World Cup Germany 2006: Draw For Argentina

16 June, Matchday 9
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Argentina to draw Serbia
Info & Analyses
1. Argentina to draw Serbia
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 2pmUK, 4pmBG
Bet365 in Fractional - 12/5, in Decimal - 3.40
Betandwin in Decimal - 3.50
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Serbia are trying to stay positive after losing 0:1 by Holland in their opener. The team still has one impressive defensive record and shows nice piece of football. The game will be for sure under 2.5 goals but looking for attractive odds we can take the risk for a draw - I won't be surprised if it will be even 0:0. Argentina have powerful attack and strong midfield line but Serbia will play wisely because it is their last chance for qualification in the next round.

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World Cup 2006: Inspired By Germany

6 Matchday, 14 June
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Germany to beat Poland
Info & Analyses
1. Germany to beat Poland
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 8pmUK, 10pmBG
Bet365 in Fractional - 1/2, in Decimal - 1.50
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.45
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Germany are reborn inspired by their opener, brilliant performance, nice goals, mad fans and spectacular atmosphere. And...what is more important, their captain is back in the game hungry for goals. If they win they are through - that is a bit of a motivation, isn't it? On the other hand Poland are completely demoralized after losing 0:2 by Ecuador in the first game and I think they do not have the quality to overcome this defeat.

World Cup 2006: Brazil To Win

13 June, Matchday 5
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Brazil to beat Croatia
Info & Analyses
1. Brazil to beat Croatia
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 8pmUK, 10pmBG
Bet365 in Fractional - 4/11, in Decimal - 1.36
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.30
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Ok, big game! The odds are too low so i will go for a draw on half time and win for Barzil at the end. And why? Everybody knows the power of Brazil, there is no need to explain what Ronaldo and company can do if they are in a mood and I think there is no doubt they will start their campaign with a win. On the other hand Croatia had not so good preperation having lost in a couple of friendlies. however they still have good quality in the squad that will be enough for close a game and draw on the half time.

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World Cup 2006: Massive Start For Czech Republic

12 June, Matchday 4
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Czech Republic to beat USA
Info & Analyses
1.
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 5pmUK, 7pmBG
Bet365 in Fractional - 1/1, in Decimal - 2.00
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.85
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
The Czech Republic and the United States will meet up in Gelsenkirchen today to kick off their World Cup campaigns. The two sides have never met in a FIFA World Cup finals before.
With Pavel Nedved back from temporary international retirement, striker Jan Koller, and Tomas Rosicky, Milan Baros and Petr Cech, the Czechs looks like one of the favourites in this tournament. I expect a nice run from them straight to the next phase - that means a win on the opening and 3 precious points at the start.

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World Cup 2006: Favourite's Day

Picks From World Cup 2006
1. England to beat Paraguay
2. Sweden to beat Trinidad & Tobago
Info & Analyses
1. England to beat Paraguay
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 2pm UK, 4pm BG

Bet365 in Fractional - 4/7, in Decimal - 1.57
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.55
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Despite all organizational problems Paraguay seem to be a strong team with solid performance in front. However they have not so confident defence and that will be the key reason for me to bet blindly on England. Lions, even without Rooney, are strong favourite not only in this game but in the whole tournament.

2. Sweden to beat Trinidad & Tobago
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 5pm UK, 7pm BG

Bet365 in Fractional - 2/9, in Decimal - 1.22
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.27
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Sweden will win, that is for sure, but the questions is - how many exactly will score Larson and company? Trinidad & Tobago are more than happy with their qualification to the World Cup forum and, of course, will try to collect few points but whatever happens, they will be happy.

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Best Rated Online Sportsbooks - Reviews

Some people argue that when it comes to online sports betting, it doesn't matter which site you choose. "They're all the same," they say over and over again. I don't think so - it is important to know exactly what you want from the sports book and then go for it and find the right place. Check my selection of recommended sports books - I tried to be absolutely honest on what i like and do not like in their services. I will review only these bookies that I am using every day to place my bets and grow my bankroll.

CHOICE NUMBER 1 - bet365



I am starting all my strategies based on bet365 odds and offerings as it is the online bookmaker I have been using since 2004. For that period I had never even small problem with them - always on my side, kind and accurate support, improving services and more and more promotions and offerings merely every month.

General info
One of the oldest and most reliable sportsbooks, bet365 (New Media) Limited has been one of the UK's foremost betting and gambling groups since 1974. Fully licensed and regulated, this company's 500+ employees handle an incredible 250,000 bets each week from customers in over 120 different countries.

WHAT I LIKE: nice and friendly interface, improved in the last few months; the best Live In-Play Console in the net; live video coverage of the major sports events for free - soccer, tennis, basketball - watch it on your PC; great customer 24/7 support center; variety of deposit methods and easy withdrawals; one wallet for all the services - sports book, poker, casino, bingo and games; the best site for rugby bets.

