World Cup winner betting odds

As we head into the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, Brazil have been made favourites to win the tournament for a sixth time. Dunga`s side have showed discipline, toughness and flair in impressive victories over the likes of the Ivory Coast and Chile.

The bookmakers seem to think they can go all the way this summer and offer odds of only 5/2 (bet £20 to win £50 profit). They face Holland in the next round in what is a very winnable tie for them this Friday afternoon and would then meet either Ghana or Uruguay in the semi-final.

Following Brazil in the betting are Spain, priced at 3/1 with Ladbrokes, Sky Bet and Coral. The European champions finally lost their tag of perennial underachievers in 2008 and will now be hoping to lift the World Cup for the first time.

On paper, there is no questioning the talent available to Spain, who can call on a world-class player in almost every position. David Villa looks at his devastating best, and the team seemed to have clicked for the first time in the tournament in their hard-fought 1-0 win over rivals Portugal. However, their opening game saw them lose to Switzerland and they will need to avoid the kind of complacency they showed in that game if they are to fulfil their potential.

Argentina have won every match they have played so far at the World Cup and they are third favourites to lift the trophy, priced at 9/2 with Extrabet and William Hill. Diego Maradona`s side have five of the world`s best strikers to call on, including, of course, Lionel Messi. They are very fluent going forward but a concern may be their defence, and they will need to be at their best against Germany in the next round.

Germany are 15/2 with Sky Bet to win for the fourth time this year and their easy win over England is sure to have made other sides take notice. They were not paid enough respect by the Three Lions and it is unlikely that Argentina will make the same mistake. However, if they can get past the South Americans we will know whether or not they are the real deal.

Holland are slightly longer than Germany, at 17/2 on Betfair, and are the other team still in the tournament with a perfect record so far. Players like Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben have proven that they can compete at the highest level with their performances in the Champions League and on their day, the Dutch are a threat to anyone. It will need to be their day in their next match though, as they come up against Brazil in the next round.

Others still involved are Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay. The first two of those three will meet in the next round and one of them will be in the semi-final. Uruguay are fancied to go through and their relatively straightforward path to such a late stage sees them priced at a relatively short 18/1 with 10Bet and Boylesports. Ghana and Paraguay, however, are real outsiders, at 40/1 and 50/1 respectively.

World Cup winner betting odds

World Cup Golden Boot betting odds

Other football betting news and previews