Australia Team - 2014 World Cup Betting. Best Finish: Last 16, 2006. Manager: Ange Postecoglou. Captain: Lucas Neill. Star Player: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls) Group B: With Chile, Netherlands and Spain. Australia doesn't have an extensive World Cup history, given that this is only their fourth time in the event.

• World Cup 2014: Betting guide for the tournament. As the countdown to kick-off enters the final hours, we look at the runners and riders on the betting market as well as the more eye-catching odds.
• Algeria Team - 2014 World Cup Betting. Best Finish: Group Play, 1982, 1986 and 2010. Manager: Vahid Hililhodzic. Captain: Madjid Bougherra. Key Player: Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia) Group H: With Belgium, Russia and South Korea. After a 24-year drought, Algeria made it back to the World Cup in 2010.

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Brazil 2014 Qualification Formats

With the calendar turned to 2011 continental qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup will begin in earnest this year. Keeping in mind that the qualifying process begins slowly and won’t pick up steam until late 2012 when Europe joins in on the fun, let us look at how each continent has set up its qualifying process for this go round. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Initially slated to begin last October, the AFC qualifying will start with two-leg knockout qualification

Fifa 2014 World Cup Betting

First Thoughts on Qatar 2022

More than two weeks have come and gone since soccer fans around the globe were gifted the holiday present they never wanted: Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup. In a surprise vote that wasn’t quite as big a surprise

Too Early to Talk 2014 Long Shots?

With the 2018 and 2022 World Cup selection hubbub dying down outside of the countries deemed the big winners or losers from the Dec. 2 FIFA announcement it can’t be too early to look at the potential moneymakers for 2014.

First Thoughts on Russia 2018

Just more than a week has allowed arrogant Americans and Brits to come to terms with losing their respective bids for future FIFA World Cup tournaments and now the real fun begins. While Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 (yes, that

Can Batista Lead Argentina To World Cup Glory?

Heading into the 2010 World Cup, many observers considered Argentina a strong possibility to win the title. The talent was certainly there led by arguably the best soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi. The big question mark was coaching

Futures Betting Favors Brazil To Win 2014 World Cup Title

The 20th FIFA World Cup won’t get underway until June 13, 2014 but sportsbooks are already offering futures betting odds on the outright winner of international football’s biggest prize. Brazil will be the host country for the 2014 World Cup,

2014 World Cup Betting Odds

Bet on World Cup 2014

Football’s World Cup tournament—properly known as the FIFA World Cup—is the biggest sporting event in the world. Held every four years, it was the center of attention for literally billions of sports fans all over the globe this summer and will be again in 2014. The popularity of the World Cup is mind-boggling and its financial impact provides a significant boost to the economies of countries from England to the Ivory Coast. It is estimated that over 715 million viewers watched the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France and final numbers from the 2010 World Cup betting will likely exceed that figure.

The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil during June and July. Brazil is the fifth country to host the World Cup twice joining Mexico, Italy, France and Germany. It’ll be the first World Cup held in South America since the 1978 event in Argentina and will mark the first time in history that back-to-back World Cups will be held outside of Europe.

Not surprisingly, the World Cup is equally popular as a betting event. While it’s impossible to get an exact figure, some analysts suggest that European bookmakers took in over one billion pounds (approximately $1.59 billion US) in wagers on the event. By way of comparison, Nevada’s sportsbooks take $90 million US worth of bets on the NFL Superbowl in an average year. With so many betting outlets outside of Europe, the actual amount of money that’s bet on the World Cup is mind boggling. Suffice to say that the 2010 World Cup could very likely be the largest sports betting event in history and the 2014 will likely top that record.

The host country of Brazil will be looking to bounce back from a relatively disappointing performance in 2010 where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by The Netherlands. The defending World Cup champion is Spain, and they’ll be anxious to defend their first ever tournament crown. Some sportsbooks have already posted World Cup futures betting odds with Brazil, Spain and Argentina the top three favorites.

LONDON -- The heartening and unlikely run of the U.S. soccer team at the World Cup hasn't just been welcome by fans at home.

2014 World Cup Betting Odds

A lot of people are rooting for the U.S. -- not least the world's book-makers, who see American fans as a rich, untapped market.

'This is the single biggest betting event in history,' says Jon Ivan-Duke of Britain's William Hill Bookmakers.

The World Cup is a bookie bonanza. Ivan-Duke says, '200 million pounds will be turned over this World Cup.'

That's pushing 350 million dollars. And that's without the U.S., where betting is only legal in a few states.

If Americans can learn to love soccer, the bookies are betting they can learn to love putting a few bucks down on the game as well.

'If those laws were to be relaxed across the states ... then we're ready and raring to go, really,' explains Ivan-Duke.

In a statistics-mad country like the U.S., the bookies think their newest fad has 'America' written all over it.

Betting For 2014 World Cup

Nowadays, the betting doesn't stop when the game starts. One bookmaker even offered odds on whether Uruguay's Louis Suarez would bite someone -- and paid up when he did.

The biggest bet placed on the World Cup so far was from an American. 'This particular customer in our Nevada sports book shop put a bet of $320,000 on Argentina to beat Iran,' says Ivan-Duke.

In that game, Argentina won on a last-minute goal.

The current odds for the U.S. to win the World Cup are 80 to 1.