There was plenty of drama throughout Matchday 1 at the 2018 World Cup with an incredible rise in the rate of penalty kicks, a number of highlight reel goals and a handful of surprise results. One thing that hasn’t changed following the first round of games is that Brazil remains the favorite to win. The Brazilians settled for a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their opener but that isn’t enough for the sportsbooks to significantly alter their sports betting odds to win it all just yet. Here is a closer look at the updated World Cup odds following Matchday 1.
Brazil remains the favorite to win it all at +400 odds (courtesy of BetDSI). The Brazilian side was mostly kept in check by Switzerland so figuring out a way to break through on offense will be important as they round out the group stage. A draw with Switzerland wasn’t enough to significantly alter their sports betting odds. After all, they still control their own path through Group E. However, that could change if they don’t find their stride offensively and earn the maximum three points available when they clash with Costa Rica in their next game.
Spain remains the obvious pick as the biggest challenger to Brazil at +450 odds following a 3-3 draw with Portugal. Spain’s offense looked extremely dangerous and it took a legendary performance from Cristiano Ronaldo just to keep them from picking up the win. Spain’s final two matches are against Iran and Morocco so they should have no problem picking up the necessary points to advance. France remains in the mix at +700 odds to win after it picked up a 2-1 win over Australia.
The biggest change to the World Cup futures is Germany taking a small hit down to +800 odds to win it all following a 1-0 loss to Mexico in its opener. The defending champions can still figure out a path through the group stage with wins over Sweden in South Korea in Group F. However, the margin for error is much slimmer now that Mexico has drawn first blood.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest surprises is that Mexico is still listed at +5000 odds on several sportsbooks. Mexico looked very confident and dangerous against Germany and should have no problem holding on to the top spot in Group F after taking down its biggest threat. There has never been an American side to win a World Cup in Europe. However, Mexico looks like a team that has the talent to end that run of losses. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on the sports betting odds as they are updated throughout the tournament. However, if you are interested in betting on Mexico then it might make sense to make that wager now while the new favorites to win Group F are still available at long odds.
