As we head towards the biggest soccer tournament in the world later this year, 2022 World Cup odds paint a fascinating picture. The mighty Brazil are the current market leaders in World Cup winner odds to take the title in Qatar.
There is a crop of strong European nations behind the Selecao at the head of the market all waiting to pounce. That includes reigning World Champions France who will have to try and deal with the pressure of a title defence.
With the World Cup 2022 being the first time that the tournament has been hosted at the end of a calendar year, will it bring new challenges? Will it see more upsets happen? Most importantly of all, who will rise to the top?
Instead of being hosted during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months, the 2022 FIFA World Cup doesn’t kick off until late November. The opening game of the tournament is on November 21st as the Netherlands v Senegal gives punters their first taste of live World Cup betting in 2022.
The 2022 World Cup Final is booked for 17th December at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail. The tournament this year has been condensed down to 28 days, across which there will be a total of 64 matches played.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the last edition of the tournament to be played with 32 qualified teams. The 2026 edition is set to be expanded to 48.
The timing does make this all very interesting for World Cup betting odds. Usually, the European nations go to a FIFA World Cup at the end of a long season at the club level. Not so this year, as Europe’s elite leagues like the English Premier League and German Bundesliga will take a break for the World Cup.
It means that players are going to be fresher as the World Cup happens relatively early into the European season. Certainly enough time for players to have played themselves into some top form and still be fresh. So that could give the leading European contenders a boost.
Things are flipped for the North American participants, however. The MLS ends in October, meaning that any players heading to the World Cup will be doing so having played a full domestic campaign, and at a time when they should be enjoying the off-season.
But has this had a big effect on the World Cup 2022 betting odds? Not really as the familiar faces of Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, England and Argentina largely dominate the market.
Five-time winners Brazil are the ones to beat according to the latest World Cup betting odds. The Selecao have been to every single previous edition of the World Cup and they are the most successful nation in the history of the competition.
Brazil always pose a big threat, and in the last seven editions of the FIFA World Cup, they have won it twice and finished in the top four on two other occasions. Interestingly too, the only previous time that the World Cup was hosted in Asia, Brazil landed the title.
That was two decades ago at the 2002 World Cup which was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in the Final to be crowned World Champions for the fifth time.
Canada celebrates a return to the World Cup stage for the first time in 36 years and will attract some attention in sport betting Canada this winter. Les Rouges did a tremendous job during their qualification campaign on the Road To Qatar, topping the CONCACAF table.
Les Rouges posted a W8 D4 L2 record in their fourteen qualification matches, impressively winning all but one of their home fixtures (W6 D1). Notably, Canada went undefeated against both Mexico and the United States during qualification.
Canada claimed home wins over both of them while earning an important point in a 1-1 draw in both away fixtures. A resounding 4-0 win over Jamaica in late March confirmed Canada were going to the World Cup with English coach John Herdman at the helm.
With Canada joint-hosts along with fellow CONCACAF members the United States and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup, the Maple Leafs will hope that this current success is a springboard to more regular berths at soccer’s biggest banquet table.
Canada have been drawn in Group F of the 2022 World Cup, which puts them alongside Belgium, Morocco and Croatia. The two European nations there are the favourites to lock down the qualification spots for the knockout stages.
Belgium were the third-place finishers at the 2018 World Cup while Croatia lost in the 2018 World Cup Final against France. Canada are currently the Group F outsiders in the To Qualify market.
Les Rouges arguably get their toughest match out of the way first, as they face Belgium on November 23rd. On November 27th Canada then face Croatia before rounding out the pool stage against Morocco on December 1st. Live betting markets will be a great way to follow Canada’s progress with online betting.
While the road to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup looks like a challenging one for Canada, upsets do happen. Germany failed to get out of Group F at the last World Cup, and Japan sprung a surprise by pipping Senegal and Poland to a qualifying place from Group H.
So it can be worth considering some underdogs having their day with soccer betting picks in World Cup betting. Here, however, we take a look at the main contenders.
Brazil - The Brazilians had a tremendous qualification camping from CONMEBOL. They are also number one in the FIFA World Rankings. Their last World Cup title was earned in 2002 with the best finish since then, fourth place in 2014 on home turf.
Brazil’s longest gap between World Cup titles was five editions between their 1970 win and their 1994 success. It’s currently been four editions since they were last crowned World Champions. Brazil have a star-studded attack boasting the likes of Rodrygo, Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison.
France - The reigning World Champions France won the title for the second time in their history four years ago. Despite a disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign in 2022, Les Bleus are expected to be in the mix and are near the front of the market in World Cup winner odds, led by superstar Kylian Mbappe.
World Cup title defences have historically been difficult, however, with only Italy in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962 being the only times a nation has successfully won consecutive editions.
England - The Three Lions were losing semi-finalists four years ago to Croatia and then runners-up at the 2020 European Championships. So England have been knocking on the door of a major international title recently. Their hopes will rest on the shoulders of Harry Kane, who was the top goalscorer at the 2018 World Cup.
Spain - World Cup 2010 winners Spain have fallen a long way short in the last couple of editions. Can they rise to the top with a crop of promising youngsters like Gavi, Rodri and Ferran Torres?
Argentina - Not since Mexico 1986 have Argentina got their hands on the World Cup title. The closest they came since winning was in 2014 when they lost the Final to Germany. This may be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup appearance. Can he lift his country to success as he did at last year’s Copa América?
Other contenders - Among the other contenders for World Cup 2022 glory are four-time winners Germany. Another title for them pulls them level with Brazil.
Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo likely making his final World Cup appearance will expect to reach the knockouts, along with the resurgent Netherlands who are looking to make amends for missing the 2018 tournament.
Belgium who are currently ranked second in the world by FIFA, are another of the leading pack in World Cup odds.
Why aren’t Italy at the 2022 World Cup?
The reigning European champions suffered a shock exit during the UEFA qualifiers. The four-time World Champions finished second to Switzerland in their qualifying group, then lost against North Macedonia in a qualification play-off tie. That’s now consecutive World Cups that the Azzurri have missed out on.
When did Canada last play at a FIFA World Cup?
In their one previous World Cup appearance, which was at Mexico 1986, Canada finished third in their group stage campaign, losing all three matches with no goals scored. They were in a group with the Soviet Union, France and Hungary.
What Canadian cities are hosting the 2026 World Cup?
Canada will play a part in hosting the 2026 World Cup, with Vancouver and Toronto having been nominated as host cities. There will be a total of ten matches played in Canada, along with 10 in Mexico and everything else in the United States.
Are there any debutants at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
While both Wales and Canada end long absences with their respective appearances at the 2022 World Cup, there is one debutant nation. Hosts Qatar are the only team at this year’s FIFA World Cup that are participating for the first time.