*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
A mince pie in one hand, pint of Guinness in the other and the World Cup on the telly box. Oh yes, winter next year is already looking promising. But while we wrap up warm from the November and December weather, the world’s best footballers will be slugging it out in the sweltering heat of Qatar.
The World Cup 2022 qualifiers are hotting up as teams scramble to book their places alongside the host nation in what will be the last edition to involve 32 teams before the dreaded increase to 48.
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England should book their place in Qatar as they hold a three-point advantage to Poland, with only fixtures against Albania and San Marino left to play. Unfortunately, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have been eliminated while Scotland and Wales’ best hope is a play-off spot.
Elsewhere, Brazil and Argentina seem nailed-on to progress in the COMNEBOL region but other confederation zones still have some way to go before a clear picture of the likely qualifiers emerge.
Who is the favourite to win the whole thing next year, though? Well, Paddy’s traders have had a World Cup 2022 Winner betting market priced up for some time so we thought we’d take a deep dive into the odds…
OK, it may be a little surprising after their Euro 2020 flop but France top the lot. Les Bleus got their mitts on the World Cup trophy after a dominant performance in Russia three years ago but their penalty shoot-out defeat to Switzerland in the last-16 stage of this summer’s European Championship has taken the shine off a little.
Brazil, who have a near-perfect record from 11 qualifiers, are fancied to add a sixth title to their bulging trophy cabinet thanks to their star-studded squad featuring the likes of Ederson, Marquinhos, Fabinho, Neymar and, er, Fred.
England are available at a decent price with Gareth Southgate’s men already looking a solid bet for their place in Qatar. Spain are also prominent in our betting despite sitting second in their qualification group, while Euro 2020 winners Italy are also far from guaranteed an automatic spot.
The World Cup has never been won by a non-European or South American nation and the best-priced teams from outside those regions are Mexico and the USA. Africa’s leading hope, according to our odds, is Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria.
Qatar, also available at a big price, don’t have to bother with the hassle of qualification because they sail straight through as hosts. They can thank their lucky stars as the AFC process is pretty lengthy…
World Cup 2022 Winner Odds
11/2 – France
6/1 – Brazil
15/2 – England
17/2 – Spain
9/1 – Italy
10/1 – Belgium, Germany
11/1 – Argentina
14/1 – Netherlands
16/1 – Portugal
40/1 – BAR
Read More
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