Every four years, people all over the globe gather to celebrate their love for soccer. Whether you prefer to call the game soccer or football, there’s no denying the appeal of the world’s biggest sports tournament. Considering that the game is played and watched by more fans than any other game on the planet, it’s obvious why football online betting, especially FIFA world cup betting, is in great demand. Whether you’re already a fan or looking to diversify your bets this FIFA World Cup 2022 season, here are some tips and teams to keep in mind to maximize profitability. Let’s learn a few things about the FIFA tournament’s structure to get you started on the right note.
FIFA Tournament 101
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is all set to be held in Qatar in November. For the very first time, the tournament will be held in winter rather than over the summer. The tournament, governed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), showcases several superstar performers from across the globe.
After emerging victorious on Russian soil in 2018, France will be the defending champions. However, several nations have their sights set on knocking the Les Bleus from their perch. Before starting your online soccer betting journey, you should know that the tournament has two distinct phases. Just like the NFL playoffs, football world cup online betting tends to increase as the tournament progresses. Several qualifying rounds are played in different federations in the group stage, with the structure of qualifying rounds varying from one federation to another. Overall, federations include CAF for African teams, AFC for Asian teams, CONMEBOL for South American teams, CONCACAF for Central, North America, and Caribbean teams, UEFA for European teams, and OFC for Oceanic teams.
The 30-day tournament starts with 32 teams that have qualified from the federations. The teams are placed in one of the eight groups with other national teams, each of which comprises four teams that play against each other. The best runners-up and group leaders advance to the next round of 16, where matches are played in a knockout format. Eight winning teams then qualify for the quarter-finals and are paired against each other. They proceed towards the semi-finals with four winners. Interestingly, the tournament’s host team automatically qualifies. The winners enter the final, and the remaining two teams play a third-place match. This is where punters can find the best football world cup betting action. The betting action during the finals certainly gives the Super Bowl a run for its money.
Betting Options for FIFA World Cup
People who regularly bet on soccer at online bookmakers would probably know that they aren’t limited to wagering on the winners of the individual games. The outright tournament winner bet is one of the most popular football online wagers that can be placed before the tournament even starts. Ante-Post betting tends to be very competitive, allowing punters to get decent returns on any triumphing teams at the end of the tournament.
The best way to win big is to create a shortlist of teams likely to win the World Cup. Serial winners Germany, Brazil, and Spain often dominate the lists along with previous victors like Argentina, Italy, and outsiders such as Portugal, Belgium, and England being worthy of serious consideration. After narrowing down the winner search, you can decide which teams appeal more at the current world cup betting prices.
For instance, punters might fancy Brazil to find they’re 11/2 compared to 11/1 on offer for France that would offer more lucrative returns from the same stake. While it’s easy to bet on the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 before it starts, the question is whether you’d want to tie up your cash. The real cash returns on online sportsbooks might be worth your while if you bet on a longshot.
However, once the tournament starts, there are a plethora of ways to wager on every match. You can wager real money on the exact score, full-time results, the goal line, the under-over goals, the number of penalties in a match, specific player goals, red card presence, and so on. These are just some of the many examples of what punters can find at online bookmakers.
The possibilities are endless! You can also find regular three-way bets where you can bet on a team in one of the matches to win or result in a draw. In addition to regular bets, there are several opportunities for prop bets—wagers that are not directly involved in the game’s outcome, whether a team loses or wins. Here are some of the top types of bets enjoyed by football betting enthusiasts whenever the FIFA World Cup approaches.
Over-Under Goal Market
While choosing a correct score can be challenging, the Under/Over Goals market is an excellent option. Punters find it slightly easier to predict Under/Over bets in World Cups than domestic leagues as the standard differences enable them to identify the opportunities where there may be large score margins. It’s easier to wager on the number of goals scored in a match to be over or under a particular number. For instance, if Germany is playing England in a world cup match, punters can bet that either or both teams will score over two goals.
Cards Market
Many soccer betting sites offering FIFA World Cup betting now offer a Cards Market. Punters can bet on the total number of cards that would be given out to a particular team or during a match. They can also wager on a particular player to be given a red or yellow card during one of the matches.
Corners Market
Another excellent avenue to explore because when there’s an extreme favorite for a specific clash, it’s always worth noting the odds in the corners market. If big teams are about to face weaker ones in the world cup, the chances of there being more corners are significantly higher.
Top Scorer Market
Top sportsbooks now offer money line prop bets, where punters can bet on the team that’s likely to score the first or most goals. This is one of the most common prop bets experienced punters love to place, especially when the match is between a weaker and a big team. A player or team is likely to score the most goals in the world cup depending on their strikers, along with other factors that help determine whether you can expect the team to go far when it comes to winning the Jules Rimet Trophy or picking the Golden Boot winner. The odds of special prop bets are usually much higher than what’s offered in regular bets.
