We check on the favourites for the 2022 World Cup and the top individual awards as we move onto the knockout rounds.
With the group stage now completed, we know the final 16 teams that will compete in the knockout stages for a place in the World Cup final.
England secured their place as group winners, along with France, Japan, Argentina, Morocco, the Netherlands, Brazil and Portugal.
While some teams many expected to go out did so, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, there were still some huge shocks with Belgium, Denmark, Uruguay and Germany leaving the competition in the group stages. Australia, South Korea, Japan and Morocco were the beneficiaries.
We’ll look at how the odds have changed across the betting markets for each of the big individual awards, as well as for the outright tournament winner.
World Cup 2022 Tournament Winner Odds
The main pre-tournament favourites Brazil, Argentina, England, France and the Netherlands remain in the competition, with Germany and Belgium bowing out.
The favourites Brazil secured their place in the Round of 16 with back to back clean sheets, winning 2-0 and 1-0 to Serbia and Switzerland respectively, before losing to Cameroon after naming a much changed XI.
Having topped the group to earn a favourable looking last 16 tie against South Korea, and with Neymar still to return from injury, they are hard to oppose at the top of the market at a current best price of 40/17.
After a shock defeat to kick off their tournament against Saudi Arabia, Argentina picked themselves up against Mexico and Poland to claim top spot in the group, averting a potential football disaster for their nation. In the Round of 16 they will face Australia, who surprised everyone by finishing as runners up to France.
Argentina’s price has been up and down throughout the tournament, with it raising to as high as 9/1 following their opening game defeat to Saudi Arabia. They have now returned to their pre-tournament price of 5/1, which is currently a best price with several bookies.
World Cup 2022 Top Goalscorer Odds
The top of the Top Goalscorer pack includes Kylian Mbappe, Cody Gakpo, Alvaro Morata and Marcus Rashford, who are all joint on three goals. Enner Valencia is also on three, but cannot add to his tally as Ecuador bowed out of the tournament in the group stage.
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With France expected to go deep into the tournament, Mbappe is the clear favourite in the market at a best price of 3/1. He can, however, be found as short as 5/2 with several bookmakers.
Meanwhile, after his brace against Wales, Manchester United’s Rashford has emerged as a genuine rival to Mbappe for the top goalscorer accolade. His price has been slashed from around 100/1 and 80/1 to a current best price of 13/1, while he is as short as 9/1 with some bookmakers.
World Cup 2022 Golden Ball Odds
Mbappe and Lionel Messi lead the way in the Golden Ball odds market, with Bruno Fernandes and Richarlison also among the favourites.
No surprises with Mbappe, given what we’ve already said about his Golden Boot chances. The PSG star has four goal contributions (one assist to go with his three goals). Arguably the best player in the world on current form, Mbappe is a best price 3/1 to win the Golden Ball in Qatar.
As for Lionel Messi, the Argentine legend is a best price of 11/2 to pick up his second Golden Ball, having previously won the award for his contributions in Brazil 2014. His two goals and sole assist in the group stage, as well as all round contributions to Argentina's progression into the knockouts, has not gone under the radar and the seven time Ballon D'or winner is in the running to win his second World Cup accolade.
