Bookies predict Brazil will beat France to win 2022 World Cup, with England bowing out in last four
- Andy Schooler
- 17 November 2021
Brazil are favourites for Qatar on the back of an impressive qualifying campaign, just ahead of France, with England installed as third favourites. Andy Schooler looks at how the market is shaping up.
Brazil
Brazil's name has often been found at the head of the World Cup betting market over the years and it's no surprise to see them topping the list for Qatar 2022, 12 months ahead of the tournament.
They were the first South American team to qualify, breezing through with six games to spare by winning 11 of their opening 12 fixtures.
Neymar will again be the team's poster boy. He was injured in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup so will aim to make a bigger impact this time around.
The team has a solid Premier League base with Ederson, Fabinho, Fred and Roberto Firmino all playing key roles.
Recently, Leeds' Raphinha has also made a big impact and he could well be part of the Selecao XI in 12 months' time. It's also encouraging for boss Tite that the under-23 side won gold at this summer's Olympics.
France
Their talent pool is extremely deep and making Didier Deschamps' squad should be considered a good achievement.
Kylian Mbappe made a big impression on the 2018 tournament as a teenager and, now 22, this could be his time to really shine.
One worry for Deschamps at this stage may be the status of Paul Pogba at Manchester United. The midfielder has regularly looked a better player for his country than he has at Old Trafford - a January move could be good for France's chances.
England
These are good times for England, who made the semi-finals of the last World Cup and came within a penalty shootout of winning the European Championship. But should they be considered third favourites for Qatar 2022?
On both occasions mentioned, it's undeniable they were fortunate with the way the draw opened up - their knockout wins at those tournaments came against Colombia, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine and Denmark. The last three all came on home soil, too.
In that sense, this team still has something to prove and it's not hard to suggest that manager Gareth Southgate has failed to get the very best out of a talented group of players.
Spain
The current Spain side is forced to live in the shadow of the team which won the 2010 World Cup (and two European titles) but there are signs that they will be able to contend and match those achievements in the coming years.
For all Barcelona's struggles, they possess two of the world's best teenagers in Gavi and Ansu Fati - both are Spanish and already making an impact at international level and will have another year of experience in the bank come Qatar.
Germany
World Cup-winning coach Joachim Low has been replaced by Hansi Flick, who has won his first seven matches in charge, his team scoring 31 goals and conceding just two as they qualified for the finals with ease.
Several of their key men are all in their mid-20s - think Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Leroy Sane, Timo Werner and Serge Gnabry - and the good thing for Flick is that they are now being challenged by the likes of Kai Havertz, Florian Neuhaus and Florian Wirtz, star of this year's European under-21 winning side.
Argentina
Lionel Messi finally ended his wait for a winners' medal at international level in the summer when Argentina won the Copa America, beating arch rivals Brazil in the final. Now the question turns to whether he can crown his career by winning the World Cup.
Some signs are good. Argentina have gone unbeaten across their first 13 qualifying games, conceding just six goals in the process, as they booked their spot in Qatar with five games to spare.
Up front, Messi has received notable support from Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez but concerns remain at the back where Nicolas Otamendi remains a key figure.
Belgium
Golden generation. Last chance. Heard this before? Yes, there are plenty of parallels between Belgium's current crop and those of England back in 2006. This star-studded side sits top of the FIFA rankings and they've once again done everything asked of them in qualifying.
The problem is that they have failed time and again to win the big matches at tournaments. Beaten by Wales at Euro 2016, Belgium lost the World Cup semi-final to France and also bowed out of Euro 2020 at the hands of the eventual champions, Italy.
Any side with the goals of Romelu Lukaku and the creativity of Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard in it clearly has a shot at glory, but concerns remain about a defence which is considered the weak link.
Italy
Yet they have only lost once in 41 games, an experienced, water-tight defence still making life very difficult for opponents - veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci look set to continue until Qatar. And they also have key members of their Euros-winning team, Ciro Immobile and Leonardo Spinazzola, to return to the side. Should qualify but at 12/1 they don't look a bet right now.
Netherlands
Found themselves in a three-way qualification battle with Turkey and Norway so it's hardly been a convincing World Cup campaign for the Dutch, who changed manager during it, returning to Louis van Gaal after a last-16 exit at Euro 2020.
However, they did manage to finish top and Van Gaal is unbeaten so far which is a positive, as is the fact that star defender Virgil van Dijk is now fit again. However, there's a feeling that the Netherlands' young talent has rather stagnated in recent times with Matthijs de Ligt benched in recent times and Frenkie de Jong appearing to have been dragged down by the problems at Barcelona.
Portugal
Like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo looks to have one last chance at World Cup glory in Qatar - if Portugal qualify. They made a hash of winning their group, Serbia's late winner in Lisbon pushing them into the play-offs.
That simply added to the sense that experienced coach Fernando Santos is failing to make the most of a highly-talented squad. He accused his team of "lacking personality" after that Serbia loss but it's not unfair to think he should be getting more out of players such as Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo.
Who else?
Denmark were the dark horses of Euro 2020, reaching the semi-finals as 28/1 shots. The Danes are only a slightly-bigger 33/1 to build on that and win the World Cup but won't have three home games at this tournament.
Croatia, finalists in Russia in 2018, are at 50/1 to go one better in 2022 after winning one of the most competitive qualifying groups, while Switzerland, who topped a pool containing European champions Italy, are 66/1 shots.
Pele famously predicted that an African team would win the World Cup by the end of the 20th century but more than two decades after that 'deadline' it is still to happen. The odds make it highly unlikely that will change in 2022 with Sadio Mane's Senegal and Nigeria the lowest-priced of the continent's side - both are considered 250/1 chances.
