FIFA’s 22nd World Cup finals will be staged in 2020 in Qatar, the premier football tournament in the world being staged quadrennially as normal but this time being a December competition for the very first time given the heat of the host country.
As well as being the first World Cup not staged at the end of the traditional season in June and July, the 2020 tournament is also the first to be staged in this region and in a primarily Muslim country and so it is breaking new ground for a number of reasons.
The last tournament was held in 2018 in Russia when France was crowned champions once again, and while they will be among the favourites this time European teams do not have a great record in the World Cup when travelling outside of their continent.
That said, given that the South Africa world cup was effectively also a winter one and the weather was cooler, two European teams reached the final there and so there remains hope for the likes of Germany, France, England and Italy.
Read on for our guide to 2022 FIFA World Cup Betting.
2022 FIFA World Cup Betting
The following World Cup in 2026 is to be held in USA, Mexico and Canada and will be the first to feature 48 teams, with this tournament being the last to feature 32 at the finals after qualifying.
The 32 teams are seeded and divided into eight groups of 4, each team playing the other in their group once for a 6-game initial stage. At the end of each round of group matches, the top two qualify for the knockout stages.
From the last-16 onwards games cannot be drawn, and so extra-time and penalties may be required to separate the teams. The format continues through the quarter-finals and semi-finals until the finalists are known.
The final is then played out the same way with the winners ultimately being crown as world champions.
Biggest Teams & Players in the World Cup
Things change every few years to a degree, but nations such as Belgium, France, Brazil, England, Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, The Netherlands and Germany have spent plenty of time in and around the top 10 in the FIFA world rankings and will all have a chance. A lot depends of course on who handles conditions best.
Much depends on who can qualify as shocks do happen, but all eyes will be on stars such as:
- Kylian Mbappe
- Raheem Sterling
- Neymar
- Sadio Mane
- Mo Salah
- Harry Kane
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Leo Messi
Up and coming stars Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Erling Haaland may also be reaching a peak by then.
Key Betting Markets for the World Cup Finals
Conditions differ from World Cup to World Cup, but at Russia 2018 the stats were fascinating. In the 48 group stage games, there was an average of more than 2.5 goals per game which isn’t massive, while it must be pointed out that this figure was exaggerated by the goals scored in one group which contained Belgium and England.
That said, games weren’t as tense as in the past with 39 of them (81%) won rather than being drawn, both teams scoring in just 44% of games which knocks out the ‘yes’ on the BTTS coupon. Six of the 8 favourites won their group.
In the knockout stages, taking into account 90 minutes only, the goal tally went up to 2.75 goals per game with 11 of the 16 (69%) being won in normal time. Favourites won 9 of the 16 games. With all that considered, here’s your play:
- Match Betting – in the group stages, you can bet confidently on favourites to win their games. Perhaps ignore the last games of the group when players are rested if the qualification has already been guaranteed, but with most favourites winning their group and with games not being drawn so much the simple match win is an easy bet.
- ‘To Win the Tie’ – in the knockout stages favourites only get stronger but more games are drawn and go to extra-time. With that in mind, be prepared to take a shorter price and back your team to win the tie rather than win in 90 minutes.
Place Your FIFA World Cup 2022 Bets with Roger.com Now!
The World Cup is the pinnacle of all football and by placing well-informed bets you can be a full part of it. Get on now via any of our recommended online bookmakers quickly, safely and securely.
