World Cup betting begins on Friday, June 11th with the first match when host South Africa takes on Mexico in Johannesburg. As the host nation, South Africa got an automatic entry into the World Cup. Whether they can get past the group stage is questionable and the opener in World Cup odds against Mexico may answer that question. World Cup betting will favor Mexico in the opening match but South Africa is not without a chance. Group A has France as the favorite while second place is really up for grabs in the group between Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa.
If South Africa can get a win or a draw in the first match they can be a factor in Group A. There really is no way to overstate how important this first match is to South Africa. The match opens up the World Cup and it may decide whether the team has any chance of advancing. If South Africa can get a result against Mexico they have a chance but it they lose they would be in trouble with matches remaining against France and Uruguay.
Mexico is a small favorite in World Cup betting in the opening match and the total is low. It could be a very tight, low scoring match between two teams that are not expected to score many goals. Mexico has a couple of players who could score but overall, South Africa may be able to hold them down. Mexico will hope that Arsenal striker Carlos Vela or Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez can get a goal.
France is the -135 favorite to win Group A with Mexico the second choice at +350. Uruguay is right there at +365 in World Cup odds and South Africa is not a huge longshot at +600. South Africa is actually given more of a chance to win this group than many other teams in other groups. Group A is not considered one of the stronger groups. France is considered a solid team but there are seven other teams in the World Cup who have lower odds to win it all. Mexico and Uruguay are not considered strong teams so South Africa does have a chance to make it out of this group to the knockout round. Overall, South Africa is a huge longshot to win the World Cup at 90-1.