With the 2010 World Cup upon us, bookies and sports bettors are squaring up to what may well turn out to be the biggest betting/bookmaking opportunity/frenzy of the last couple of years. The World Cup is known to draw some world-wide attention, many of the other commonly bet-on sports fail to generate. The World Cup attracts tons of casual bettors who otherwise do not bet on sports. It is a true feeding frenzy for sharp bettors, and for those who know how to take advantage of square money going the way it does.

Here’s a short rundown of how the group stages of the event may unfold:

Group A features the host nation: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France. The host nation is always a favorite, as a matter of fact, the country to host the World Cup never failed to advance to the final 16. France should be considered the top seed of this group though. The French team has more world cup final stage experience than the other teams of the group put together. A perpetual favorite, Les Blues are pretty much a lock to advance. Mexico may be the other team to make it out of this group.

Group B has Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. While Argentina seems like the lock here, the second team to advance is much more difficult to determine. Nigeria and Greece are both fair contenders, but in the end I guess I’ll have to go with Greece.

Group C is a fairly easy one to make predictions on. It’s the group where England will play the US, Algeria and Slovenia. England is the clear favorite here, as far as the second team is concerned, it may be the US.

Australia may be the second team to move out of this group. The Aussies have given Italy and Germany a run for their money in the past, so that makes them likely to follow Germany out of this group and into the final 16.

Group E has the Netherlands, Denmark , Cameroon and Japan doing battle for the 2 qualifying positions. The Netherlands are always a favorite in my book, so despite the fact that many specialists predict an early exit for them, I say they’ll finish this group on top. Denmark will probably also move out of the group, although the challenge from Cameroon will be a sturdy one.

Group F has another soccer world-power in it: Italy. Italy will obviously be the team to finish first in this group. Out of the remaining trio of Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia, Paraguay is the one sporting enough fire-power to possibly advance. Group G is a tough one, at least for the Ivory Coast and North Korea, the two underdogs who will have to do battle with 5-times world champion Brazil and Portugal for the two qualifying positions. Obviously, Brazil and Portugal are the favorites here.

Group H features Spain, Chile, Honduras and Switzerland, with one clear favorite: Spain. Spain has been playing better and better in recent years and that, coupled with the inexistence of a similar caliber team in this group makes it the clear favorite. The other team to move on to the final 16 will probably be Chile.

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