The 2022 FIFA World Cup is finally upon us!
Due to the host nation Qatar’s uninviting climate, the tournament is set to commence on the unfamiliar date of November 21.
I mean Australia was robbed in the bidding process but let’s not get into that now.
As per usual, 32 Countries across six continents are set to take the field for 64 fixtures before a World Champion is crowned!
Our in-house World Game Guru has delved into the international form and emerged with a handful of value-packed World Cup futures bets to share with the punters below!
Only eight nations have laid claim to the highly coveted Jules Rimet Trophy since the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1930.
Heading into the 22nd edition of this global phenomenon, three countries stand above the rest, with Brazil, Germany, and Italy accounting for 13 of the 21 previous tournaments! While the former is currently the odds-on favorite to take out their sixth title ($5), the latter, has failed to qualify through to the final 32!
The best performers throughout the qualifications stages:
Australasia:
Iran – 8 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss (25Pts) To Make Last 16 $3.75
South Korea – 7 Wins, 2 Draws, 1 Loss (23Pts) To Make Last 16 $3.00
North, Central American, and Caribbean:
Canada – 8 Wins, 4 Draws, 2 Losses (28Pts) To Make Last 16 $3.50
Mexico -8 Wins, 4 Draws, 2 Losses (28Pts) To Make Last 16 $1.91
South America:
Brazil – 14 Wins, 3 Draws, 0 Losses (45Pts) To Make Semi-Final $2.10
Argentina – 11 Wins, 3 Draws, 0 Losses (39Pts) To Make Semi-Final $2.35
Africa:
Morocco – 6 Wins, 0 Draws, 0 Losses (18Pts) To Make Last 16 $3.00
Senegal – 5 Wins, 1 Draw, 0 Losses (16Pts) To Make Last 16 $1.86
Europe:
Denmark – 9 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss (27Pts) To Make Q-Final $2.50
Germany – 9 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss (27Pts) To Make Semi-Final $2.90
Brazil and Argentina had the best qualification records by far, both going undefeated against a host of high-quality South American opponents.
This dominance is reflected in the current World Rankings, which has Brazil sitting at #1 and Argentina not far behind at #3.
Alternatively, no European side stood out above the rest, which comes as a surprise considering the drop-off in quality in the qualifying groups.
Though Denmark played exceptionally well to top their group ahead of Scottland and Austria, proving they’re greater than the sum of their parts.
For me, the World Cup Trophy will be returning to South America for the first time in 20 years! Though, if all goes to plan (which it never does) Brazil and Argentina will meet in the Semi-Final, which might as well be the main event.
I’m backing Argentia to repeat their recent Copa America Final heroics and get past Brazil and ultimately claim the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time, first since 1986.
Winner:
Argentina $6.50
Denmark $29.00
Croatia $41.00
If you have a dollar to spare, throw it on the Socceroos at $251 just to show a bit of national pride. Though you’re probably better served tossing it into a wishing well.
There are plenty of strong candidates for the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot.
Before jumping into the market there are a few dictating variables we should take into account, these are;
Are they a member of a high-scoring national side?
Are they the primary avenue to goal for their national side?
How weak is the competition in their group?
Are they on penalty duties?
Case for Kane $8
Last campaign Harry Kane claimed the Golden Boot with six goals, five came in the Group stage, and three came from the penalty spot.
Kane will again be the focal point for England’s offense and will undoubtfully be the nation’s penalty taker.
England is by far and away the best team in their Group, they should make light work of the USA and Saudi Arabia, while Wales has proven vulnerable at the back, shipping 3 goals against Belgium in a qualifying match.
Kane finished the World Cup qualifiers with 12 goals, the highest of any player representing a top 6 side.
Case for Memphis Depay $26
Depay has been deployed as a makeshift striker under Louis van Gaal in the Dutch national team.
Since this change of role, Depay has scored 21 goals across his last 22 appearances and has become the primary penalty-taker.
Not only did Memphis equal Kanes goal production during the WC Qualifiers (12), but he also lead the way with Assists (6).
The Netherlands averaged 3.3 goals per game across their 10 qualifying fixtures, and are in the perfect position to go large in the group of life versus the likes of Qatar, Senegal, and Ecuador!
Case For Neymar $13
Neymar is the Captain, Pen taker, spiritual leader, and biggest goal threat for arguably the most attacking side in the competition.
The Brazilian forward finished the qualifying campaign with 8 of his side’s 40 goals and has scored 5 times across his last 5 national caps.
Though unlike England and the Netherlands, Brazil has a multitude of scoring assets at its disposal, taking away from its reliance on one man.
Neymar has the potential to put away 3+ goals in a single fixture, but I prefer Depay as a value play here.
Case AGAINST Mbappe $9 & Benzema $11
Behind Haaland, Benzema and Mbappe are arguably the two best goals scorers in the World at the minute, the issue is they are sharing the same field.
Benzema comes into this comp after winning the Ballon d’Or, banging in goals for fun at Real Madrid, though at club level he wasn’t competing with the ego and talent of Mbappe.
Surprisingly, it was Antoine Griezmann who finish with the most goals for France across the qualifiers (6), though a recent drop in form will see him struggle to crack the starting XI here.
My logic for Highest Scoring Team follows a similar path as the Golden Boot;
Which sides enter the comp with a scoring pedigree?
Who has a favourable Group?
The answer: Holland $12
The Netherlands has been gifted the best group in the comp by a long shot.
I can see them racking up 12+ goals after the first 3 pool fixtures, before a potential matchup with Wales or the USA in the round of 16.
The Top Scoring Team has been crowned with an average of 16 goals across the last four World Cups, a feat I can imagine the Dutch matching here.
Honourable mention to Germany ($9), who has finished three of the last four World Cups as the top-scoring team.
I had to tip Australia somewhere in this preview!
It pains me to say, but I believe the Socceroos are going to have a tough time of it in this Group.
We snuck through qualification via a playoff against Peru which required shoot-out heroics from Andrew Redmayne after 120 minutes of regular and extra time finished scoreless.
We managed 15 goals across 10 fixtures in our AFC Group, and were kept scoreless in 3 fixtures while failing to run through the likes of Vietnam and China!
We are now faced with the daunting task of scoring against France( who conceded 3 goals across 8 qualifiers), Denmark (who concede 3 times across 10 qualifiers), and Tunisia (who conceded just twice across 8 qualifiers)!
I really hope I’m proven wrong here, but at $15, Australia is clearly the best value in this market.