World Cup 2022 Top Favorites & Underdogs | Bookmaker Odds
Who are the big favorites for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? Who are among the wider circle of favorites for the bookmakers and which underdogs have a decent shot at winning the World Cup?
Before we introduce you to the top favorites, let´s take a look at some general betting strategies and tips for the World Cup in Qatar.
Who are the Bookmaker’s favorites to win World Cup 2022?
The top favorites at the 2022 World Cup
The wider circle of favorites – these teams will also be competing for the World Cup title
These underdogs have a small shot at the World Cup title
Best bookmaker for betting on the World Cup favorites
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The top favorites at the 2022 World Cup
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| ➜ visit Bookmaker | ➜ visit Bookmaker | ➜ visit Bookmaker | |
| Brazil | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Argentina | 6.50 | 7.20 | 6.50 |
| France | 7.00 | 6.55 | 7.00 |
| England | 9.00 | 7.60 | 8.95 |
| Spain | 9.50 | 8.60 | 9.45 |
Brazil
The sports betting sites consider Brazil as favorites for the upcoming World Cup. They managed to pick up 45 points in 17 games during the qualifying campaign, a mere 6 points short of the max. The squad is packed with many international stars – Vinicius Junior, Neymar, Marquinhos, Fabinho and Alisson are particularly noteworthy.
Brazil have won the World Cup title five times so far. In the group stage, coach Tite’s team will face Serbia, Cameroon and Switzerland. These are all teams that should not be underestimated, but should nevertheless be beaten.
The players have plenty of experience at the highest level, after all, almost all of them are signed with prestigious top clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City and PSG. The experience in international competitions and the individual strength of the players are definitely a big advantage.
The fact that the players are regulars at their clubs and therefore play throughout the fall in the league, in various cup competitions and in the Champions League could be a disadvantage. They could possibly find themselves at a slight physical disadvantage at the World Cup. On the other hand, the players from the other top nations will have a similar experience.
England
The English enter the race as another top favorite among sports bookmakers. The English national team managed to pick up very strong 26 points in 10 games in the qualifiers, with a goal difference of +36. The Three Lions have only been able to win the title once so far, namely at the legendary home World Cup in 1966.
Top Scorer Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are among the team’s stars. In the group stage, Iran, the USA and Wales are the opponents facing the English, who should have hardly any trouble with these teams.
Traditionally, one of the team’s weaknesses is once again the goalkeeper position, because with Aaron Ramsdale, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope there are no top players available here.
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France
France will travel to Qatar as defending champions. They qualified in a relatively confident manner with 18 points from 8 games and will face Australia, Denmark and Tunisia in the group stage of the World Cup.
Before the 2018 World Cup title, France had already won the 1998 World Cup at their home soil. Some of the 2018 world champions, such as Hugo Lloris, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann, will also be present in Qatar.
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe is currently the team’s top star, but RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku has also attracted attention recently.
When you take a look at the French squad, it’s clear that they will be competing for the World Cup title. The team has already proven four years ago that they can win a World Cup.
However, it has become a bit of a tradition that the defending world champion has a hard time at the next World Cup and often has to drop out in the group stage.
Spain
In the group stage, the Spanish have been given a difficult opponent with Germany, but Costa Rica and Japan should be quite easy to beat. The “Furia Roja” celebrated their only World Cup title to date in 2010. In the qualifiers, they scored 19 points from 8 games and showed convincing performances. The team’s stars include Rodri, Ansu Fati, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Pau Torres.
Spanish soccer has suffered a bit lately. FC Barcelona had to let some international stars go and start afresh. Young talents like Ferran Torres, Gavi and Ansu Fati have come into the spotlight as a result and are performing well.
The Spanish have a high-quality and well-rounded squad, but from our point of view it probably won’t be enough to win the big trophy.
Argentina
Argentina has already won the World Cup twice, but its last triumph was a long time ago. The 2014 World Cup final against Germany was narrowly lost, but Lionel Messi has not yet given up his dream to win a World Cup.
Along with teammates like Lautaro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo de Paul and Paulo Dybala, Messi is looking to make the most of what will likely be his last chance at a World Cup title in his career.
With 39 points from 17 games, Argentina finished second in the South American group qualifiers behind group winners Brazil. Many of Argentina’s players are in the prime of their careers, and are widely scattered around Europe, so they don’t have much contact with each other apart from the national team.
The wider circle of favorites – these teams will also be competing for the World Cup title
| | | |
| Germany | 11.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 |
| Belgium | 17.0 | 12.0 | 16.9 |
| Portugal | 15.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 |
| Netherlands | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
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The German national team performed very inconsistently over the past few years. The fourth World Cup title in 2014 was followed by an embarrassment at the 2018 World Cup. In the meantime, Jogi Löw has been replaced by Hansi Flick and the team played an outstanding qualifying campaign with 27 points and +32 goals from 10 matches.
There are some talented stars at their disposal with Joshua Kimmich, Kai Havertz, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala.
