Sportsbet Blog

Leading online bookmaker Sportsbet rates Harry Kewell only an outside chance to play in the 2014 World Cup.

The bookie has priced Kewell at $8 to play in Brazil, while only offering $1.05 on Harry not to play.
“Harry would be almost 36 before the next World Cup and his body has to stand up to another four tough years of football,” said Sportsbet’s Haydn Lane.
“Let’s hope all the planets align and we can go deep into this World Cup because it would be a shame for Harry to bow out after a dubious red card decision.
“It seems unlikely he’ll be there in four years time but as Aussies we’d love to be proven wrong.”

In other World Cup betting news, Australia are rated a $4 chance to beat Serbia, but are paying $11 to make it past the group stage.

Brazil and Argentina have been the best backed teams to win the World Cup, while one punter clearly has a crystal ball as he placed $10 on Portugal to win 7-0 against North Korea overnight at the odds of $401 for a $4,000 win!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is underway and there is a fierce competition between the Australian Bookmakers during the World Cup giving you the customer the best deals ever seen online.

Its a great time for punters as you are not limited to one bookmaker, you can join two or three bookies and claim the offers from each one.

Make sure to checkout our World Cup betting guide here for tips on how to get the most out of your bets.

Here at Sportsbet Blog we have reviewed all the offer available and this is our top 5 betting offers for this World Cup.

1. Sportsbet’s World Cup $200 Free Bet bundle

When opening a new betting account Sportsbet match 100% of your first resulted bet up to $100 free. When you place your next 10 bets they will then match 100% of their average value up to $100 free.
Bonuses are credited in to your account as real cash.

2. Luxbet’s Free World Cup Jumper Promotion

Luxbet is giving you a free genuine World Cup jumper of your choice. To get the jumper all you need to do is make your first deposit of $150 or more and they will send you an email with a form to claim your jumper.

I checked out the Rebel Sport website and these jumpers cost $140 so it’s a great offer to take advantage of.

Luxbet is owned by the TAB so if your already betting at your local TAB its well worth joining Luxbet and getting a free jumper.

3. IASbet $100 World Cup Free Bet Offer

Although its not as big a free bet as the $200 Sportsbet offer, IASbet’s free bet is much easier to get. Simply make a deposit of $50 or more and use the promotional code FREEBET. Your $100 free bet will then be deposited into your account within 24 hours.

4. Centrebet’s Two Offers

Centrebet have been the most creative when it come to their offers this World Cup. They have 2 unique offers that could land you with a heap of free bets.

• Deposit $100 or more and place $20 or more on any World Cup market. Then watch the free bets roll in. For every goal Australia score you get a $20 free bet!
• Place a bet on Australia to quality from the Group Stage of the World Cup and if they come in 3rd in Group D  Centrebet will refund all losing bets!

I like both of these offers as you could work them to your advantage. Eg. Back Australia not to score so if they do you know a free bet will come your way, a win-win situation!

5. Sportingbet Two Offers

• 10% Winner’s Bonus. Make a minimum bet of $10 on selected World Cup markets and if you win you get a 10% bonus on you winning’s. This offer is a great way to get bigger payouts than any other bookie online.
• Socceroos first goal second chance. Place $10 or more bet on an Australian player to be the first goal scorer in any of their matches, and if Australia fails to score a single goal in the match, Sportingbet will give you a $10 Free Bet.

Coach Pim Verbeek has named his squad for the 2010 World cup with very few surprises. 14 of the squad that did Australia proud in 2006 are there with a couple of new younger faces such as 18 year old  former Brisbane Roar winger Tommy Oar. But while the backbone of the team looks good on paper with Lucas Neill, Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell all picked do they really have what it takes to reproduce the form of four years ago.

There is no doubt that the side has done well to even gain a spot in South Africa having navigated it’s way through a tough Asian qualifying section. Trips to the likes of Bahrain and Iraq are always tough but lets be honest they are games that we would expect to come out on top in and facing these teams is nothing to facing the likes of Germany, Spain or a rampant England.

