Yesterday’s World Cup 2010 final will probably go down as one of the most intense, and ugliest, finals on record. English referee Howard Webb dished out a record 14 yellow cards and one red in a game that saw the Dutch side play one of their roughest and meanest games ever.

At the end of the day, the right team won. Spain turned up to play football and they tried hard to play a good brand of football. The Netherlands on the other hand turned up with tactics designed to unsettle their opponents. That is not an issue when tight guarding, good clean tackles, and pressure football are applied. In yesterday’s game, it was the opposite. The guarding was too tight, the tackles often dirty, and the pressure football not there.

The fact the Dutch finished the tournament with only ten men is disappointing. However, they can consider themselves lucky since some the more severe tackles could have resulted in red cards rather the yellows handed out. As a television spectacle, it rated well. TV audiences love games that are rough and full of controversy. For purists, it was simply an ugly game of football.

Congratulations should go to the Spaniards – they have finally shrugged off their title of chokers and now sit on top as both world and European champions. They have always had the players worthy of this title, they have just not been able to put it all together on the day – yesterday they did.

In other World Cup 2010 news. The Golden Ball award for best player went to Uruguay’s Diego Forlan while Germany’s Thomas Muller took home the Golden Boot award after scoring five goals. He finished the tournament level with Wesley Sneijder and David Villa, a tie-breaker being used to determine the winner. Muller also took home the Best Young Player award. Spain can add to their celebrations with captain and goal keeper Iker Casillas receiving the Golden Glove award for his work in front of goal.

The World Cup 2010 tournament has been full of suspense and full of controversy, while at the same time delivering some of the finest moments in World Cup history. Some teams reached highs, especially the Spaniards, while others reached all times lows, particularly the French and Italians. England disappointed while Uruguay and Germany thrilled. It’s over for another four years – all hail Spain – the new world champions.

The World Cup 2010 comes to a finale tomorrow with the Netherlands facing Spain. Before that great final, we have a rather interesting play-off for third and fourth today with Germany playing Uruguay. Bookmakers have posted the Germans as clear favourites at 8/11, even lower with some books while Uruguay are being kept safe at 4/1. The draw is unwanted in betting and is almost out to 3/1.

On form, Germany should win this game. However, this is a game that, for many players, has no real standing. Psychologically, they are not in the final and that’s what they came for, not to play off for third and fourth. From a punter’s perspective, you have to start looking at age and the maturity of the players, and that’s a double edged sword.

Being youthful, they may just run out on to the field and play to win, not worrying about the final at all. Most are still young enough that they will still be available to play in the next two, perhaps three, World Cups. If that is their approach, then look out Uruguay. The German team is exciting to watch and some of their attacking drives just brilliant. It was a style that was missing in their semi-final match and it cost them dearly.

If the Germans run out and just go through the motions they will be soundly beaten by the South Americans. There is nothing brilliant about their style of play, but they are workman like and do finish well when given the opportunity. If we could get inside the heads of the Germans then we could almost guarantee foretelling the results.

Since we can’t get inside their heads, we will have to use our own. On form, the Germans should win with ease. I think they will run out and play their open free style of football – the kind of football that saw them see off Argentina 4-1. Our prediction – Germany to win 3-0. Tomorrow we will review this game and preview the final game of the World Cup 2010.

There’s still plenty of life left in the World Cup 2010 yet punters are starting to desert this event and money is already going on to the 2014 tournament. Bookmakers have installed Brazil as the favourite at 4/1 with Argentina second pick at 5/1. If you want to back England, you can have a go at 14/1.

I said there was plenty of life left in this final and with controversial English referee Howard Webb selected to officiate, betting has switched somewhat to his performance. Will he allow an offside goal? You can get 5/1 he does. What about dis-allowing a goal that does cross the line? Online bookmakers are quoting that at 25/1. You can also back him to award two penalty spot kicks – at 14/1.

Webb is not shy when it comes to red and yellow cards. Punters are expecting a tough game with four bookings favoured at 7/2. Second pick is five bookings at 4/1 while three, six and seven bookings are each at 5/1. One booking only is at 10/1. When it comes to send-offs, punters feel the players are safe with no send-offs at 2/7, one send off at 11/4 with more than one send-off at 12/1. As for making the mistake of showing the same player three yellow cards – that’s at 200/1.

