With the final 16 set at the World Cup, Brazil has been installed by BetUS as a 7-2 favorite to win its sixth title.
The Brazilians won Group G and will play Chile on Monday in the knockout round. Chile is a 30-1 longshot.
Spain and Argentina both are 4-1 as second favorites. The European champion Spaniards won Group H and face Iberian neighbor Portugal (12-1) on Tuesday, and Argentina has a Sunday game against Mexico (50-1).
The United States, which faces Ghana today, is 40-1, the same odds given to the Black Stars, the only African team to advance.
The Netherlands (6-1) meets Slovakia (80-1) on Monday. Germany (8-1) plays England (9-1) on Sunday. Uruguay (10-1) takes on South Korea (125-1) on Saturday. Paraguay (20-1) faces Japan (50-1) on Tuesday.
World Cup betting has been brisk in the United States, according to BetUS spokesman Reed Richards.
“The World Cup has exhibited some really heart-stopping action so far — particularly in the case of the U.S. squad,” Richards said. “It was apparent that this World Cup showing was a big one for the sport of soccer in the U.S. before the tournament started, but has been backed up by the amount of interest people have shown in our site long before, and even more so since the tournament has begun.”
Footnotes.
The referee for today’s U.S.-Ghana match is Victor Kassai, who worked Brazil’s 2-1 win over North Korea and Uruguay’s 1-0 victory over Mexico. He also refereed the United States’ 2-1 loss to Spain at last year’s under-17 World Cup.
• Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger remains highly doubtful for Sunday’s match against England because of a right thigh injury.
• Mexico forward Carlos Vela trained with a ball for the first time since suffering a right leg injury more than a week ago, increasing his chances of playing Sunday against Argentina.
• Sven-Goran Eriksson resigned as coach of Ivory Coast after the team was eliminated.
