Drive and ambition is everything ahead of a major international tournament, and they don’t come any bigger than the quadrennial FIFA World Cup, as Qatar welcomes the 32 competing teams for the 2022 edition of this magnificent event. The top sides will be hungry to achieve the ultimate success, although whether they can fulfil such lofty aspirations, that’s often another matter entirely.
If there is one thing that history teaches us from previous tournaments, the World Cup is always capable of producing many surprises. In the past, even reigning champions have been left stunned by so-called lesser nations, forced to endure embarrassing defeats which inevitably affected their progress. No single opponent can ever be underestimated, making every match a unique opportunity.
This is also explains why the latest World Cup outright betting can fluctuate, due to updated calculations for team form leading up to the tournament itself, suggesting we should always get odds comparisons based upon reliable site reviews. Top online bookmakers also feature some interesting incentives and promotions, as we turn our attention to which teams are considered to be favourites in 2022.
Brazil
Insofar as the vast majority of leading bookmakers are concerned, no team stands a better chance of winning the 2022 World Cup than Brazil, who are famed for their lavish style and fearsome attacking potency. In fact, head coach Tite has named nine forward in his 26-man selection, which is a clear indication they wish to keep that reputation intact.
Brazil has also won the World Cup more times than any other nation, boasting five successful bids for the title at previous tournaments. However, this is a proud country that has not savoured glory for some considerable time, by their own typically high standards. In fact, their fans have been waiting impatiently for two whole decades, given the most recent World Cup triumph came in 2002.
While they are often considered to be habitual favourites heading into any tournament, there is firm belief that 2022 will be different, and this current group of players can fulfil what is usually considered to be an obligation back home. There will be huge disappointment in Brazil if they do not return with the trophy, where sports betting is expected to generate almost $4 billion revenue during the World Cup, mostly surrounding the fortunes of their own team.
Argentina
When your team features an authentic living legend, quite literally anything is possible in football, especially on the back of winning a continental championship fairly recently. That will be the weight on the shoulders of Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup, carrying the passionate hopes and dreams of an entire nation.
This will also be the last major tournament for Messi, who confirmed his retirement from international football earlier this year, albeit keen to have one last crack at the only trophy to elude his grasp. The 35-year-old has won pretty much everything else there is to win in football, including a record seven Ballon d’Or awards recognizing his individual brilliance, although there’s much more to this Argentina side beyond the great man himself.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni has actually produced wonders with this team, which had often fallen way below their expectations and underachieved. Since his appointment in 2018, the Albiceleste selection has lost just 4 games, going completely unbeaten since 2019 and on an amazing run that includes the 2021 Copa America success. For this reason, Argentina are considered worthy and genuine World Cup 2022 contenders.
France
Looking back over the past six tournaments, France has undoubtedly enjoyed the most consistent success, albeit with some bumps along the way. As winners of the 1998 tournament they also hosted, France then dipped and failed to progress beyond the group stage in 2002, before bouncing back as runners-up at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Then came another spectacular failure in 2010, eliminated in the group stage again.
2014 was much better for the French, before they were defeated by Germany in the quarter-finals, although the tournament also marked the emergence of numerous key players. Most of those same players went on to achieve the ultimate success, lifting the trophy at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, earning a title this fiercely proud football nation will now attempt to defend.
Unfortunately for France, their side has been somewhat blighted by injuries, forcing head coach Didier Deschamps to shuffle his pack. The depth of talent available remains enviable, of course, although some of those missing were hugely influential at previous tournaments. But don’t write off the chances for France just yet, as the bookies continue to remain confident they will be amongst the candidates challenging for the top prize.