Wagering on the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022
As with any major sporting tournament, the unpredictable nature of the World Cup group stage often makes the outright winner of the tournament particularly challenging to wager on. Top online bookies offer a range of betting options during the group stages, allowing punters to pick the country they believe would win the group or the nations they believe would qualify for each group.
During the opening rounds, it’s important to look at each team’s condition and their performance in the preceding tournaments and world cup qualifier rounds. Every world cup season witnesses a couple of big surprises in the early stages, so it’s better to keep tabs on these options rather than looking at individual matches. Once the competition progress, the stakes go up, making it relatively easier to pick outright winners because the team who advanced against the odds can suddenly revert to form against an internationally established powerhouse of football.
Most punters find betting on the outright winner more manageable at this stage because the stronger teams show their quality, and the field gets narrowed at this point. Moreover, many bookies offer each-way bets to allow punters to predict two bets—one that the nation will win the tournament and the other predicting whether it would reach the final. Wagering via this method is easier for punters who find it difficult to distinguish outright winners. Our experts have picked some teams you should look out for when wagering on the FIFA World Cup 2022. Closely look at each of the observations before making an informed decision.
Why Germany is in the Race of Top Teams to Win the 2022 World Cup
No team has impressed football fans in qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup than Germany. Besides the hosts Qatar, the four-time World Cup winner, Germany, was the first country to make it to the list of teams that qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Since former Bayern Munich manager took charge of the team post-Euro 2020, team Germany has been utterly ruthless. The UEFA Group J winners won all qualification games, conceding just twice ever since the team has rejuvenated under the new coach. They boast an impressive mix of experienced heads and young talents, making them a well-rounded team. It’s one of the few teams that doesn’t rely on individuals as all players net since Flick took charge.
Why Denmark Could Cause Shocks in the Qatar World Cup
After Germany, UEFA Group F winners, Denmark, were the most impressive qualifying team. The Danes won all the qualification games except one, keeping clean sheets in their opening eight. Denmark clinched the top spot in Group F before they were defeated by Scotland. The team was a joy to follow throughout Euro 2020, responding flawlessly to the traumatic events of their opening match. They went all the way to the semi-finals before they were knocked out in extra time by England. Even though Denmark’s group wasn’t the strongest, the form continues as they were impressive in making a mark and cementing themselves as one of the strongest teams in Europe.
Why England Deserves a Place in this List of Potential World Cup Winners
There’s no denying that the Three Lions and UEFA Group I winners are among the best international teams around. The bookmakers are likely to offer good value on the Euro 2020 finalists and World cup 2018 semi-finalists. While England lost the 2020 Euro finals on penalty kicks, the team still dominates the World Cup odds board. With the last few tournaments being taken out of Southgate’s side, it could be difficult to judge, but it doesn’t mean England can be ruled out completely. Jules Rimet is still gleaming, after all. England boasts a young generation of talented attackers coming through the ranks, making them a strong contender at many competitions to come. The Three Lions have secured a place at the FIFA World Cup and are likely to bring a combination of young talent and experience to Qatar.
Why Brazil is the Favorite to win the 2022 World Cup
Featuring a star-stud supporting cast, and led by the likes of Vinicius Jr. and Neymar, makes Brazil the winning pick punters worldwide. The Brazilian team is very much capable of extending its record of previous tournament victories, especially with Argentina’s Messi’s seemingly perpetual power now starting to somewhat wane. Many are finding it difficult to side with any of the teams from Africa, given their collective struggles in tournaments that were held outside their continent, regardless of the upwardly priced markets in the group betting phase.
By being aware of the strongest teams in each tie, utilizing as many markets as you can with caution, and by using concrete data, multiple bookmakers, you can make the most of the FIFA World Cup. Not only is it an excellent way of enjoying the best that football has to offer each year, but it gives an excellent platform for sports betting.
With the finals not far away, it’s about time that you start looking up options for football betting. Being such a universal sport, you will have to do some digging around to find options that aren’t blatant scams and frauds. You can find the world’s top betting sites online with the help of Betting Sites Ranking.
The leading online sports betting platform helps punters find the best online betting sites for sports like hockey, soccer, basketball, rugby, and tennis. On this platform, the experts constantly review, compare, and rank the best sports betting sites in the world, including a list of the top 10 betting sites in the world.
Apart from football markets, punters are free to participate in online betting games and more on reputable, licensed bookmakers. Whether you’re planning to bet on sports online or are interested in E-sports betting, there’s something for everyone on Betting Sites Ranking.
Players can also log onto the website to browse the regularly updated lists of the top crypto-accepting sites, the best betting apps for iOS and Android, the top local betting sites, and the top daily bets that’ll take place in the region before placing their best bet.
