As if England (28/1 to win the World Cup) hasn’t had enough bad luck in the injury department in the last month, the national team was dealt more bad news this week with the news that Wayne Rooney will be out of Manchester United’s final game with a groin injury.
World Cup betting update: Wayne Rooney projected to be ready for England
Wayne Rooney should be ready for World Cup 2014, but how does his current injury affect future odds and group betting lines? Check it out from Odds Shark.
Richard Heathcote
Roy Hodgson has already indicated that despite the injury, Rooney will be on the team’s 23-man roster.
The question at this point is how much of a factor Rooney can be by the time World Cup action rolls around and what impact that will have on World Cup betting lines around the world.
Rooney is England’s most prolific scorer with 38 goals all time for the national team including 10 in his last 16 national team appearances. But groin injuries aren’t the type that heal up quickly, and even if he is able to play he will likely be at under 100 per cent.
A setback during recovery will also be disastrous, leading some to wonder if Rooney’s spot would be better used on a healthy striker. The English team is going off at +225 odds to win Group D and 6/5 to be eliminated in the first round.
One of the most intriguing teams coming into this year’s World Cup is Mexico. The team parted ways with its former manager Victor Manuel Vucetich after a terrible showing in the World Cup Qualifiers that almost cost the team a spot in the tournament.
Miguel Herrera took over and led Mexico to a 9-3 aggregate win over New Zealand, leaving soccer fans wondering if he has Mexico playing to its potential or if the team just played well against an overmatched opponent.
Mexico has a talented core that could do some damage, but playing in Group A with Brazil doesn’t leave much room for error when it comes to advancing into the knockout round. The Mexican squad is favored to be eliminated in the group stage at 2/3, with a second round elimination not far behind on the betting board at 9/5.
A quarterfinals elimination would pay 9/1 while an improbable run to a World Cup victory would pay 100/1. Mexico will try to beat out Croatia and Cameroon to join Brazil in advancing to the second round.
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