Slovakia is a big favorite in 2010 World Cup odds on Tuesday as they open up with New Zealand.
It is the first-ever appearance for Slovakia in the World Cup but they are given a chance to make it to the second round and they are not expected to have much trouble in their opener against New Zealand in World Cup betting.
There are a couple of different lines available on this match. Slovakia is laying one goal at -155 while New Zealand is plus a goal at +115. The three-way soccer betting line which includes the draw has Slovakia at -290, New Zealand at +850 and the draw at +320. The total on the match is 2.5 over.
When a team is making their World Cup debut the chances of making it out of the group stage are usually not very good. Slovakia got a break though as Group F is really not that tough. Italy is the defending World Cup champs but they are beatable. Paraguay is a decent team but not a world power while New Zealand is weak. It is conceivable that Slovakia could make the second round out of this group. They can’t afford to slip up on Tuesday though against a New Zealand team they should defeat. Slovakia has some talented players including Jan Durica, Martin Skrtel, Miroslav Karhan, Marek Sapara and, Stanislav Sestak and Marek Hamsík. They also have some young players who could make an impact including Vladimir Weiss Jr. and Miroslav Stoch.
This will be New Zealand’s second appearance at the World Cup. The first time was in 1982 when they had a much tougher group than they do this time around. New Zealand was led in qualifying by Shane Smeltz who scored eight goals. He is the one player who could make a difference for New Zealand in the World Cup. Ryan Nelsen is the captain and a solid defender but it is Smeltz who will be scoring the goals. New Zealand probably doesn’t have the scoring to contend with Slovakia but this will be the first-ever World Cup game for Slovakia so if New Zealand could get an early goal they could put some pressure on the favored Slovakian team in this Tuesday matchup.