control in the back four and Robin van Persie goes into the game with a yellow card.

Odds and Predictions

Cameroon has no hope of advancing and has historically had trouble with European sides and this trend will likely continue here with Holland coming out of it with a 2-1 win. They’ve played each other twice before with Holland winning and drawing one. Bet this result for 8.50 (+750, 15/2) at Sportsbook.com

The odds of a Dutch win at Ladbrokes are 4/5, with a Cameroon victory posted at 19/5 and the odds of a draw are 5/2. They offer a large odds selection with some fun special bets such as 5 times the money on Holland to come from behind and win or draw.

Claim your bonus at Ladbrokes here

Time: 21st June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The penultimate game in the second round of group stage matches takes place in Nelson Mandela Bay on the 21st of June, and sees a Group H clash between Switzerland and Chile. The match kicks off at 4pm local time.

Chile are the favourites to win this game with evens being offered by most of our favourite bookmakers. Switzerland are offered at around 11/4 as best. This shows that while they are the outsiders, the odds aren’t that long, this is a game where the Europeans could upset the natural order of things. Interestingly, on the three previous occasions these teams have played, Switzerland won two…

The best odds on a draw here are 12/5, but the favourite scoreline in the correct score market is a 1-1 draw. This is offered at 11/2 by Bet365, though they offer the same price for a Chilean 1-0 win. For Switzerland to win with the same scoreline you can get 7/1 with Bodog (US Friendly). A nil-nil draw is offered at 15/2 with William Hill.

A big win is not seen as likely in this game, with even just 3-0 to Chile attracting best odds of 20/1. 3-0 to the Swiss is at 40/1 with Bodog and BetFred among others at the time of writing, and 4-0 to Chile is 66/1 – the bookies are not forseeing a lot of goals in this game.

Prediction

Whilst Spain are the big draw in this group, this game could be an interesting one, with the clash of styles between South America and Northern Europe on show and teams at a close enough level of expectation and ability to offer a competitive match. That said, I can’t help agreeing with the bookmakers here – this does not look like a goal fest. For this reason, the prediction is a 1-1 draw, offered at 11/5 (3.20) by SportsInteraction.

Venue: Nelspruit, South Africa

Match number four in Group F sees Italy, one of the favourites, take on absolute outsiders New Zealand at the Nelspruit stadium. This match takes place on the 20th of June with a 4pm kick off in local time.

Italy, the current champions, will be looking to take as many goals away from this game as possible, with it being on paper the easiest fixture in their group, which also includes Paraguay and Slovakia. New Zealand have, however, shown that they are not as easy to beat as many thought when they beat Serbia in a friendly last week.

Italy are of course the favourites to win this by a huge degree. The odds on Italy winning the game are as short as 1/9 with William Hill and 1.13 (-769) with SportsInteraction (US Friendly) This looks pretty close to a certainty, but a surprise win by New Zealand will get you odds as long as 20/1 with Victor Chandler. Even the draw is worth 6/1 at Bodog and Bet365.

This is a game where Italy are expected to pick up goals. 2-0 is the favourite scoreline in the correct score market, at 5/1 with Bodog, but 3-0 is the second favourite at 6/1 and even 4-0 is only at 7/1. Italy will be looking to get as much out of this as possible, so you can back 5-0 for the same price as a 0-0 draw here, at 14/1 with Bodog. The first New Zealand win in the field is at 40/1 with Bet365 for 1-0. There’s not much faith in the All Whites from the bookies here! They are also the least expected team to win the World Cup.

Di Natale and Gilardino are the favourites to put the first goal in the back of the net, both offered at around 18/5.

Prediction

This could be one of the highest scoring games of the group round if Italy are on form – I am expecting to see a total thrashing. The prediction therefore is 5-0 to Italy – at 14/1 with Bodog this is not a bad bet at all.

Bodog offers some of the best odds on this match and accepts USA players.

Venue: Mangaung/Bloemfontein, South Africa

Group F kicks off its second round of group stage play with a match between Slovakia and Paraguay. The match will take place at Manguang and kicks off on June 20th at 13:30 local time.

Paraguay are the favourites to win this game with most bookmakers offering evens on this outcome. That’s not to say there are long odds on Slovakia, the best price for them to win is 11/4 with Bodog (US Friendly) or Expekt. The draw is offered at pretty short odds too at 12/5. This suggests that while Paraguay should, on paper, be the better team, there is still some room for Slovakia to upset them.

A 1-1 draw or Paraguay winning 1-0 both attract similar odds. Bet365 and Sportsbook (US Friendly) are offering the same price, 11/2, on both eventualities. Slovakia 1-0 and a 0-0 draw both fetch 8/1, again, the best prices and again, from Bet365. At William Hill, a 2-0 win to Paraguay is also 8/1, as is 2-1 to Paraguay back at Bet365. This is not a game that is easy to call, when results that cause Paraguay to win, lose and draw all attract the same odds!

