Brazil are the 9/5 favourites to win the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, but Gareth Southgate’s England find themselves in the top five according to latest bookmaker odds.
Brazil
The Brazilians were the favourites heading into the tournament, and have remained so throughout (9/5 best price). They sailed through their first two group stage games to top their group and changed several first team players for their dramatic loss against Cameroon in their final game.
Many were disappointed with the style in which Brazil had played throughout the group, looking far different to the samba style of old, but they shut those critics up with their fantastic display against South Korea in the Round of 16.
The Brazilians looked like the real deal in that game, playing free flowing football and the return of Neymar was a much needed addition going deeper into the competition. Critics would say that they have had a pretty easy run so far and are yet to be tested so it is too early to crown them champions, but despite this they remain as short as 9/5 to win their sixth world title.
France
The French are looking to be only the second team to win back to back World Cups and are they are as short as 4/1 to do just that. Les Bleus had several injury worries coming into the World Cup but they have quickly put any doubts about their quality to rest.
The pace of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Demeble in behind, aligned with the hold up play of France’s all-time record scorer Olivier Giroud, has been extremely effective for the 2018 champions and may be the reason they go all the way once again.
They dismantled Poland in the round of 16 with ease and Mbappe proved once again why is considered one of the best players in the world, if not the best. He took his goal tally to five for the tournament and has seen his top scorer odds drop to as short as 8/15. They face England in the quarter-finals and the PSG man is the one to watch out for.
Argentina
Lionel Messi’s Argentina opened their tournament with one of the biggest upsets the World Cup’s ever seen. They were physically dominated by Saudi Arabia but ever since then they have really stepped up and started playing their football.
Although they haven’t looked as good as some of the other teams, they have been winning the games they have had to. Add performances from Messi like the one vs Australia in the round of 16, and it is no wonder why they are still as short as 9/2 in places to win the whole thing.
Julian Alvarez has proved to be the natural partner along side Messi, with Lautaro Martinez not covering himself in glory after missing numerous chances at the end of the game to put the Australia tie to bed. Emi Martinez however, proved why he is the number one with a superb save in the dying moments to secure Argentina’s progression to the next stage. They face the Netherlands in the next round.
Portugal
Portugal have came from being one of the outsiders to one of the firm contenders well in the mix. Along with Brazil they have been the team to really stand out with their style of play, with the 6-1 hammering of Switzerland the cherry on the cake of a good campaign.
Coming into the World Cup many thought the drama surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo might effect the changing room but that has not seemed the be the case, despite the drama continuing. Fernando Santos made a point by leaving Ronaldo out of the starting 11 against the Swiss that this is not his team and Goncalo Ramos really stepped up in his absence.
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The Benfica forward is the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to score a hat-trick in the knock-out rounds of the World Cup and so it is likely Ronaldo will remain on the bench vs Morocco as well.
By taking such a bold stance, Santos has proved to the rest of the tournament that Portugal are nowhere near a one man team and that they mean business. With the stacked squad they have and the depth in all positions, it is no wonder they are as short as 6/1 to claim their first world title.
England
England came into the knockouts as the best performing team and they solidified that with an excellent 3-0 over African Cup of Nations Champions, Senegal in the round of 16. Gareth Southgate has changed his usual defensive formation so far this tournament and has decided to play a 4-3-3, utilising the athleticism of Jude Bellingham in the midfield.
He has chopped and changed his midfield and attack depending on the game, with many of them coming to the fore. England have had eight different scorers at this World Cup so it is fair to say we have an abundance of attacking talent to choose from.
Looking towards France in the quarter-finals, England will be worried about Mbappe’s pace on the wing. The question is whether Southgate will revert to a five at the back to block the space in behind or stay as they have been and go toe to toe with the French. One thing is for sure, Kyle Walker is the best person to face up against the French winger, with the City right back’s blistering pace a real benefit to the side.
This is England’s first real test at the World Cup and many will see this as a final. After a successful group stage and opening knockout win, England’s odds of winning the World Cup have shortened to 5/1 (13/2 best) from 9/1 at the start of the tournament. Could this be the year it finally comes home?
Netherlands
Louis van Gaal has been incredibly complimentary about his side in recent press conferences and has even compared his team’s play to the Brazilians.
They displayed excellent patterns vs the USA and enjoyed comfortable possession throughout the majority of the game. The return of Memphis Depay was another bonus for the Dutch at the right time. They now have a fully fit team to choose from to take on Argentina.
The Dutch did seem to have a sluggish start to the World Cup. They narrowly beat Senegal in their opening game then drew vs Ecuador the following game, never really clicking into gear. They beat Qatar easily then really displayed what they could so in the round of 16 vs the USA.
Van Gaal will hope his side can take that performance into their next game, as after all they will be facing Messi. Not many think they will overcome Argentina and not many want them to. Nevertheless, the Netherlands’ odds of doing so then going on to win the whole thing are a best price of 17/1.
Croatia
The 2018 finalists will feel very lucky to have made it this far in the tournament after some rather lacklustre performances. They scraped through the group with a win and two draws and only beat the Japanese on penalties after some terrible spot kicks from the Japanese sent them through. The midfield trio they have relied on so heavily in the past have aged and you can really tell.
Despite his quality on the ball, Modric can’t move around the pitch like he once could and will be overrun by the more energetic Brazilian side in their next match. With this tie in mind it is no surprise they have the second longest price to win the whole thing (47/1 with one bookmaker).
Morocco
Finally, one of this year’s dark horses are Morocco. I don’t think anyone expected the North African side to make it this far and no one would have expected them to knock Spain out in the round of 16. Despite having some serious talent within their ranks, the Moroccans haven’t been the most attacking side at this year’s tournament and have got through based on excellent defensive resilience.
They are incredibly difficult to break down and have conceded only one goal so far. However, should they wish to progress they will need to improve at the top of the pitch, having only scored four goals.
They face Portugal in the quarter-finals and will fancy their chances against a free scoring team. They will likely sit back and invite them in then counter on them. This worked vs Spain and you can see it working again. Should they reach the semi-finals this would be the best result from any African side ever, so it’s fair to say a whole continent will be cheering them on.
After such a great performance so far, Morocco’s odds of winning the whole thing have shortened from around 250/1 at the start of the tournament to as short as 25/1 in places (50/1 best price).
