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| May 25, 2002 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 12,1423 |
France still favourite to defend crown
LONDON, May 24: France is still rated as favorite to retain the World Cup by British bookmakers, with Argentina, Italy and Brazil ranked behind.
France was rated Friday at 10-3 by William Hill, 4-1 with Coral and 3-1 with Ladbrokes to win the World Cup. Argentina was listed at odds of 9-2, Italy at 5-1 and Brazil at 6-1 by all three bookmakers.
The main change is with Ireland, whose odds fell from 80-1 to 100-1 after captain and Manchester United star Roy Keane was sent home after a bust-up with manager Mick McCarthy.
William Hill ranks Spain as fifth favorite at 13-2, with England at 9-1, Portugal and Germany at 14-1, Cameroon at 33-1 and Russia at 66-1.
Coral has installed French striker David Trezeguet as 8-1 favorite to win the golden boot award, followed by teammate Thierry Henry at 10-1, with Argentines Hernan Crespo and Gabriel Batistuta, England’s Michael Owen, Spain’s Raul and Italy’s Christian Vieiri all ranked at 12-1.
Coral has also offered odds of 9-1 that the final will be either Argentina vs. Italy or France vs. Italy. The World Cup, in South Korea and Japan, begins May 31 with France playing Senegal.—Reuters
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