Oscar Cardozo is the favourite to score the first goal. Odds for him from Victor Chandler are 17/4. He is followed by Roque Santa Cruz and Lucas Barrios, both at 11/2. The Slovakians join the field at around the 15/2 mark, with their favourites being Stanislav Sestak and Erik Jendrisek – again, the prices are the best prices currently available and are offered by Victor Chandler.

Prediction

I think Paraguay are a somewhat underrated team in this group who may even upset Italy, so I can certainly see them beating Slovakia in Manguang. I predict 2-0 to Paraguay, which will get you 8/1 with William Hill or Sportsbook.

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best odds on this match and accepts USA players.

Venue: Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa

The fourth match in Group E is to kick off on June the 19th at 20:30 local time in Pretoria, and sees Cameroon meet Denmark.

Whilst very different in culture and football style, the teams here are seen as pretty evenly matched. Denmark seem to be very slightly favoured by the bookmakers, though you can get 6/4 on either team to win from most bookmakers, Expekt put Cameroon slightly further out and offer the best price on them at 7/4. This isn’t a bad bet considering that the teams are close in ability and expectation, and yet Cameroon have the African advantage. For US players, Sportsbook.com offers the best odds and most betting alternatives.

A draw here will get you 23/10, the best price on offer, from Ladbrokes – most bookmakers offer 2/1. Again, this is quite a good price considering there isn’t much to suggest either team has this game in the bag. In the correct score market, a 1-1 draw is the favourite outcome, with Bodog (US Friendly) offering 11/2, whereas a 0-0 draw will get you 7/1.

1-0 to Denmark is the second favourite scoreline in most books, and it will fetch you 13/2, again Bodog offer the best price here. 1-0 to Cameroon is actually at 6/1 with Bodog who are one of a couple of bookmakers who seem to rate Cameroon over Denmark, but Victor Chandler will give you 13/2 on this.

William Hill already offer first goal scorer odds for the group stage games, and for this match the joint favourites are Samuel Eto’o, Rajko Lekic, Nicklas Bendtner and Jon Dahl Tomasson – all offered at 5/1 with William Hill.

Prediction

Here is a game that could easily go either way, and one of the few matches in this round that is difficult to call. On the one hand the Danes have some good, solid players and a good if not amazing level of skill. On the other, Cameroon have a bit of a tradition of being dark horses that can upset groups, and they do have the advantage of a little more support and a better acclimatisation in South Africa. I think there will be goals, but in this case I am going with the bookies – a 1-1 draw. This will fetch you 11/2 on the correct score market or 2/1 just for the draw.

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best odds on this match and accepts USA players.

Venue: Durban, South Africa

On the 19th of June in Durban at 13:30 local time Group E gets back into action with the match between group favourites the Netherlands and Japan.

With the Netherlands among the favourites to win the World Cup, and Japan, along with all of the other Asian teams, on the outside, there is not much money to be made backing a Dutch straight win here. Bodog are offering just 2/5 on this outcome, and BetFred a mere 1/3.

For Japan to cause an upset, which, if you saw them play against England in the friendlies, is always a possibility, you can get 9/1 from Victor Chandler, the best price for a Japanese win. A draw is offered at 7/2, again, from Victor Chandler.

Victor Chandler and William Hill both have bets available already for the first goal scorer in this game. Predictably, the field is led by Dutch players, with Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar joint favourites at 18/5 and Arjen Robben, who may not even play in the group stage due to injury, third at 11/2, followed by Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt both at 13/2. The first Japanese players appear at the 11/1 mark, where you can take Morimoto or Okubo, at the same price as van Bronckhorst on the Dutch side.

If you want to predict the correct score, the bookmakers are favouring a 1-0 or 2-0 win to the Dutch, most offering the same odds for both scorelines. Bodog will give you 5/1 on these picks. With all the confidence in this year’s Dutch side, perhaps you fancy a bigger win margin? Well, prices for 4-0 vary anywhere from 16/1 to 22/1, but the best price is from Ladbrokes, who also offer the best price for 5-0 at 80/1.

Prediction

Holland should have no trouble here, and this could be a high scoring game for the Dutch. To stay on the conservative side I am going for a 3-0 win for Holland, but it is possible they could put even more past the Japanese defence with some of the goalscorers they can field. 3-0 will get you 8/1 with Bodog right now.

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best odds on this match and accepts USA players.

