Football fans will be glued to their television sets at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to take place from Nov 20 to Dec 18.
A total of 32 nations will take part in the 2022 World Cup and Qatar will play host to the FIFA World Cup for the very first time.
The defending champions are in with a good chance to see if they can win back to back World Cup trophies but standing in their way are some of the powerhouses of football which includes South American giants Brazil and Argentina and European contenders Spain and Germany.
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Qatar is playing host to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and games will take place across 5 cities which includes the capital Doha, Al Khor, Lusail, Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan. A total of 8 stadiums will be used during the World Cup.
The stadiums are Al Janoub Stadium which seats 40,000 in Al Wakrah, Al Thumama Stadium and Stadium 974 in Doha with each stadium seating up to 40,000. The Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor will seat up to 60,000 fans while the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail will seat up to 80,000. The Khalifa International Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan can each seat around 45,000 fans.
This is the first FIFA World Cup since 1930 where players will not have to take flights to different cities as all 32 teams are located within a 10 km radius.
This is the first time that a country in the Middle East is hosting the FIFA World Cup. The host nation Qatar has been wrapped in controversy ever since they won the bid in 2010. There have been allegations of corruption in the voting process as two executive FIFA committee members were suspended just before they voted.
Qatar beat the United States and won the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and received criticism from the media for being one of the many FIFA corruption scandals.
Qatar has also received criticism for its human right abuse as Amnesty International reported that there were over 4,500 migrant deaths directly related to the construction of football stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A BBC report suggested that those numbers were a lot higher and there were over 37,000 migrant workers who suffered serious to mild injuries in the construction of these stadiums.
FIFA and Qatar also found themselves in a tense situation after a number of nations participating in the 2022 World Cup decided that their captains wanted to wear rainbow bands to support the LGBTQ community. Qatar is an Islamic nation that considers homosexuality a sin and a crime. Qatar World Cup ambassador also caused a stir after he went on German television and claimed that homosexuals have a “damaged mind“. This resulted in protests on social media with many calling for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be boycotted.
Qatar has since clarified that it will welcome homosexual tourists but has also warned them to respect Islamic law and not engage in homosexual activity which is punishable by law!
Former FIFA World Cup President Sepp Blatter said in Nov 2022 that in retrospect Qatar should not have been selected to host the FIFA World Cup.
France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia beating Croatia 4-2. While Croatia did play very well to make it to their first ever FIFA World Cup final, in many ways it was a disappointment for football fans as they felt that Croatia was not strong enough to challenge France in the finals and they were right in many ways as it was an easy game for France to win.
France did play well throughout the competition eliminating Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium in the playoffs while Croatia had an easier route to the finals beating Denmark, Russia and England.
The major disappointments at the 2018 World Cup was Brazil being eliminated after losing to Mexico and Spain going down to Russia on penalties.
* Odds have been provided by 888sport and are accurate as of 14/11/2022
We are taking a look at the top 5 teams who are betting favorites to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup and our experts have selected one dark horse that despite their odds have the ability to surprise a few teams just like Croatia did in 2018!
Brazil
Odds to win: +400
Brazil have won 5 World Cups, the most by any country and always go into to the FIFA World Cup as a betting favorite. They had a disappointing tournament in 2018 but are determined to show their fans that they have learnt from their mistakes and are a force to be reckoned with in 2022.
Brazil has a star studded line-up with their most recognizable player being Neymar Jr who will be playing his third FIFA World Cup. Neymar Jr has loads of experience having played for his country 120 times. This time around, Brazil is giving a lot of their young stars a chance to prove themselves on the big stage. The two players to watch out include the exciting forward Vinicius Junior and Antony.
Brazil have played exciting football during the qualifying stages and will look to peak in Qatar. They are part of Group G which is one of the weaker Groups with Switzerland, Cameroon and Serbia.
Argentina
Odds to win: +500
Argentina goes into every FIFA World Cup with huge expectations on their shoulders and it will be no different in 2022. Argentina have the best player in the world arguably with captain Lionel Messi who is likely playing his last World Cup.
