The Build up to the World Cup - All You Need to Know About Betting on the World Cup!

The long wait is finally over! The 2022 FIFA World Cup is about to get underway. As usual, the event is attracting a huge amount of interest from betting fans, and to meet this demand, football betting sites in the UK are offering a fantastic range of offers for the competition. The big question is: where should you place your bets for the FIFA World Cup?

The favourites

Most bookmakers have Brazil as the favourites to lift the trophy on December 18th. They are generally priced at around 4/1, which puts them slightly shorter than second favourites Argentina. Bookmakers feel that the elite talent of the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi, plus the expected high temperatures in Qatar, will favour South American sides over their European rivals.

If you do think a European side can triumph, reigning champions France are priced at 9/1 to repeat their 2018 triumph. Other favoured European teams include Spain (9/1), England (10/1) and Germany (12/1).

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The outsiders

An outsider triumphing at the World Cup is unheard of, but long odds sides do sometimes reach the latter stages of the tournament. Few would have predicted Croatia reaching the final in 2018, or Uruguay making the final four in 2010. With no stand-out team in this year’s tournament, could this finally be the year that a complete underdog goes all the way?

Denmark (30/1) are one possible contender. The majority of the squad that was a controversial spot kick away from the Euro 2020 final is still together, and a fully fit Christian Eriksen adds extra class to the team. A kind draw could pave the way for a strong run.

Uruguay (50/1) have a much tougher draw, but they have several in-form young players, such as Fede Valverde and Darwin Nunez, so are capable of beating anybody on their day. If you want to really push the boat out, Serbia may appeal at 100/1. They topped a qualifying group that contained Portugal, before winning four games in the Nations League. If star players like Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic are in form, they could be tough to stop.

Golden Boot

The market for World Cup top scorer is also a popular one with betting fans. This year, the market looks wide open. England’s Harry Kane is the favourite at around 7/1. The Three Lions have a relatively soft-looking group, which should give Kane plenty of scoring chances.

It is no surprise to find superstars including Neymar (10/1), Messi (12/1) and Kylian Mbappe (11/1) near the top of the markets. However, you do occasionally get a long odds Golden Boot winner, so the likes of Nunez (50/1), Julian Alvarez (80/1) and Gabriel Jesus (50/1) could hold some appeal.

Group winners

You can find FIFA World Cup odds for pretty much every aspect of the competition. One popular option is betting on the winners of individual groups, either as a single bet or an accumulator.

Some groups have clear favourites - England in Group B, Argentina in Group C and Brazil in Group G. These can be excellent options for boosting your accas.

On the other hand, Belgium and Croatia can both state strong cases for winning Group F, and it looks tight between Spain and Germany for the top spot in Group E. Meanwhile, it is anyone’s guess who will progress between Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea in Group H.

To give yourself a great chance of getting the best value from your World Cup bets, you should check out the top betting promotions in the UK for all the latest offers ahead of the big event.

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