World Cup 2018: Player of the Tournament Betting Tip

The squads have been announced and the World Cup Finals are fast approaching, with excitement levels reaching fever pitch. Hosts, Russia, will open the tournament up against Saudi Arabia on 14th June, with the first massive game between Portugal and Spain taking place the following day. There are plenty of betting markets available for the World Cup and one of the most interesting ones is the Player of the Tournament, or Golden Ball market. Lionel Messi won the award in 2014, despite failing to fire his Argentina side to glory, whilst Thomas Muller followed up his Golden Ball win in 2010 with a second place in 2014.

As we head to the World Cup in Russia, Brazilian superstar, Neymar begins the World Cup as the favourite to pick up the Golden Ball award at odds of 8/1 (All odds from Coral). The most expensive player in the world has been injured since 25th February, but he has been photographed in training this week with Brazil. In my opinion, it’s a real risk to place a bet on Neymar to win either the Golden Ball or Golden Boot award when you consider that he won’t have played any competitive football for three and a half months before the tournament. It’s going to be a big ask for him to play so many games in such a short space of time and I think Brazil may give him plenty of rest whenever possible.

Behind him in the betting is the current holder, Lionel Messi, who is priced up at 17/2 to win the award for a second successive World Cup. The thing that could hold Messi back is the rest of his team; Argentina have a very weak goalkeeper, defence and midfield and they really struggled in qualifying. I can’t see this Argentine side getting to the semi-finals, and that means that I can’t see Messi winning the award.

An interesting player to bet on could well be Antoine Griezmann at 12/1. Griezmann’s French team are one of the strongest in the tournament and after his Golden Boot win at EURO 2016, I think he could have another big tournament in Russia. I’m expecting France to reach at least the semi-final stage, and if they do, you’d expect Griezmann to have a huge say in it. In terms of the favourites, he would definitely be my pick.

If we look a little bit further down the betting, Kevin de Bruyne is available at 25/1 and if this hugely talented Belgium team can gel, de Bruyne could well have a massive tournament. The midfielder has been in superb form this season, narrowly losing out to Mohamed Salah in the personal awards section in the Premier League. His teammate, Eden Hazard is also available at good odds, 28/1, and they could both be worth a look. You never quite know what you’re going to get with Belgium, but if all of their talented players pull together, there’s really no reason why they couldn’t reach the final.

Mercurial French midfielder Paul Pogba is a player who has the talent to light up the World Cup, but the odds available on him reflect two underwhelming seasons in the Premier League. The Manchester United midfielder is available at odds of 33/1 and if he finds his feet, he could be a huge player in this tournament. In my opinion, Pogba could definitely be a solid outside bet for this award.

Overall, it’s a tough market to call, but if I had to pick a player from the favourites it would be Antoine Griezmann.

Antoine Griezmann – 12/1
Paul Pogba – 33/1

Betting tip: Player of the Tournament – Griezmann & Pogba 12/1 & 33/1 (at Coral) Bet Now