The last time Argentina made it to a World Cup final was back in 2014. Argentina have put together a squad that consists of a blend of youth and experience which should work well for them as the competition unwinds. Argentina are part of Group C which is also not a very strong group as it consists of Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, which should give them time to find their rhythm as they will not feel threatened by any of the sides in the group stage.
Angel Di Maria, Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martínez will need to absorb some of the pressure early on otherwise Messi can get weighed down and this will in turn impact Argentina’s performances.
France
Odds to win: +600
The defending champions have a great chance of making it to the finals, if they play to their potential. France has a star studded line-up which includes the 2022 Ballon d’or winner Karim Benzema. One big blow for France though is their star mid-fielder Paul Pogba will miss out due to injury.
France have preferred to go with a team that has more experience than youth selecting the likes of 36 year old Olivier Giroud, 34 year old Karim Benzema, 37 year old Steve Mandanda and 35 year old Hugo Lloris. We need to see if their strategy of relying on experience will work for them or backfire for them as the tournament progresses.
France should have it easy in the group stages as they are part of Group D alongside Australia, Tunisia and Denmark. Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema will be the players to watch out for as they have the ability to score goals against any side and take France to another FIFA World Cup championship.
England
Odds to win: +800
England have a lot of good players but not a lot of great players which is why they are ranked in 4th place with the odds makers to win the FIFA World Cup. England surprised a lot of fans during the 2018 World Cup when they made it to the semi-finals and ended up losing to Croatia.
England played Belgium for a third place finish and ended up losing 2-0. England have retained a pretty similar squad to the 2018 World Cup with the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson.
England are a part of Group B which includes Wales, USA and Iran giving them a great platform to get their act together before they make it to the playoffs. England do well when they play as a team and that will come down to how well captain Harry Kane and coach Gareth Southgate can marshal their troops in Qatar, which UK football betting fans will hope for.
England have selected a number of young players in Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Conor Gallagher but we will have to see if they get a chance to play in Qatar.
Spain
Odds to win: +800
Spain suffered an embarrassing exit during the 2018 World Cup when they were eliminated by Russia during a penalty shootout. Spain received a lot of flak after their exit and made a number of changes in their selection and strategy in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
One big change that is evident to all is that the current side is a very young side filled with a bunch of talented bunch of teenagers like Pedri and Gavi. Spain has also selected the 21 year old Eric Garcia and 22 year old Hugo Guillamon who are defenders.
Coach Luis Enrique has a lot of talent to work with but it will be up to him to harness that talent and point it in the right direction. Spain is part of Group E which is a lot tougher than some of the other groups as it has Germany, Costa Rica and Japan. Spain will have to get their act together right from the Group stage or could be under pressure right away.
Dark Horse: Netherlands
Odds to win: +1400
The Netherlands is a proud footballing nation that missed out on qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Team Oranje got their act together and made sure they qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Netherlands is part of group A which is arguably the weakest group in the World Cup consisting of Ecuador, Senegal and host nation Qatar. Team Oranje should have no problems qualifying for the playoffs as we don’t see any of these teams causing an upset.
The Dutch tend to be underrated in FIFA World Cup’s and that’s one of the reasons we have them as a dark horse. The second reason is because they have a great coach in Louis van Gaal who has is one of the best tactical coaches in the game and has the ability to exploit weaknesses in other teams that a lot of other coaches miss.
The Netherlands have a nice mix of youth and experience and tend to do well when they play as a team and stick to their game plan instead of relying on individual brilliance. Watch out for Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwijn as forwards and Frenkie de Jong in the mid-field.
Brazil are huge betting favorites and also crowd favorites like they always are. Apart from the top 5 betting favorites that we have listed above and Team Oranje as the dark horse, we still have to keep a close watch out for Germany, Belgium and Portugal.
We are going to put our money on Brazil to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup and have Spain as a backup in case Brazil stumbles!
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