The truth is that the Socceroo’s are an aging side and barr Tim Cahill they have no world class talent. Mark Viduka has retired, Lucas Neill is not performing at the same level that saw become one of the most dominant centre backs in the English Premier League, while Harry Kewell at 31 is past his peak and will probably start the tournament just  70% fit. And as for the young talent coming through, well there isn’t any. Tommy Oar is raw and could be one for the future but I am afraid that this World Cup Campaign is going to be something of an embarrassment.

Despite my pessimistic view on the Socceroos hopes there are some good bets involving them that you should get on to. As I have already said Tim Cahill is the Aussies superstar and with his ability to get in to the box and score goals he must be a shoe in to finish as his countries top goal scorer. Sportsbet are offering $4.00 for him to do so, odds that are too good to miss out on in my opinion.

I feel that we could get something out of the Germans, yes the Germans. We will be up for the first game, Kewell will be well rested and out to prove his fitness and we could just catch them cold making $3.55 at Centrebet for a draw worth a punt. But going up against the likes of Germany, Serbia and Ghana the most likely result is that they wont even pick up a point. So go to Centrebet now and take them up on their free bet offer with odds of $7.75 you can’t lose.

Argentina Coach Diego Maradona has been accused of many things since taking over the running of the squad. He is tactically inept, doesn’t know his best eleven, calling up over 100 players in two years, and even that he favours son in law Sergio Aguero over more talented more experienced players. While all of these things maybe true there are things that the great man does have that will hold him in good stead and that may even prove to be the difference going in to South Africa.

Maradona has an undoubted passion for the game and his country.  All he knows is football, all he craves is success and with his illustrious history he will instantly have the respect of his players. The ones that are there will want to play for him, and if he can push his enthusiasm out with them on to the pitch for just seven matches in South Africa there is no doubt that Argentina have every chance of causing an upset. Oh yeah, and isn’t that Lionel Messi Argentinian as well. Making odds of $9.00 at Centrebet well worth a punt.

I personally feel that while Maradona will prove a lot of people wrong in this tournament but that the chances of Argentina lifting the trophy are minimal, and a semi final birth will be the best that they can hope for. They are quite simply a one man Lionel Messi team and as Inter Milan proved the other night against Barcelona Messi can be and will be marked out of games. They will definitely win their group Centrebet will pay a $1.45 for that. You could even double that up with a bet that Tim Cahill will be the Aussies top goal scorer at $4.00 that is well worth using your free bet at Centrebet. But we will look deeper in to the Socceroos chances next week.

The 19th Soccer World Cup in South Africa is nearly upon us and the whole world is slowly becoming struck down with football fever. Millions and millions of people will be watching the opening fixture every one of them carrying with them a mass of hopes and dreams. But not every team will have what it takes to lift the iconic trophy, and ultimately only one team will.

Here at Sportsbetblog.com.au we are going to look all the likely winners and some of the countries with something of an outside chance, so that you know where best to place your free bet from Sportsbet

England

As with every other Englishman around the world I began 2010 full of hope and optimism. England cruised through their qualifying group unbeaten. Wayne Rooney is scoring goals for fun. Steven Gerrard is fit and in John Terry we have one of the best center backs in the business. But as always something just had to go wrong for us and burst the big bubble that was beginning to build.

The last few months has been full of nothing but controversy for the England squad with John Terry and Ashley Cole sleeping with anything in a skirt and an orange spray tan, including team mates wives, that has resulted in nothing but bad press. Then there was the amazing news that super boss Fabio Cappello was being spied on during a friendly game against Egypt as the rest of the world tries to find out what makes him a true football genius. All of this has come on top of the news that Rooney is injured and will miss the rest of the season and could struggle to be fit for the first game in South Africa. While talisman David Beckham is definately out after snapping his achilles tendon playing for Italian side AC Milan.

COULD ANYTHING ELSE GO WRONG?

