Get ready for the 2022 FIFA World cup.
Key Points
– The 2022 FIFA World Cup is back and some familiar faces are favored to win.
– There has not been a repeat World Cup champion since 1962.
Getting Ready for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
For fans of international soccer, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is finally here. After four and a half long years, the tournament to decide the world’s best is back.
Four years ago in 2018, France beat Croatia to claim the World Cup. It was the second World Cup victory for France. In 2014, Germany beat Argentina.
France and Germany are among the early favorites to capture the title in 2022. Here’s a look at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Brazil the Betting Favorite
Depending upon your choice of sportsbook, you will find the overall World Cup betting favorite Brazil’s odds between +320 and +400. The key to your World Cup success is making strong betting choices.
Brazil is a strong choice. They have two of the best attackers in the world in Neymar and Vini Jr. They also have a star-studded supporting cast, which will play a role in continuing their recent dominant play.
Brazil ran all over their opposition in the qualifiers. It’s likely they roll over their competition in Group G which includes Serbia, Cameroon, and Switzerland. None of the three is considered a world power.
Don’t Cry for Argentina
Argentina would love another crack at the World Cup after losing in the final in 2014. Bettors can find Argentina listed between +500 and +500 to win.
There might not be a team with more pressure than Argentina as they are coming off a Copa America tournament win in 2021. The win was the first for star Lionel Messi for his country. This is likely his last shot at a World Cup.
Messi has been playing very well for Paris-St. Germain and he’ll have plenty of help from the likes of Lautaro Martinez.
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2022 FIFA World Cup – France
They are the reigning World Cup champions and they have the roster to put together another long run. The problem for the French is that star Karim Benzema will miss the entire World Cup with an injury.
France should advance with little trouble. They are in Group D with Denmark, Tunisia, and Australia. The French also had a poor showing at the Euros where they blew a 3-1 lead in the final 10 minutes and lost to Switzerland.
Group Play
Group play should once again be exciting. Remember, each team plays the other three teams in its group. A win counts as three points, a draw is worth one, and a loss is zero. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.
Group B features Team USA which is given +550 odds to win the group. England is the favorite at -300. The Americans are given +100 odds to advance to the knockout stage and -138 odds to not advance.
Brazil, the overall World Cup favorite, is a -275 favorite to win Group G.
How 2022 FIFA World Cup Bets Work
If you are unfamiliar, betting on World Cup action is both fun and rewarding. It’s more fun and rewarding when you win. Part of winning is understanding how soccer betting odds work.
Let’s take the futures market bet for the overall 2022 FIFA World Cup winner. It’s the most popular market and bettors will find teams listed like this:
- Brazil -110
- France +500
Typically, futures odds will be positive unless there is a really dominant team that is expected to win. In this case, we see France is given +550 odds and Brazil -110 odds.
When betting on the favorite Brazil, a bettor must wager $110 to win $100 (or $1.10 to win $1.00). In the case of France, a bettor wagers $100 and would win $500 if the French team is victorious.
It’s the same for Group favorites. If Brazil is a -275 favorite to win its group, bettors must wager $275 to win $100. That’s why betting on Brazil to win Group D in the 2022 FIFA World Cup doesn’t have all that much value.
Favorite Group Winner Bet
As mentioned, at -275 there just isn’t enough value on Brazil to win its group. However, with the injury troubles that France has, betting on Denmark to win Group D does have some value.
The Danes are given +275 odds to win the group. It’s worth noting that Denmark has beaten France in international competition twice already this year.
A solid strategy here might be to wager on short underdogs like Germany. The Germans are listed at +110 to win Group E where Spain is the favorite. Remember, the top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 16. As long as a team finishes in the top two in its group, they have a shot at winning the World Cup. A team like Spain may be content just advancing.
Surprise Teams That Won’t Advance
England is favored to win Group B and Team USA is favored NOT to advance. The Americans had two uninspiring friendlies with Saudi Arabia and Japan back in September in preparation for the Cup.
Team USA faces an almost must-win match right off the bat against Wales. If they lose or draw, the Americans then face a must-win against group favorite England. Iran actually has a team that could upset Team USA. Don’t be surprised if the U.S. gets sent home early.
The other big surprise is Croatia. Group F is the likely “Group of Death” which features Belgium, Canada, and Morocco. It’s the deepest group in the tournament. Canada scored the most points in the CONCACAF qualifiers.
No Repeat Winner 2022 FIFA World Cup
In the World Cup’s 21-tournament history, 13 different countries have made the final, with eight different nations winning. Those eight are: Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), France (2), Argentina (2), Uruguay (2), England, and Spain.
Only two teams – Italy and Brazil – have ever won the World Cup in back-to-back tournaments. The last time it was ever done was in 1958 and 1962 by Brazil.
Legendary coach Jurgen Klinsmann has said that winning consecutive World Cups is next to impossible. Germany won in 2014 and then failed to make it past the group stage in 2018.That’s actually the fourth time in the last five World Cups that has happened.
Repeating as World Cup champion is difficult because of the four-year time span in between. It’s one reason you might consider betting against the public.
World Cup teams experience serious roster turnover and cannot maintain the standard of excellence over a four-year period.
Consider the Premier League as an example. No one cares who won the 2014-15 league title when talking about the 2018-19 season. Still, France is among the favorites to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
