The FIFA World Cup 2022 is on the horizon and the betting odds are now available. Will France succeed in defending its title? Or will they be toppled by another world-class International football team? Here at 888sport, we have all the football betting odds and World Cup betting markets to help you make a winning World Cup bet.
FIFA launched the first tournament in the 1930s in Uruguay. Back then, there were only 13 teams that took part in the live tournament, including Belgium, France, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and even the US. It wasn't the greatest success and it was watched by just a few hundred people. Uruguay was the first FIFA World Cup-winning team after defeating Argentina in the Cup Final. Despite some interruptions by the World Wars, since the 1950s, the greatest teams in the world play in the World Cup every four years. To date, the most successful country has been Brazil. The host this year is Qatar - the first West Asian nation to ever host a FIFA World Cup.
The most successful teams in the history of the championship are:
The FIFA World Cup trophy, also known as the Jules Rimet trophy is the highest accolade in sport - with this being one of the main events in the sporting world. The original Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from a glass cabinet in Brazil and never recovered. The new trophy is made of 18-carat gold and stands at 14.4 inches high, weighing over 6kg. However, the winners are not given this trophy, but a bronze, gold-plated replica.
Punters can first start betting on the matches and outcomes during the qualifying stages, where teams from all over the world compete for the privilege of being one of the teams to qualify for the final stages of the tournament.
If you bet on World Cup qualifiers, the most popular betting market is to win the group and get through to the final stages. This is also a good way to see which teams are on form, with teams such as England, Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Armenia all currently topping their groups. Stand out successes in these games will up their odds of winning the World Cup.
Punters can also bet on individual matches, with match-winner bets and other in-play and live matches betting odds and markets.
The most popular FIFA World Cup bets are outright bets - with many punters wanting to bet on who they think will win the trophy. Will they go for betting on the favourites, or will they put their stake on an outside punt? Customers can also bet on other outrights markets, including The Golden Boot, where players compete to score the most goals in the tournament.
The favourites to win the World Cup will come as no surprise - Germany, France and Brazil will always be in contention, although surprisingly this year, despite some good international performances, Italy has dropped down the ranks to 9th favourites.
The other teams to watch out for are: Belgium, Netherlands and Croatia, who have all played good football this year.
The first thing punters will look for is the odds for England to win the World Cup. English fans will always put their wagers on England to win the World Cup, whether or not they are favourites. This year, although England isn't favourite, they have been given pretty decent World Cup winners odds. As it stands, the England odds to win World Cup 2022 at 888sport are 9/1.
Remember, the odds on England winning the World Cup will be changing constantly depending on how they play in their opening group.
If you are looking to bet on the tournament, here are some World Cup betting tips to take into consideration:
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