Most of the players have known each other for a long time and play for FC Bayern Munich, where they were coached at times by Hansi Flick. If Flick manages to build a good team around the core of Bayern footballers, this team can be expected to do very well at the World Cup.
However, the right tactics for the really tough opponents don’t seem to have been found yet. That’s why Spain is the group favorite for most bookmakers.
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Belgium
Belgium have been repeatedly viewed as title contenders at major tournaments for a number of years, but have never come very close to winning a big trophy. They easily managed to qualify with 20 points from 8 games. In the group stage, the Red Devils will face Canada, Morocco and Croatia.
The strongest players in the squad currently include Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans. The “golden generation” that includes players like Dries Mertens, Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard has a lot of experience.
A few Belgium players have already passed their peak. There are still a few footballers from top international clubs in the squad, but it is doubtful whether it will be sufficient for the world championship title.
Portugal
Many experts have high hopes for the Portuguese at this World Cup, even though they only finished second behind Serbia in qualifying. 17 points from 8 games are not necessarily outstanding. In addition to superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, the team includes star players such as Bruno Fernandes, Bernado Silva, Rafael Leao, Joao Cancelo and Diogo Jota.
So far, Portugal have not won a World Cup title, but at least a European Championship title in France 2016. In the group stage, they face Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in a quite interesting group.
The Portuguese travel to Qatar with a lot of stars. On the attack, the team is extremely versatile and can find viable solutions against any opponent.
If the big stars can act as a team, it could lead to Portugal’s first title.
Netherlands
The Dutch will play Senegal in their very first match of the 2022 World Cup, while the other opponents in a manageable group are hosts Qatar and Ecuador. The team’s stars include Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Jurrien Timber and Cody Gakpo.
The Netherlands have not yet won a World Cup title, but have reached the final three times and lost just as often.
The Netherlands have a well-rounded squad with veterans and young talent from the renowned Dutch soccer schools. One weakness might be the goalkeeper position, as Jasper Cillessen, Mark Flekken and Kjell Scherpen are not among the best players in this important role.
Overall, Holland has a strong and homogeneous squad. A title win is not necessarily to be expected, but at least it is within the realm of possibility.
These underdogs have a small shot at the World Cup title
| | | |
| Denmark | 29.0 | 31.0 | 28.9 |
| Croatia | 51.0 | 48.0 | 51.0 |
| Uruguay | 51.0 | 48.0 | 51.0 |
| Switzerland | 101 | 83.0 | 100 |
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Not too surprisingly, the Danes are among the dark horses! This is partly due to the very sovereign qualification with a score of 27 out of a possible 30 points and partly due to the strong performance at the European Championship 2020.
In the group stage, Denmark will face World Cup favorites France alongside Tunisia and Australia. If the Danes perform in their usual manner, then at least the second place should be achievable. From the round of 16 onwards, anything is possible for the Danes in the knockout games.
The stars of the tight and solid team are Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, Andreas Christensen, Joachim Andersen and Christian Eriksen. The team is well-balanced overall, even if you won’t find any of the biggest international stars here.
In the past, the Danes have always been very consistent and won some big games thanks to their team spirit. The Scandinavians should not be underestimated, but it will probably not be enough to win the title.
Croatia
Croatia qualified for the final at the last World Cup in Russia and is therefore one of the strongest dark horses. With 23 points from 10 games, Croatia won a relatively weak qualifying group just ahead of Russia. The stars of the squad include Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic.
In the group stage, they will face Belgium, Morocco and Canada, so advancing to the round of 16 of the World Cup should be more than doable.
Some players have already gained international experience with their clubs, while others are signed to contracts in Croatia or with weaker teams abroad. Luka Modric will once again lead the team, but he is now past his prime. Modric can provide the decisive goals with his brilliant passes, but his fitness for a long World Cup tournament may be questionable. This is especially true since temperatures in Qatar will reach very high levels.
Uruguay
The South American team won its second and last World Cup title in 1950. In the qualifiers, they frequently struggled and just managed to finish in third place with 28 points from 18 games.
Uruguay traditionally brings a strong squad to the World Cup, but in recent decades it was not enough for the big hit. The team of Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Edinson Cavani will face South Korea, Ghana, and co-favorites Portugal in the group stage.
The squad is very balanced, and many players earn their money playing for European clubs. The people in Uruguay are crazy about soccer and support their team like few other countries, but it probably won’t be enough for the big title again. Even though there are some good players in the South American squad, the really big names are missing.
Switzerland
Switzerland are considered underdogs for the World Cup title, but it would take a lot for that to happen, even though they managed to secure first place in their qualifying group ahead of European champions Italy.
Their opening match in Qatar will be against Cameroon and later against Brazil and Serbia – these are definitely not easy tasks.
The squad includes a number of players from the German Bundesliga, for example Manuel Akanji and Gregor Kobel from Borussia Dortmund and Djibrill Sow from Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Swiss players are regulars in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League and bring plenty of experience to the table. Overall, however, there are significant shortcomings in terms of individual strength. In the group stage, it probably won’t be easy to even qualify for the knockout stage.