Howard Webb is the first English referee to take charge of a final since 1974. Interestingly, that is the last time the Netherlands played in a final. That year, the Netherlands received their first ever World Cup penalty shot. Will the Netherlands be the first to receive a penalty shot in this game? You can get 7/4 on that bet. Spain, on the other hand, are 5/4 to have the first penalty awarded.

Tomorrow we have the playoff for third and fourth place. We will be back to preview that game along with a forward look at Sunday’s final. The World Cup 2010 is drawing to a close but for punters there’s still plenty of betting left in this tournament.

After four years of qualifying and playing out these finals, the World Cup 2010 is down to two teams and both are vying for their first ever title. For Spain, this will be their first ever appearance in a cup final having worn the title of ‘chokers’ in previous attempts. For the Netherlands, this will be their first appearance having lost to Germany at their previous two. With Germany eliminated, could this be their best chance ever?

Spain were clinical yesterday in defeating Germany 1-0. They closed down the youthful attack of the Germans with a lot of ease although they didn’t seem to have the same spark. Perhaps they had heard about Paul the Octopus’ prediction. The game was fairly even with some good end-to-end football being playing. Spain were clever in shutting the Germans down in the last line of defense – but then Germany played well enough in defense.

It shows how a game can change in seconds. One minute the Germans were pressing and came within an inch of scoring. Spain took the rebound down field and within minutes had a corner which they successfully converted and after 73 minutes with no score – it was game over. I am sure players and coaches were looking at extra time and perhaps a penalty shootout.

World Cup 2010 betting has Spain now as clear favourites at 4/7 with the Netherlands still getting some support at 8/5. The draw is unwanted at 23/10 at this stage. The question now is whether or not Spain can continue this run, or whether or not they will finally choke again. What they do have on their side is consistency. As a team, they have been playing together for several years now and they have been able to develop some strong combinations. As for ‘choking’, they won the Euro2008 competition with ease so I doubt the big stage will cause them many concerns.

The Netherlands have also been consistent and I said at the start of these finals that they could be the silent killers. We’ll all know come Sunday. In the meantime, there’s two days rest before Germany and Uruguay play off for third and fourth place. We’ll be back each day with the news and previews of this weekend’s games – the last of the World Cup 2010.

Paul the Octopus has had an outstanding run when it comes to picking winners in the World Cup 2010. Although only asked to pick the winner in games involving Germany, he has been spot on so far. That may be bad news for German players today, however, as he has selected Spain to win this crucial semi-final.

This has become an interesting spectacle in Germany with media standing four and five deep to take snaps of the octopus making his selection. This is not the first tournament that Paul has been asked to predict the winner. He also had a starring role in the European Championships in 2008 where he picked all but one of the winners correctly. German fans are hoping this is the one he gets wrong this time. Which one did he get wrong? The German – Spain game – and here we are again.

Spain go into today’s game as 7/4 favourites a touch ahead of Germany at 15/8. The draw is at 23/10 and surprisingly not drawing a huge following. Spain are the more solid when it comes to all around ability. However, this German side is young and seems to be fearless. They are brilliant in attack as was shown in the game against Argentina. In fact, to hold them scoreless showed a great defensive display as well. We think Paul the Octopus has got it wrong. It will be a great game with Germany winning 3-2.

This final will mark the first ever win by a European team outside of Europe. It’s a surprising statistic, but up until this World Cup, European teams had only won inside Europe. The win by the Netherlands yesterday ensured an all European final and tenth victory for European teams.

We predicted a good game yesterday with the Dutch proving to be too strong. We didn’t quite get the scoreline right, but for those that watched the game it was a treat. It was certainly one of the best all round performances of the tournament with both teams and the referees having good games – it was certainly great viewing. Hopefully, today’s game will be just as exciting.

After today’s game, the World Cup 2010 has a two day rest break before playing the 3rd-4th play off game on Saturday, and the big final on Sunday. We’ll be back tomorrow with a review of today’s game and a look at the weekend’s final games of the World Cup 2010.

