FIFA World Cup 2022 Betting - What do You Need to Know

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Next year’s World Cup will be a tournament like no other, and not only because it will be the first iteration to be held in the Middle East.

It will also be hosted during the winter, due to the hot and oppressive temperatures in the Qatar summer and the need for players to compete in safe and viable conditions.

But who are the current favourites according to recent World Cup betting, and where can you bet on this tournament’s various markets? Let’s find out!

Who are the Favourites for the World Cup?

Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup is well underway, with many sides (including England, Belgium and Denmark) well on the way to securing their place in Qatar.

Currently, Brazil are considered to be the favourites to prevail in the Middle East, with an average ante-post price of 11/2. Unsurprisingly, defending champions France is next up at around 6/1, while beaten Euro 2020 finalists England can be backed at a price of 15/2 with some sportsbooks.

2010 winners Spain (who comfortably lead their qualification group at present) are priced at 8/1 on average, with the current European Championship holders Italy a relatively distant 10/1 with William Hill and Bet365.

The Azzurri, who recently extended their unbeaten run to a record-breaking 37 games following a 5-0 thrashing of Lithuania, currently offer incredible value as an ante-post bet, especially when you consider their incredible form and the momentum that they’ve carried into qualifying.

Roberto Mancini’s men are also odds-on to emerge automatically from their qualifying group, as they remain six points clear of second-place Switzerland (although the Swiss have two games in hand).

Where Can You Bet on the World Cup?

All reputable sportsbooks will be offering odds and markets for the 2022 World Cup, but identifying the best prices and relevant bonus offers can prove crucial when achieving the optimal value for your hard-earned bankroll.

It’s fair to say that some sportsbooks offer superior value to others, with Unibet providing more competitive prices for most of the favourite nations. For example, they’ve priced Spain at 9/1 to win in Qatar, while Italy are available at 11/1 and you can back Argentina to prevail at a price of 12/1.

Of course, prices are subject to change as qualifying progresses, with each side’s odds likely to shorten once they’ve confirmed their place or if they embark on an excellent run of form.

So, unless you intend to place an outright or ante-post bet early, we’d recommend watching the action as it unfolds and monitoring prices in real-time.

What are the Best 2022 World Cup Betting Markets?

While outright betting always offers good value, there are a number of diverse markets to explore at the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Here’s a selection of the most interesting:

• #1. Top Scorer: Attempting to guess the top scorer at a World Cup is always good fun, although this can be an unpredictable market to predict. For example, 1994 saw Russia’s Oleg Solenko become the top scorer despite only playing in three matches, as he plundered five goals in a stunning 6-1 win over Cameroon. However, established strikers like Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku offer outstanding value given their respective pedigree and who they play for, as does Portugal’s timeless talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

• #2. Over / Under Betting: If you find straight match betting a little restrictive, you could look to exploit the so-called “over/under” market. Rather than betting who will win in a particular game, this option enables you to predict how many goals will be scored in total (either under or over a predetermined value). This is usually set at 2.5 goals, and you can utilise this market to wager on games where you expect there to be either a surfeit or a shortage of goals.

• #3. Handicap Betting: Early on in the group stages of the tournament, you’re likely to see mismatches as seeded sides take on relative minnows, creating match betting selections with short and long odds. However, you can lengthen the odds of heavy favourites simply by leveraging handicap betting, ensuring that your selected side has to win by a certain number of goals for the wager to be successful. This way, you can improve your returns without overly compromising the probability of the bet coming in.