World Cup Group Stage A Betting

France is the favorite to win Group A, but they are not only in a tough group with a couple teams ranked in the top 20 in the world, but also host country South Africa.

FIFA Rankings for Group A teams as of May 6th:

France - 10th
Mexico - 17th
Uruguay 18th
South Africa 90th

France
France was the runner up in 2006 in Germany and they are the favorites to win Group A in South Africa. OK, first things first, France made it and even though it was not easy and the dubious non-call on the Thierry Henry hand-ball helped them get in the French are still a world power. However, France did not look good in qualifying and while they still have a great attack with Henry, Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka, their defense is a major concern. If they can shore up the central defense they should win Group A, but if not they will have a tough time.

Mexico
Mexico has the 2nd best odds to win the group and while they generally do well in group play they always tend to lose the 4th match of the World Cup. This time around Mexico has a good defense and a solid midfield they do not have the firepower on offense that have had in the past. With the lack of offense defender Rafael Márquez will be counted on to keep other teams from scoring and that will be tough, especially against France.

Uruguay
Uruguay is an unpredictable team that did not have an easy time qualifying for South Africa, as they had to beat Costa Rica in a playoff. They work hard and have a solid defense, but their midfield is suspect and their offense has question marks. While Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlán and FC Porto's Cristian Rodríguez can put the ball in the net their midfield will have to help them out and that is a tall task.

South Africa
The host nation is a long shot to win the pool, much less make it out, but they have a good defense, especially in the goal. Their offense is weak and they have not scored in their last 2 matches and really have trouble since they hosted last June's Confederations Cup. Their offense will need to step it up, especially Blackburn's Benni McCarthy, who is South Africa's all time leading goal scorer, and FC Twente's Bernard Parker. South Africa has the home field advantage, but that may not be enough unless they can figure out their offensive woes.

Here are the odds to win the Group Stage A at Sportsbook.com as of May 26th.

• France -125
• Mexico +350
• Uruguay +400
• South Africa +600