But despite the down sides to the year I still think we have a serious chance of pulling something out of our backsides at this World Cup. Rooney swears that he will make it, Gerrard is coming in to good form and in Cappello we have a coach that seems to be able to get our players to produce their club form at the international level, which has been a major problem for so long in English football.

In a recent interview with ‘Soccer International’ magazine Cappello also revealed the team has been practising the dreaded penalties, “We practice penalties a lot. For the finals, we have time to decide who will take the penalties. I will get them to practice. But practice is easy without a crowd!”

So if JT can keep it in his pants for just at least six months I feel that we maybe in with a chance and the bookies seem to agree with Centrebet making them third favourites at $6.50.

There were many raised eyebrows within the Australian football world when relative unknown Pim Verbeek was handed the job as Socceroos coach. Many of us were looking for another big name to replace the one and only Gus Hiddink who guided The Roos to the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany. It didn’t seem to matter that Hiddink had recommend his fellow Dutchman to succeed him, or that Verbeek came to the job with a wealth of experience from coaching all over the world. We wanted a Sven Goran Erikson or Roy Keane and that was that. How wrong we were. Pim Verbeek has guided his side to the brink of qualification to the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. It is the first time the Socceroos have tried to qualify for the tournament through the tough Asian system and they find themselves top of their group yet to conceded a goal. This is thanks mainly to the astute tactical brain of Verbeek who has been able to take his side (Mostly without the big guns playing in Europe) to far flung parts of the world and get results. Verbeek is the on the verge of going down in Socceroo history as an outright legend, but he still has work to do yet.

The Socceroos have just three games remaining in their qualifying campaign. The first will be played in Doha on 6th of June against Qatar. The Aussies smashed Qatar 4-0 when they met in October 2008. Pim Verbeek had his full squad available at the time and it paid off as Everton star TimCahill scored early to settle any nerves. Brett Emerton was the man of the match though scoring twice before Josh Kennedy finished of a Hapless Qatar side. The Socceroos will be expecting to win once again, but with playing in Doha it may not be as one sided as the game in Brisbane, even with Cahill and the likes expected to make the trip.

Even so I am predicting the Socceroos will overcome any travel sickness and get a comfortable 2-0 win. Tim Cahill first goal scorer again?. Go to Betfair for your free $50 bet.

After the trip to Doha The Soceroos come back to the mother land to play two games, one against Bahrain and the other against second placed Japan. Australia will roll over Bahrain in Sydney on June 10th making the game against Japan in Melbourne a week later vital. This top of the table clash will decide who finishes top of the group and gets seeded for the finals in 2010. When the two sides met earlier in the group Australia put in a backs to the wall type display to scrape a 0-0 draw. But with the home crowd behind them and Harry Kewell looking injury free and back to something like his best I feel that The Socceroos will get up for this one and win comfortably 3-0.

Get your free $50 bet on the game at Betfair

The Indian Premier League is drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean that the world’s best cricketers can put their protective boxes back in the cupboard and take a few weeks off to recuperate.  Because June 5th will see the focus of the cricketing world change from South Africa to England for the second Twenty20 World Cup. India won the inaugural tournament just two years ago beating favourites Australia and Pakistan along the way to cause something of an upset. But can the team ranked third in the world defend their crown or will Pakistan get their revenge. We take a look at the top contenders and tell you were you should place your free bet from www.sportsbet.com.au

Pakistan $9.00

At $9.00 Pakistan start this Twenty20 World Cup as something of an outside bet. While there is no doubt that Pakistan have talent on the pitch with the likes of all rounder Shahid Afridi and captain Younis Khan, off field problems have knocked the confidence out of the side. The Pakistan backroom staff feel that the squad needs to work on their mental toughness have hired a psychologist to help with their preparations. But I feel that their total lack of cricket this year will mean they go in to this one totally under prepared, so if I am being honest I wouldn’t waste my money on this one.

India $4.00

India start this year’s Twenty20 World Cup as the hot favourites to retain their title and it is no wonder. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan are all in great form, and the truth is that if they all click they are going to very hard to beat. At $4.00 to win the tournament they are definitely worth a punt, but remember this is Twenty20 cricket and anything is possible.