Venue: Rustenburg, South Africa

The fourth match in tricky Group D takes place in Rustenburg on the 19th of June, with a 16:00 kick off (local time). This is where and when Ghana and Australia will meet at the World Cup.

Ghana have had some injury problems, with star player Michael Essien ruled out with an injury, and Australia have failed to impress in their warm ups, losing 3-1 to the USA.

Ghana, who have the advantage of the climate and local support in Africa, are the favourites to win this game, with odds at around 6/5. Australia are 12/5 to win with BetFred, and the draw is 23/10 – none of these outcomes offer long odds, the trickiness of the group being reflected in the bookies’ prices. Sportsbook.com (US Friendly) does also have some good odds on this outcome.

Prince Tagoe and Asamoah Gyan are the joint favourites to put the first goal in, William Hill, who are already offering first goal scorer bets for this round of matches, are offering 4/1 on both players. Sully Muntari, who is still in doubt with injury, is 8/1.

The correct score market for this game favours a 1-0 win to Ghana, which Bodog offer 11/2 for. A 1-1 draw is at 5/1 with both Bodog and Bet365. Australia 1-0 is the next shortest odds, at 13/2. This shows that while Ghana are the favourites the bookmakers are not calling this one too strongly.

Prediction

This should be an interesting game. While Ghana should have a very slight edge here, they are missing key players, and Australia will be very keen to get through this tough group which also contains Serbia and Germany. I think there is a strong change this will end in a score draw, so the prediction here is 2-2, which will get you odds of 18/1 with Bet365.

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best odds on this match and accepts USA players.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The second set of Group D matches kicks off in Nelson Mandela Bay on June the 18th, where Germany and Serbia will meet. This game starts at 13:30 local time.

In a tough group, seeded team Germany are still the favourites, despite their injury problems. Serbia have failed to impress in a dismal set of friendlies, losing to outsiders New Zealand and unqualified Poland.

Germany are therefore favoured to win this match. The best odds on a straight win for the Germans are 5/6 from Bodog. The draw is worth 11/4 at BetFred, and a Serbia win will fetch 7/2 with Victor Chandler – these are all the best available prices at the time of writing.

In the correct score market, the favourite scoreline is a 1-0 Germany win, which is 5/1 with Bodog (US Friendly) and William Hill. 2-0 and 2-1 to Germany both fetch 7/1 odds. A big Germany win like 4-0 is 40/1, so it doesn’t look like the bookmakers think Germany will be putting too many goals into the Serbian net – is this the expectation of safe, dependable play from the Germans?

The best odds for Serbia to win 1-0 are 11/1 from Bet365. They also offer 16/1 on a Serbian 2-1 win.

If you fancy a 0-0 draw in this game, go to Sportsbook.com (US Friendly) who will give you 9/1 on this outcome.

William Hill are already offering odds on the first to score in this match. Gomez and Klose are the joint favourites here, both with 4/1 odds of netting the first goal. Klose won the golden boot at the last World Cup – will he score again here?

Prediction

With Serbia’s recent bad form, the Germans should be able to win here, but like the bookmakers I can’t see them putting away too many goals with the Serbian defence as it is. For this reason, the prediction is 1-0 to Germany, which is 5/1 from Bodog.

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best odds on this match. Claim your bonus here!

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

Group C come back out for their second round of group stage play on the 18th of June, when the USA take on Slovenia. This match will be help at the Johannesburg JEP stadium, and kicks off at 16:00 local time.

Bob Bradley’s USA team are the favourites to take three points away from this fixture. The odds on a USA victory are, best price, 5/4. You can get that price from Betfred, or from Bodog who support USA based gamblers. The best price if you want to back Slovenia is 12/5 which you can get from Victor Chandler or Sportsbook.com (US Friendly).

The draw is offered at 9/4 by Bodog and Bet365.

The favourite scoreline in the correct score market is, surprisingly, given there is a favourite to win the match, 1-1. This can be backed at 11/2 with SportsInteraction (US Friendly) who offer the best price. They also offer the best price on a USA 1-0 win, at 6/1, and on a Slovenia 1-0 win at 15/2.

For a goalless draw, the price is 17/2 with William Hill. This seems quite a good price to me for that outcome.

For long shots, you can get 200/1 on the USA winning 5-0 and the same for 5/2, or 300/1 for Slovenia winning 5-0.

In the first goal scorer market, Herculez Gomez is the favourite at 5/1, followed by Edson Buddle and Milivoje Novakovic at 11/2.

Prediction

The USA should be strong enough to win this game, and they have some players who are more than capable of putting in the goals. For this reason I am predicting that the USA will win this game 3-0, which will fetch odds of 20/1 with most of our favourite bookmakers.

SportsInteraction offers some of the best odds on this match. Claim your bonus here!