Fifa World Cup Group E gets under way on Wednesday when Germany take on Japan and Spain open their campaign against Costa Rica
Odds provided by @Betxchange are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Germany 5/10 Draw 36/10 Japan 6/1
Germany
Germany won 9 and lost 1 of their matches in qualifying comfortably, topping their group by 9 points from North Macedonia with Romania, Armenia, Iceland and Liechtenstein the other nations to miss out. They banged in 36 goals in what was a weak group whilst conceding just 4.
Germany made it through a tough Euro 21 finals group which included France and Portugal but they were beaten 2-0 by England in the Round of 16.
The most recent of Germany's 4 World Cup titles came in 2014 and they are ranked 11th in the world. Russia 2018 was a disaster as Germany failed to make it out of the group stage. Hansi Flick is the German coach.
Germany are 11/1 in the outright betting to win the tournament and 11/10 to top this group.
Japan
Japan finished second in their Asia regional qualifying group, 1 point behind Saudi Arabia and 7 clear of third placed Australia who franked the form in coming through the subsequent play offs. Although they started poorly they eventually won 7 of 10 matches, drawing 1 and losing 2 and goals were pretty scarce with 12 scored and 4 conceded.
Japan are ranked 24th and they have reached the last 16 on 3 occasions including in 2018 when they where they threatened an upset win over Belgium. Hajime Moriyasu is the Japan coach and their results in preparation matches against other lower ranked qualifiers have been strong.
In recent warm ups Japan beat USA 2-0, drew with Ecuador 0-0 and lost to Canada 2-1.
Japan are 350/1 in the outright betting to win the tournament and 12/1 to top this group.
The Verdict:
Japan had a disastrous start to qualifying and recovered well and they might well cause problems for Germany here. It's a tall order though and with Spain still to come as well anything they get here would be a huge bonus.
I'm looking for a draw at half time and Japan to score 1 goal exactly.
Bets: Half time result, draw at 14/10
Japan exact goals, 1 at 29/20
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Spain 1 / 7 Draw 6/1 Costa Rica 18/1
Spain
Spain topped their qualification group with 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat to finish 4 points clear of Sweden with Greece, Georgia and Kosovo further back.
In Euro 21 Spain made it all the way to the semi finals where they lost on penalty kicks to Italy.
Spain's only World Cup crown came in South Africa in 2010 and they are currently 7th in the Fifa rankings. In Russia 2018 they made it through the group stage but lost to the hosts in the first knockout round. Luis Enrique is the man in charge and there are some very talented youngsters in the squad.
Spain are 19/2 in the outright betting to win the tournament and 9/10 to top this group.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica finished fourth in their North and Central American qualifying group with a record of 7 wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats. They were behind USA on goal difference and 3 points behind Mexico and Canada and that set up a play off with New Zealand which they won 1-0.
Costa Rica are ranked 31st and they come into the finals in good shape under coach Luis Fernando Suarez. The spine of the squad is vastly experienced but the wrong side of 30 but they also have some promising youngsters.
Costa Rica also drew a tough group in the 2014 finals but they still qualified for the knockout rounds before bowing out in the quarter finals.
In a recent warm up Costa Rica beat Nigeria 2-0.
Costa Rica are 750/1 in the outright betting to win the tournament and 44/1 to top this group.
The Verdict:
There appears to be very little between the top European sides and the presence of Germany and 2 nations who may well be under rated makes this one of the most competitive groups in my book.
I'm with Spain to make a winning start but I think Costa Rica are capable of making them work harder for victory than the odds suggest.
In the goal range markets I like 2-3 in total.
Bets: Winning margin, Spain by 1 goal exactly at 31/10.
Total goals aggregated 2-3 at even money
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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