Match Betting
World Cup Match Trends and Tips
Here you can see some of the key trends from matches at past world cup finals.
Use these trends to help you to identify some good bets when looking at the individual world cup matches.
World Cup Matches - Key Stats
Read below the table for our analysis of the stats and tips for match betting at World Cup 2010. Note the key differences between the group stage matches and the knock out (K/out) stage matches. The below figures are based on 90 mins play only.
For detailed betting previews on each match, check the individual match preview pages such as England v USA odds, South Africa v Mexico Odds, France v Uruguay Odds, England v Algeria Odds and England v Slovenia Odds. More world cup matches and world cup match betting previews are available in the left menu bar.
| Year And Stage | Goals Per Game | Win Draw Ratio | Clean Sheets | Unders/Overs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Group | 2.44 | 37:11 | 35 | 27:21 |
| 2006 K/out | 1.69 | 10:6 | 14 | 12:4 |
| 2002 Group | 2.52 | 34:14 | 25 | 27:21 |
| 2002 K/out | 1.75 | 11:5 | 13 | 13:3 |
| 1998 Group | 2.63 | 32:16 | 28 | 23:25 |
| 1998 K/out | 2.75 | 12:4 | 6 | 5:11 |
| 1994 Group | 2.58 | 28:8 | 20 | 18:18 |
| 1994 K/out | 2.81 | 12:4 | 7 | 7:9 |
| 1990 Group | 2.28 | 28:8 | 22 | 23:13 |
| 1990 K/out | 1.69 | 8:8 | 13 | 13:3 |
World Cup Matches - Goals Per Game
In three of the last five World Cups the number of goals has dropped fairly dramatically from the group games to the knockout games.
It is in the two World Cups with more goals that the number of goals has risen in the knockout stages.
If the number of goals in the group stages is around 2.50 or lower back the games in the knockout phase to be low scoring.
World Cup Matches - Backing The Draw
In four of the last five World Cups there have been more draws relative to the amount of games played in the knockout phase than in the group stage.
In the group stages between quarter and half of the games will be draws (between 8 and 16).
In the knockout phase around a third of the games usually end in a draw but it can be as many as half.
World Cup Matches - Total Goals
In the World Cup group stages there are usually marginally more games that finish under 2.5 goals than over 2.5 goals.
The more competitive games will usually finish unders and the games where a very strong side face a very weak side are more likely to be overs.
The games that are low scoring are not usually evenly spread out between the groups. There will usually be some high scoring groups and some low scoring groups.
Identifying the lower scoring and high scoring groups before the first game can be very profitable.
Look out for evenly matched competitive groups with well organised slightly defensive teams for lower scoring groups (and therefore lower scoring games).
The higher scoring groups will be the ones with mismatched sides and will involve the teams with flair players.
In the two most recent World Cups there have been many more games that have finished under 2.5 goals than over 2.5 goals during the knockout stage.
World Cup Matches - Clean Sheets
In the group stages on average a team will keep one clean sheet.
In the knockout stage on average there is usually less than one clean sheet per match.
Therefore in most matches both teams should be backed to score and correct scores involving goals for both sides should be considered.