If form is anything to go by then the Netherlands should be the first to book a seat at the World Cup 2010 finals to be played this weekend. The Dutch take on Uruguay and while it will most likely be a dour match, they should have the wood on their South American counterparts. Uruguay will be without their star striker following his send off for an intentional handball during their quarter final game.

Much has been said about that incident, including claims of cheating. Intentional hand balls are against the spirit of the game, but then there is a very fine line between intentional and instinctive reactions. When a ball is coming across you at high speed with an open goal waiting, it’s almost an instinctive reaction. At the end of the day, Ghana received a penalty spot kick which they missed. They also missed a penalty kick during the shoot out, which then decided their fate – they had their chances and blew them. Uruguay are here today playing in the semi-final, not Ghana.

The real problem for Uruguay is whether or not they can put that behind them and play their normal style. The Netherlands have been as steady as a rock throughout this tournament. At the start of the World Cup we predicted that the Netherlands would be the dark horse in this competition, and here we are, less than a week from the finals and they should be the first in.

Bookmakers agree. They have the Netherlands at 4/6 favourite to win with Uruguay drifting from 5/1 to 6/1. The draw has had some support at 27/10, but most of the good money has been on the favourites. Our tip – the Netherlands to win 2-0. We’ll be back tomorrow to review this game and to preview a most exciting World Cup 2010 semi final between Spain and Germany.

The World Cup 2010 looks to be heading for a classic all European final following Germany’s demolition of Argentina. While we did predict the win, the 4-0 scoreline surprised everyone – more so the absolute ease with which they achieved it. The only thing preventing a real classic finish is Spain – can they finally bring the German’s down? We will have to wait until tomorrow to discover that.

With the top South American teams out of the way, favouritism has once again settled on Spain. It’s rather surprising given their form, particularly when compared to that of the Germans. Punters feel that Spain may have the edge on them. There’s not a lot in the betting, however. Spain are 2/1 with Germany and the Netherlands both at 9/4. Uruguay are totally unwanted at 13/1 – probably due as much to a partisan betting public as any thing else.

In “name the finalists” betting, a Spain/Holland final is at 6/4, and a Germany/Holland final at 17/10. In “reach the final” betting, the Netherlands are at 1/3, Spain 4/5, Germany 1/1, and Uruguay 9/4. David Villa looks to have the top goalscorer betting wrapped up with a total of five to date. Germany’s Miroslav Klose is next best at 4/1. Of course, if Germany defeat Spain then this could change.

Germany have the “highest scoring team” betting wrapped up – you can still back them but the odds are around 1/35 – not exactly good value. Special bets are starting to lose their favour now as the tournament draws to a close. For many, that’s fine – what is important now is who going to win through to the final.

We will preview the first of the finals tomorrow as we start the final week of the World Cup 2010 tournament.

The first real major shock of the World Cup 2010 was played out yesterday as the Netherlands outplayed tournament favourites Brazil to score a 2-1 victory. The win propels the Dutch to the semi finals while the losers get an earlier than expected trip home.  We missed badly in that game when tipping a 2-0 win to Brazil, however, we came up trumps in tipping a penalty shootout between Uruguay and Ghana – we even predicted Uruguay to win the shootout.

The outcome of those two games means that the Netherlands will now play Uruguay for a place in the final. Depending on today’s games, rather than an all South American final, we could be headed for an all European final. So who’s going to progress today, and who’s going home?

This afternoon’s game looks to be a beauty with Argentina playing Germany. Argentina are favourites to win this at 11/8 with Germany at 12/5. The draw at 9/4 is a popular bet and shows how close most people think this game will be. I have my doubts about the South Americans. They only just scraped into the World Cup 2010 with some really poor performances. So far, they have played well but memories of those poor performances still come back. Germany on the other hand have been fairly inconsistent during this tournament. Our tip – it’s a hard game to tip but we’ll plonk our hard earned on the Germans at better value.

In today’s second game, Spain at 1/2 should have little difficulty in seeing off Paraguay at 15/2. Everyone has been waiting for Spain to implode, a regular feature at this level, but so far they have been fairly solid. Paraguay are making their first appearance in a quarter final and have nothing to lose. This game could be closer than many http://www.gamblingtipsblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=2178think, however, our tip remains firm with Spain.