WHAT I DISLIKE: it is really hard to find a bad feature of bet365, however i will be more happy if i can see improvement in the bonus policies for loyal customers


CHOICE NUMBER 2 - bet-at-home

It is a rule for every professional tipster not to bet only at one site taking its odds as the only choice for his money. I often back up my winnings looking for fair alternative in the net and bet-at-home sports book always seems as a good one. As naturally coming from Austria (with office in Malta also) they are keeping things simple, working and improving step by step. Now bet-at-home have more than 1.5 million clients. I am with the site since 2007 and as a regular I can really feel myself as a special customer (they even mail me from time to time using the traditional post services which is a good old fashion way to pay personal attention to someone).

WHAT I LIKE: secure money transactions; the variety of deposit methods; strong betting markets for football, specially covering the north European countries even in the lowest divisions; incredible starting bonus and on going promotions (probably the best in the net); improving in-play markets; one of the best poker rooms supporting transactions in Euro; jackpots

WHAT I DISLIKE: the interface and design can be improved and made prettier; the local support is so slow sometimes; i want to see more betting options for the football games as betting on cards, goalscorer, etc.

World Cup 2006: Poland To Use Every Chance

9 June, Matchday 1
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Poland to beat Ecuador
Info & Analyses
1. Poland to beat Ecuador
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 8pmUK, 10pmBG


Bet365 in Fractional - 10/11, in Decimal - 1.90
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.85
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Despite some not so confident friendlies Poland generally showed nice piece of football and strong defence performance. And one well organized European team should not have any problems against Ecuador style of playing. Polish players have one more plus - their physical training. Not suprises here - Poland will easily win.

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World Cup 2006: Germany To Impress On Start

June 9, matchday 1
Pick From World Cup 2006
1. Germany to beat Costa Rica
Info & Analyses
1. Germany to beat Costa Rica
World Cup Germany 2006. Starts: 5pm UK, 7pm BG

Bet365 in Fractional - 1/4, in Decimal - 1.25
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.22
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Yes, I know the statistics - it shows that the opening match often goes on draw. Why this one should be an exclusion? Because there is a big difference between these two. Costa Rica have the same quality as Columbia and Germany have already showed advantage over teams from this level (they recently beat Columbia 3:0 in a friendly game). On the other hand this is a perfect occasion for Germany to make a flying start and collect more confidence before the most important clash with Poland in this Group A. I will even put my money down on a bet "Germnay to win with more than 1 goal".

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Where to bet? Recommended Sportsbooks

Today in focus: William Hill

In article 3 from my "where to bet" series I will focus on one of the oldest and probably the most famous worldwide betting company - William Hill.

Founded in 1934, they have over 70 years of experience offering betting services. Currently they operate over 2,000 licensed betting offices in the UK and have over 450,000 telephone clients worldwide. Will Hill obviously operate the fastest growing Internet gambling site of any UK based betting company with 292,000 active clients. As you probably know (if you live in UK) they also operate 7,500 Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and 600 AWP machines across their retail estate.

What I like: the tradition, the security, the odds, the live radio, the results provided

What I dislike: the web site design (sorry, but i just can not stand this blue on the starting)

Are You Ready?

One month. I will breath football, any second, any time, any place. It is obsession and I am sure that you know what I mean. How can I explain the crazy beat of my heart when some absolutely not known (probably) Costa Rica player takes the opener tomorrow? The game is so deeply rooted in my imagination - it is not just a question of which team is going to win, who will score, will Brazil take their 6, will England progress through the final...I think lately all of us miss the point reading and talking all the season long about millions of pounds or euros, about Chelsea and Abramovich, about points and standings. And what is the point? When I was a child my father took me (on his shoulders) to my first ever game, division B in Bulgaria, game with absolute no sense at all. I did not KNOW anything about the teams, players, presidents, fans, stadiums, tshirts, about the game itself too, but I did FEEL the flavour of the cutted grass, the suspense in the air, i could even smell the competition in the air. That's still the point, don't you think?

Where to bet? Recommended Sportsbooks

Today in focus: Betandwin

We are moving forward in our "where to bet" series and stop for a second at Betandwin sportsbook. Firstly, lets point out a couple of numbers: the sportsbook offers up to 5,000 bets daily with betting action in more than 50 sports. The entire line-up is available in 20 different languages. And they promise there are more to come.

BAW International – founded in the year 1999 under the name of Simon Bold (Gibraltar) Ltd. – was taken over in its entirety in 2001 by the Vienna-based, publicly listed company BETandWIN.com Interactive Entertainment AG. BAW International Ltd. runs the operational activities of the betandwin Group from Gibraltar under the terms of its Gibraltarian sports betting and casino licence. With a team of over a hundred staff, the company takes care of the Group's bookmaking business, its risk management and customer support.

