The biggest and best nations on the globe compete in the World Cup competition every four years. In the World Cup, the 32 best countries recall their best native soccer players to represent them in a global battle of epic proportions on the pitch. In 2006, the World Cup competition was held in Germany. Italy emerged as the champions of the world by virtue of defeating the French side in the finals to bring the cup back to Italian soil. The 2006 World cup would be the fourth time Italy would become champions of the world.

The World Cup is exciting to watch, whether you are a casual spectator, a die-hard footballer, or anywhere in between. Even more fun is placing wagers on the World Cup matches. When wagering on the World Cup, you can place a bet on the actual outcome of the match, or you can do so with the help of a point spread. When betting on the World Cup matches using the point spread, the two teams begin the match plus or minus the number of points in the line. When the match ends, the actual score line is added to the points received, or subtracted from the number of points the team is giving the other side. Whoever wins after factoring in the spread is the winner for betting purposes. Take, for example, the following sample World Cup betting line:

France +1

Italy -1

In this sample soccer betting odds line, Italy has spotted France 1 goal. This means that those who have placed a wager on France will receive a goal, while those who have wagered on Italy to win this World Cup match up will lose a goal from the final score line. Should the score line end in a tie, those who placed a bet on France would win the bet, thanks to the one goal they were spotted in the point-spread listing. If France wins the match outright, then obviously the winning wager is one placed on the French side. However, if Italy wins this match by a margin greater than one goal, those who have bet on the Italian side would be paid on their bet. A score line depicting Italy winning by a goal (2 to 1, for example) would result in a push and no money would change hands.