World Cup Group Stage C Betting

England is the major favorite to win Group C, but they may be tested by a solid defensive squad in Slovenia and the USA, who tend to step up their play against world-class opponents.

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

England - 8th
USA - 14th
Slovenia 23rd
Algeria - 31st

England
England is the favorite to win Group C, but they have not played well in the last few World Cup tournaments and have failed to get past the quarterfinals since 1990. The English play solid team soccer, but they have had trouble in the past against the elite teams in the world because they lack creativity. The Manchester United duo of Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney lead the squad and while their midfield has a few elite players there is a big concern in goal. The English have a lot pf pressure to do well in South Africa and while they do have a great team on paper that is not where the matches are played.

USA
This is the 6th straight World Cup the USA has played, but in Germany in 2006 they did not make it out of group play. The USA has shown, especially in last June's Confederations Cup, that they can keep up with the best teams in the world. They lack creativity on offense and Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have to change that. Luckily the American's defense is solid, especially with Everton G Tim Howard. The midfielders have to control the ball and while bating England is a long shot their big match may be against Slovenia, as the winner has a good chance to progress.

Slovenia
Slovenia has the third best odds to win Group C, but to make it to South Africa they beat a Russia team in a home and away series to qualify, so they are not a pushover. Defense is the main strength of Slovenia and they only allowed 6 goals in 12 World Cup qualifying matches. G Samir Handanovic of Udinese is solid and will have to play well since the Slovenians are not a high scoring squad. The offense is the main weakness of Slovenia and they will need some goals from main striker Milivoje Novakovic of FC Koln.

Algeria
Algeria is the major underdogs in Group C, but they are a young and disciplined squad that may surprise some teams. Antar Yahia of VfL Bochum and Karim Ziani of VfL Wolfsburg are the only legit world-class players and Algeria lacks solid strikers, as offense is one of their main weaknesses. Too bad Algeria did not get the World Cup, as even though the tournament is in the same continent the Algerians have only won 2 away matches since 2003.

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

• England -300
• USA +450
• Slovenia +800
• Algeria +1200