What I like: livescore on the starting page, placing first bet flash demo, multipule language suppor

What I dislike: hard way to show all the betting markets for a game, not the best odds ever

Soccer International Match: Draw Is Basic

Pick From International Friendlies
1. Croatia to draw Spain
Info & Analyses
1. Croatia to draw Spain
International friendly Game. Starts: 8pm UK, 10pm BG


Bet365 in Fractional - 2/1, in Decimal - 3.00
Betandwin in Decimal - 3.20
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Croatia have not so successful preparation so far - they achieved just a draw against Iran and lost 0:1 by Poland. It seems they have problems with scoring goals. We can say exactly the same about Spain - it was so obvious in their game with Russia that one well organized European team can easily have 0:0 against them. Neither Croatia or Spain want to lose a game just before the World Cup starts so they will probably play a liitle bit more carefully in defence.

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Soccer World Cup 2006: Top Gunner

WALCOTT 9/1 TO BE TOP WORLD CUP GUNNER
He hasn't yet featured in the first team but Theo Walcott is 9/1 with bet365 to be the Arsenal player with the most goals during the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, Thierry Henry is 11/8 favourite to be the top Gunner with Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor at 9/2 to top the tree.
Van Persie, Ljungberg and Reyes are all available at 6/1 while England's Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell are both 40/1 in the market.


You can also take a look at:

1. Who will grab the Golden Boot? Check this post out.
2. England to repeat the 1/4 drama? Check the odds and my prediction

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Where to bet? Recommended Sportsbooks

Today in focus: bet365

Some people argue that when it comes to online sportsbetting, it doesn't matter which site you choose. "They're all the same," they say over and over again. I don't think so - it is important to know exactly what you want from the sportsbook and then go for it and find the right place.

For my money I want to find a site that has an established land-based counterpart backing its efforts. Someone whom I know is going to be around next week when I go to cash in my winnings. Gambling is risky enough; I want the added security of knowing that my money has at least a chance of coming back to me.

One of the oldest and most reliable sportsbooks, bet365 (New Media) Limited has been one of the UK's foremost betting and gambling groups since 1974. Fully licensed and regulated, this company's 500+ employees handle an incredible 250,000 bets each week from customers in over 120 different countries.

What I like: nice and friendly interface, often offers the best odds online, Live In-Play Console, great customer support centre, variety of deposits methods

What I dislike: I want to have easier way to check my betting history and on going bets - it is too complicated now and I should click a few more times than I would like

Brazil To Win Their 6

Yes, I am sure that this is one of the important questions in your head before the World Cup Germany 2006 goes on its way. Now Brazil have one of the best teams ever - Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robinho, we can name all the players here and put a label "genius" on every one of them. But sometimes in football it is not enough to be...the best - yes, sounds illogical, but it is true. So - are they going to make it or not? Just Vote - the poll is on your right!

Stand Up Against Racism

I woke up this morning, had a shower, a nice long coffee with milk, opened my newspaper and (at the sports page, of course) I read...two pages of editorial on the topic of...racism, well, again. I usually write about betting, predictions, generally more on the game itself than this kind of things but I can not keep quiet while still my mornings begin with "this racism thing" instead of real sports news. Is it the whole problem exaggerated by the press? The answer is NO. It is really a problem but how exactly we can handle it while writing and reading this stupid articles? There is one major problem in the communication of all campaigns against the racism and it is that obvious that nobody can not see it - I read this article, I have heard about the campaign, I do care about football, but these guys, the "target" group, the guys that shouts "monkey", grunting arround, beating 16 years old childs with knuckle-dusters - they actually don't read at all, they are not going to the stadium to watch football, they do not. So how do you expect to impress them while writing stupid things again and again like "it is not the right thing to be a racist"?! I think it is not a question of football, not at all. Think again. I am sure you will see the same guys doing the same shits in a dozen of other daily situations.
My solution? Keep possitive on the football, teach your child how to love the game. There is no other way than prevention - all the rest will be recidivism not a large-scale practice.

Soccer International Matches: Warming Up Germany

Pick From International Friendlies
1. Germany to beat Columbia
Info & Analyses
1. Germany to beat Columbia
International friendly Game. Starts: 7:00pm UK, 9:00pm BG
Bet365 in Fractional - 4/7, in Decimal - 1.57
Betandwin in Decimal - 1.55
Latest Soccer Odds from William Hill

You can follow the result in real time on Livescore.com

Prediction
Germany are not playing well just before the start of the World Cup. This is obvious for everyone and the last game with Japan (2-2) strongly emphasized the fact. Can Ballack and company bring the World Cup dream back to life? I don't think so but Germany still have enough quality to beat team such as Columbia and they are going to use every single chance for gathering more confidence.