The Netherlands are now the tournament favourites at 23/10, marginally ahead of Spain at 5/2 and Argentina at 4/1. Germany are being specked at 6/1 while the rest are out to double figures. There will be another two day rest period before the semi finals. We’ll be back tomorrow to review today’s games and to preview what’s in store in the semi finals.

Eight teams go in to the World Cup 2010 quarter finals today and tomorrow and, no matter what, only four will venture on. This is cut throat football at its meanest with extra time and penalty shoot outs used to determine winners. So far, we have only had the one penalty shoot out and that proved to be a tame affair. What will this weekend deliver?

There are two games today and both look to be great games. What is more interesting is that all four teams have contrasting styles of football. The first game has the Netherlands facing off against tournament favourites Brazil. The Netherlands are a very traditional team with a well balanced attack and defense. Brazil are not really noted for their defense; rather, they rely on their attack, particularly their counter attack, arguably the best in the world.

In the second game, we have the flair that African nations bring, this time in the form of Ghana and their opponents, Uruguay, a side that often promises much yet at times delivers little. Their path to these finals displayed their hot and cold talents, often in the one game. They rely on two or three stars to run hot and if they fail, so too does the team.

World Cup 2010 betting has Brazil at 18/19 to win, Netherlands 7/2 and the draw at 12/5. Brazil leads the outright betting at 5/2 to lift the Cup while the Netherlands are considered outsiders now at 8/1. This will be an interesting game to watch (ITV1 at 15:30) and while a ninety minute draw wouldn’t surprise me, I think the flair of Brazil, especially when coming on a counter attacking drive, could be too much for the Dutch. Brazil to win 2-0.

We are predicting a penalty shoot out in the Ghana – Uruguay game.  It’s hard to split them although bookmakers have made Uruguay favourites at 11/10. Ghana are at 16/5 while the draw has been a popular bet at 9/4. Uruguay are poor value at that price and although coming into this tournament with more experience than Ghana, it counts for nothing once the game starts. Both of these teams are into double figures when it comes to World Cup 2010 outright betting and that doesn’t give one much in the way of confidence in either side. A ninety minute 2-2 draw is our prediction with Uruguay to progress after a penalty shootout.

There is more excitement to come tomorrow where Argentina take on Germany and Paraguay take on Spain in the last of the quarter finals. Who will progress? Check back with us tomorrow as we review today’s games and preview tomorrow’s in what is often hailed the greatest sporting event in the world – the football World Cup 2010.

Tomorrow we commence the run into the grand finale of the World Cup 2010 and, at this point, it seems we are headed for another all South American final. There are still two games to be played to reach the finals, however, and anything can happen in football. That’s what makes some of the special bets more interesting.

Brazil and the Netherlands play in one quarter final tomorrow while Uruguay and Ghana play in the second.  Bookmakers have the Brazil-Netherlands game as favourites to score the most goals at 8/11. The Uruguay-Ghana game is at 5/4. These types of bets interest a lot of punters since it doesn’t matter who wins. It is the outcome that matters.

When it comes to individual betting, Brazil are 6/4 favourites to be the highest scoring team in tomorrow’s quarter final. Uruguay are 2/1, Holland 7/2 and Ghana 9/2. Brazil will start their match as odds on favourites so backing them to be the highest scoring team does represent better value. If you’re like me and expect the Brazil-Netherlands game to be a tight battle then backing Uruguay to be the top scorer makes even more sense.

In Golden Ball betting, David Villa leads the way at 9/2 from Lionel Messi at 7/1. Luis Fabiano is at 9/1. You can get 18/1 for Germany’s Arjen Robben but to have any chance, Germany need to win through to the final.

Argentina are even money favourites to be the highest scoring team with Germany second in betting at 3/1 then Brazil at 7/2. Surprisingly, Spain, who came into this competition as clear favourites, are now 13/1 to score the most goals. Of course, Argentina and Germany do have the goals on the board thanks to some good wins.

There are plenty of special bets on offer for the World Cup 2010. If you can think of a bet, there will be a bookmaker somewhere offering odds on it. We will be back tomorrow to preview the first day of the World Cup 2010 quarter finals.