The World Cup has almost come to the end of its first week, and the group tables are taking shape after the first round of fixtures concluded on Thursday night. Saudi Arabia and Japan have produced the major shocks, while England and Brazil have arguably been the most impressive teams from those considered among the favourites.

Amongst the other sport, the NBA has been continuing in full swing and there was a big surprise result in midweek, which we touch on below!

As always, we have looked at the market make-ups and picked out three big winning spread bets from savvy punters.

Please remember that unlike fixed odds betting, when spread betting losses can exceed deposits.

PORTUGAL V GHANA  – GOALS X CORNERS X BOOKINGS (SETTLED AT 1800)

In what was arguably the most action-packed match of the World Cup so far, Cristiano Ronaldo led his Portugal side to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Ghana in their opening group match, opening the scoring early in the second half from the penalty spot and becoming the first player to score in five separate World Cups. Impressive stuff.

That goal seemed to open the floodgates for the ensuing action, as Ghana had first equalised before conceding two quick-fire goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao, before scoring a (what turned out to be) consolation, and coming so very close to finding an equaliser, only prevented by the fact striker Inaki Williams slipped at the crucial moment after pouncing on the unaware Portugal ‘keeper who had not noticed him behind his back at a goal kick.

But where was the profit for punters in this match? The Goals x Corners x Bookings multi-market would certainly have been a good option. With five total goals, six total corners, and 60 booking points (six yellows), the market settled at a tidy 1800 from an opening spread of 1075 – 1200 meaning a return of 600x their opening wager for buying punters!

SPAIN V COSTA RICA – TOTAL GOAL MINUTES (SETTLED AT 371)

Spain have come into the World Cup with relatively few expectations considering their squad is now a mixture of young and raw talents with a few experienced heads, but they began their campaign in Qatar in ominous fashion as they brutally dismantled the woeful Costa Rica 7-0!

Goals from Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Ferran Torres, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata saw the Spaniards through, and any questions about who their main goal threat would be may well be quashed and answered by the fact the majority of the team have shown they can get in on the scoring act.

But which market provided some of the best profit? Perhaps an obvious choice considering the scoreline, the Total Goal Minutes market settled at a tasty 371, meaning a profit of 126x their opening wager was on offer for buying punters on the pre-match spread of 135 - 145!

UTAH JAZZ V DETROIT PISTONS – DETROIT TO WIN (SETTLED AT 100)

And finally, in the NBA action, there was a feeling of status quo as most matches ended with the favourites getting the win – but this didn’t extend to the Detroit Pistons visiting the Utah Jazz. The away side came into the match as 9/2 underdogs on the fixed odds, but this didn’t stop them.

Battered by injuries, they pulled off their second road upset in as many nights at Vivent Arena, 125-116. After starting the season 0-10 on the road, the Pistons have now won consecutive away games against the second and fifth-best teams in the Western Conference. The Jazz had been excellent at home this season. Prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Pistons, the Jazz were 6-1 at home, 6-6 on the road.

But where was the spread betting profit? For those who decided to buy on the Detroit to Win outright match result market, a pre-match spread of 12.5 – 18.2 and a makeup of 100 meant an 81.8x return on a buying wager.

Please note that these are examples of winning bets from the past week, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit.