Mexico may not be one of the favorites to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but if you’re a fan of the team, there are a few other ways in which you can bet El Tri.
Oddsmakers currently have Mexico’s odds to win the World Cup at +8000 (same as Denmark, right in the middle of the oddsboard) and while it does boast a side with talented players, it is not one that will seriously compete for the World Cup trophy in Russia.
You can, however, have a little fun with Mexico-related bets at the World Cup. Much like we looked in our Brazil Specials article, online shop Sportsbook has a couple of prop bets for you to consider to spice up your World Cup betting experience.
Let’s have a look at what’s available.
Bet on the 2018 World Cup here
Mexico’s Top Goal scorer
We have four names available, plus “other,” but one name really stands out from the rest for this prop.
Javier Hernandez, or “Chicharito” as he is known, is the country’s leading goal scorer with 49 goals in a century of caps and is sitting at +150 to lead the team in goals. At the 2014 World Cup, Mexico managed five goals with all five coming from different players and Chicharito was one of those.
He’s plying his trade with West Ham now and is second on the team in scoring with eight goals. He’ll probably be the starter up top in Russia and wouldn’t be a bad shout, but there is better value to be had in this prop.
LAFC’s sensational Carlos Vela is sitting there at +150 and Benfica’s Raúl Jiménez is available at +500 with 18 and 13 goals respectively for Mexico. The “other” option is there at +500 and while that could give you (we won’t know 23-man squads until 10 days prior to the Sportsbook game) players like Oribe Peralta and Andrés Guardado, it is far from your best choice.
Your best option is the electrifying 22-year-old Hirving Lozano at +350.
The young attacker has just 26 caps for the senior squad and seven goals, but is enjoying a breakthrough season with PSV Eindhoven in Holland’s Eredivisie. Lozano has bagged a whopping 17 goals through 33 league matches for PSV during their quest for the league title, good enough for second in the league with just one match remaining.
As thrilling as Lozano is, he is essentially untested on the international stage so this wager comes with a bit of risk. But he is undeniably one of the top young talents to keep an eye on at Russia 2018. Mexico has a tricky group but aside from, perhaps, the Germany fixture, there should be goals here. Especially for a pacey, tricky winger with a penchant for scoring outside the box.
Will Mexico Win 2 of 3 Group Stage Matches?
Yes is priced at +350 and No is coming back at -550. Their group is a bit of a tough one with Germany as the clear fave and South Korea and Sweden also featuring in Group F.
So right off the bat, we can assume that the one loss will be to Germany and concentrate on their chances of beating South Korea and a Sweden side that beat Italy in a playoff to get to Russia 2018.
Mexico opens against Germany on June 17 so they could be playing their last two games with pressure to advance. Mexico is currently a -110 fave in moneyline markets to beat South Korea and an ever-so-slight +145 fave to beat Sweden in their third and final fixture.
Despite being in every World Cup since 1994, Mexico has only won twice in the group stage two times (2002, 2014) over that stretch. In 2014, they did have a tough group that featured Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon and did manage six points from Cameroon and Croatia and were able to draw Brazil 0-0 to finish with seven points.
Defeating Germany is a huge task but collecting six points from Sweden and South Korea is manageable and “Yes” is certainly worth a small punt at +350. Both South Korea and Sweden do feature star power and this group is one that could feature some of the better fixtures of the group stage. Mexico will be a side that shouldn’t be taken lightly and should provide decent betting value throughout. This is one wager I certainly have my eye on for a pretty good Mexican side at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
