Luis Fabiano, England, and Argentina Will be the Stories of the 2010 World Cup

Winning is the ultimate goal in the World Cup but it’s far from the only one as Al Dannity breaks down some of the more interesting battles that will shape the story of the 2010 World Cup.

Golden bragging rights
Aside from members of the World Cup winning team, the Golden Boot winner is the one player certain to be remembered by fans decades from now. Awarded to the top scorer in every World Cup, the Golden Boot is one of the toughest prizes to win in all of sport with players requiring exceptional talent and the right circumstances to facilitate victory. Neither Pele nor Diego Maradona, two of the greatest strikers to ever play the game, ever won. This year Luis Fabiano, available at +900 from Sports Interaction looks the best bet to take the title. Italy’s Alberto Gilardino will also be worth a look at +3300. Gilardino’s schedule also makes him a good bet to be the first to score three goals, where he’s available at +1400.

From 1978 through 1998 the top goal scorer in every tournament scored 6 goals, and that looks the smartest option again in 2010 at +137 but I like Luis Fabiano to challenge that total and a seven goal total for top scorer, at +275, or even eight goals, at +450, is worth a look. Outside of the overall top scorer it’s worth looking at some of the other scoring charts. At +2500 Frank Lampard is a great underdog bet for top scorer from the English Premier League while his team mate Steven Gerrard is worth a look as top Liverpool scorer at +275. Gerrard is particularly appealing as his main rival, Fernando Torres, will probably not start fro Spain.

Punching above their weight
While 31 teams will go home unhappy that they didn’t win the World Cup, many will still be happy to have gone further than they typically do in major competitions. England’s schedule makes them a great bet to last until the semi finals, where they are available at +400 with Sports Interaction. Given they are likely to face Brazil at this stage the semi final is a good time to quit on the Three Lions. Diego Maradona’s Argentina is also worth a look for a deep run where I like them to come up short at the final hurdle, losing in the final where they are available at +700.

Winners and bigger winners
There are some interesting group battles worth a look. Mexico could certainly deliver great value at +350 and top Group A while Serbia is equally tempting at +350 to win Group D. Spain are overwhelming favorites in Group H which makes Chile a nice price at +550 to pull off the upset and win the group.

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In attack I like Italy to cut loose in the group stages to help make them the tournaments overall top goalscorers at +1100. At the back don’t sleep on Brazil which will play a tight game defensively and worth considering as the team with the most clean sheets at +550.

As for the biggest question of all, the overall winners, look no further than Brazil at +350. The five time champions are favorites for a reason and they’ll add a sixth title in South Africa.