Australia $4.50

Australia love to win, they love to dominate and in the past they have done just that. They were really disappointed not to make it to the Twenty20 World Cup final in 2007 and will definitely be up for this one. The problem is that some of their big hitters like Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne have retired, Brett Lee is only just coming back from injury and Andrew Symonds has totally lost the plot. So do they have enough to win? Hey this is Australia can you ever count them out. Well worth a free bet.

South Africa $5.00

South Africa recently spent a brief time as the number one ranked test team in the world. They beat Australia in Australia to gain the number one spot only to lose it when Australia beat them 2-1 in the return test series in South Africa. They do have a better Twenty20 record than any other nation but their inconsistency, which also showed itself in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, could very well be their undoing. But at $5.00 the Proteas are a decent outside bet.

England $9.00

England have just named Paul Collingwood as their Captain for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held on their home soil. But with Andrew Flintoff dropping out of the IPL with an injury and Kevin Pieterson continuously cracking the shits when things don’t go his way it would take a brave man to bet on them. Then again if Flintoff does get fit in time and Pieterson pulls his head in they might just surprise everybody. Get your free $50 bet at www.betfair.com.au

In a fantastic result for Australia, the Socceroos have done everything but guarantee their ticket to South Africa next year for the world’s biggest sporting event – the World Cup.

Playing in front of over 57,000 Sydneysiders at ANZ Stadium (formerly known as Telstra Stadium formerly known as Stadium Australia) the Socceroos came away with a 2-0 victory against a dogged Uzbekstani outfit who went into the game still playing for their own qualification spot.

Coming out from the half time break the scores were locked at 0-0, and coach Pim Verbeek’s decision to bring on replacement forward Josh Kennedy mid way through the second half was soon rewarded with him putting away a header to score the first goal.

The result was sealed soon after with a cool Harry Kewell slotting a free kick from the penaly spot.

Other group results meant that Australia are left needing just a draw from one of their last three matches – two of which are at home.

So although the job is not quite done it is hard not to get excited at the prospect that the Socceroos are heading to South Africa. It is a far cry from previous qualification campaigns: we were the last to qualify for the 2006 World Cup and we were the only team to go through the qualifications in 2002 undefeated…and still missed out on  a spot.

Thank you Asian Football Federation

Results From Some Other World Cup Qualifiers

World Cup Qualifier: England beat Ukraine no thanks to terrible …

There must be another goalkeeper in England apart from David James, surely. England maintain their winning streak, no thanks to their worst keeper in living memory.

World Cup Qualifiers Results-South America March 31, April 1

Here are the results from the South American World Cup 2010 Qualifiers played on March 31, 2009 and April 1, 2009. This is Round 12 of the CONMEBOL Group Round. Also check out European WC Qualifiers April 1 Results Asia WC Qualifiers …

World Cup Qualifier: WALES 0 GERMANY 2

Another World Cup home game, another 2-0 defeat but this time everyone seemed quite happy and cheerful rather than outraged and indulging in the blame game, however what a contrast. After last weekend’s gutless 2-0 collapse to Finland, …

World Cup: Czech Rep. 1, Slovakia 2

The Czechs’ remaining World Cup qualifiers are away to Slovakia (September 5th) and at home to San Marino (September 9th), Poland (October 10th) and Northern Ireland (October 14th). Uefa.com Match Report …

World Cup Qualifier Video Highlights : Bolivia 6-1 Argentina …

… strange it may sound, Diego Maradona’s three game undefeated streak came to an abrupt end after Argentina were slaughtered 6-1 by Bolivia in the altitude of La Paz. bolivia vs argentina, english premier league, EPL, world cup qualifier.

World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Europe round-up 1/4/09

Wales fought bravely but were powerless to stop Germany from extending their lead at the top of Group Four in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier. A thunderbolt of a strike from Michael Ballack in the 11th minute saw the Germans take the …