2010 World Cup Betting Trends Recap

2010 World Cup Betting Trends Recap

The 2010 FIFA Football World Cup took fans and footballers to mainland Africa where teams participated in over a month’s football play. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup making the country the first African nation to do so. The World Cup featured This Time for Africa, a track released by Shakira in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The way became synonymous with the tournament, with millions of downloads and fans singing the song 12 years later.

The Finals

Spain defeated the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup finals, with the game ending in a 0-0 deadlock after regulation time. Spain scored a solitary goal in extra time to break the stalemate, avoid penalties, and win the finals. Wagers on Spain to win in regulation time resulted in several punters losing their bets because the game resulted in a draw at the end of regulation time. While Spain won the tournament, they also lost a game during qualification, so they weren’t undefeated. The prize money was over $37 million, with teams earning between $10 to $30 million for finishing anywhere between the group stage to the runner-ups. Couples tend to play more conservative football when the stakes are this high, resulting in fewer goals.

Unexpected Results

Every World Cup produces a few unexpected results and also a few upsets. However, the 2010 World Cup featured several surprising results, including France failing to qualify in group A, Nigeria failing in group B, and Italy (winners of the 2006 World Cup finals) failing in group F. A controversial moment of the 2010 World Cup tournament featured a match between England and Germany in which the former lost 1-4. However, the game had terrible calls, such as Lampard’s shot, which hit the bar and crossed the line, but England had 0 goals. The 4-1 loss was England’s most significant defeat in a World Cup final tournament.

Europe Versus South America

The FIFA World Cup always features teams from Europe or South America since these teams tend to dominate global football. In the 2010 World Cup, several South American and European groups made the quarter-finals. However, in the semi-finals games, European teams outplayed their South American opponents, with Brazil losing to the Netherlands, Argentina losing to Germany, and Paraguay losing to Spain, the tournament’s eventual winners. Most wagers on European teams at this tournament stage paid out handsome profits.

Low Goals

While common goals are a common feature in high-stakes games, very rarely do teams that win the World Cup do so while scoring few goals. Spain managed to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup while scoring only eight goals throughout the tournament. However, Spain also conceded the fewest goals (2), which helped the country light the 2010 World Cup. One essential trend punters need to include in their wagers is a decreasing number of goals scored in the finals. In the 1998 World Cup, teams scored over 170 goals; in 2002, over 160 goals. In 2006, over 146 goals, and in 2010, 145 goals.

Golden Awards

Thomas Muller won the golden boot award in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with five goals and three assists; he bagged the best young player award at the same World Cup since he was under 24. Diego Forlan scooped the golden boot award with several impressive goals and performances for Uruguay. Iker Casillas, the former captain of the Spanish National football team, won the golden glove award for the cleanest sheets as his team won the tournament.

Fun Facts About The 2010 World Cup

• The tournament’s official ball was called the Jabulani, which caused some controversy. The ball swung in challenging ways for defenders or keepers to predict.  
• The official mascot was Zakumi, a leopard distinct to the lands of Africa and South Africa.
• Only one hat-trick was scored across the entire tournament by Argentine striker Higuain.
• Messi and Evra blamed Vuvuzelas (blow horns) for their respective teams’ dismal performances at the event.