Spain Germany World Cup Line Nearly Even
The Spain Germany World Cup line was coming in favoring Spain only slightly at +150 odds (paying US$15 for every US$10). Germany would pay out US$18.50 for every US$10 bet.
Spain advances to its first World Cup semifinals, Wednesday versus Germany in Durban (1:30 ET on ESPN), in a rematch of the Euro 2008 final, won 1-0 by Spain.
"Germany suddenly looks invincible after pummeling Argentina Saturday," expressed Don Shapiro of Gambling911.com.
Spain had been the 4/1 favorite coming into the competition and oddsmakers refused to slash that price even after a shock loss to Switzerland during the first round.
Germany would pay early bettors 10/1 odds.
Miroslav Klose scored twice to move into a tie for second on the all-time World Cup scoring list, and Germany backed up its pre-game trash talk with an emphatic 4-0 rout of Argentina in the quarterfinals Saturday. The dominant display -- along with Germany's two other four-goal games -- should demand the attention of everyone still playing in South Africa.
"It was absolute class," Germany coach Joachim Loew said.
For Spain a win over huge underdog Paraguay was much harder to come by.
Despite Paraguay having completed 140 of 233 passes (60.1 percent), and their passes completed and completion percentage being fourth-lowest in a World Cup match since 1966, their strong defense allowed for only one goal scored by the Spaniards, and that was enough for Spain to win. It was David Villa who scored in the 83rd minute for Spain.
"The Germans have played a brilliant World Cup so far," Spain's Andres Iniesta said. "We're also at the top of our game, I think. It will be a game between two rivals who enjoy having the ball and I think it will be a beautiful battle."
The Spain Germany World Cup line is one of the tightest to date in this year's tournament.
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Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com
