World Cup Betting Guide 2022

Planning on betting on the Football World Cup later this year? Then you’ve come to the right place. Our World Cup Betting Guide has everything you need to know about placing bets on the most popular sporting event on the planet. Find out which sportsbooks offer the best odds, football betting features and get tips to help make winning bets come this November! Feel free to also look at our list of the best soccer betting sites in Ontario.

2022 World Cup Odds

The betting odds for the 2022 World Cup are already out at most major online sports betting sites. While the odds are likely to change as the tournament gets closer, for now you will be able to bet on teams with the following betting odds.

Team	Best Bookmaker Odds	Bet on World Cup 2022
Brazil	bet365 odds +450	soon
France	BetMGM odds +550	soon
England	BetRivers odds +650	soon
Spain	theScore odds +800	soon
Argentina	888Sport Odds +900	soon
Germany	Caesars Odds +1000	soon
Netherlands	BetRivers Odds +1100	soon
Belgium	TonyBet Odds +1100	soon
Portugal	LeoVegas Odds +1200	soon

Favourites to Win the World Cup 2022

The favourites to win the World Cup 2022 at the moment is Brazil according to all major bookmakers. The team is closely followed by other top picks France, England and Spain. We expect all four of these teams to make it far in the tournament and be featured in the knockout stage. 

Brazil

Brazil hasn’t won a World Cup since 2002 but is still considered the favourite in 2022. This can be attributed to the teams relatively easy group which features Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon to round out Group G. The team has also had success in the 2021 Copa America tournament, making it all the way to the Finals before losing to Argentina.

In terms of form, since losing a friendly against Peru in September 2019, Brazil has lost just twice in 27 games. Both times were to old rivals, Argentina. Brazil are second in the World Ranking and their squad has some of the best players for each department. Two world-class goalkeepers in Alisson and Ederson; defenders like Marquinhos and Eder Militao; a midfield including Fabinho and Casemiro; and attacking talents including Neymar, Vinicius Jr., Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Martinelli.

Expect the team to make it to at least the semis where they might face-off with their arch nemesis Argentina once again.

Brazil National World Cup 2022 Squad

France

France is the defending champion and still one the deepest national teams in the world. The French teams obviously have talent and experience with Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann as potent an attacking trio as any in the world. In the qualifiers leading up to the tournament the three scored 14 of the team’s 17 goals.

France’s schedule is also favourable. The team will only have a challenge with Denmark during the Group Stage and should avoid top teams like Argentina and Brazil til late in the tournament. All in all, France seems poised to make another deep run in the World Cup this year.

France National World Cup 2022 Squad

England

Under Coach Gareth Southgate, England have become a team that makes it far at major tournaments. This is contrary to their recent reputation of failing to live up to the hype and choking in previous World Cups and European Championships. The English Team made the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and were the runners-up at the Euro 2020. You can definitely see that England are on the up-and-up, and should be considered one the favourites to win the whole tournament this year.

Players to look out for on the English Team are Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden. All three are world-class attackers who have done extremely well in their domestic and international league seasons. Their midfield is also filled with big names such as Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice.

What it will likely come down to is whether England will have the cut throat mentality to finish off its opponents. Will they control the ball for long enough to dominate their opponents? If the answers turn out to be ‘Yes’ we could see the British holding the cup at the end of it all.

England National World Cup 2022 Squad

Spain

Spain was extremely close to making it to the Euro 2020 Finals, losing in a penalty shootout to eventual champions, Italy. This shows the team still has some of the potential that it had when winning the 2010 World Cup. While they might not be as big favourites as Brazil or France, the team does hold everything that is needed to pull off a winning tournament campaign.

Right now the only weak point in Spain’s arsenal is a lack of firepower up front. The team might however be able to make up for this with powerhouses in the midfield and defence such as Pedri, Gavi, Aymeric Laporte and Ferran Torres.

Spain should not have too much trouble coming out of Group E, with the only real competition coming from Germany. If the team clicks, there really is no telling how far they could go.

Spain National World Cup 2022 Squad

World Cup Betting Markets

You can expect a wide range of betting markets to be available when the tournament begins in November. Even now, the ‘Futures’ section of most of the best sports betting sites in Ontario have a wide range of wagering options. Some of the most popular wagering options to look for include:

World Cup 2022 Outright Winner

Outright winner bets are a simple wager type to understand, bettors just need to pick a winner for the entire tournament. The odds for outright winners are generally quite high due to the length of the tournament and different stages. Right now Brazil are the favourites as the outright winner but this could change even before the tournament begins based on team form and injuries.

World Cup 2022 Top Goalscorer

The top goalscorer bet is another futures wager which lets you bet on which player you think will end the tournament with the most goals. Generally the players which make it the furthest in the tournament end up with the highest number of goals with the extra matches they play. The odds on top goalscorer bets are very high due to the unpredictability.

Double Chance Bets

Double Chance wagers are relatively low-risk bets which are ideal for milking out small gains. The wager type allows you to pick both a team and a draw, giving you the win if either of those two results occurs. Due to the extra chances, the odds on Double Chance wagers aren’t as high as money line wagers.

Football Handicaps

Handicap betting involves giving one team a goal disadvantage (-0.5, -1, or 1.5 for example) for betting purposes. Example: If you wager on Brazil with a -1.5 goal disadvantage, the team must win by 2 goals in order for your wager to payout. This type of wager is great for evening out very lopsided matches. 

Over/Unders

Soccer over/under wagering is an easy way to get even odds wagers on football matches. Basically, the sportsbook sets the total number of goals – or other events like free kicks, corners or shots on goal during a match. You then decide if there will be more or fewer than that number. If you wager on the over you are saying they will exceed the number and the under it will be lower than the number.

World Cup Betting Tips

While making winning bets is never a guarantee, certain practices can greatly increase your chances of placing wagers on which payout. Read our tips to maximise your betting potential to the World Cup in November:

Analyze the Form of Teams

To make winning picks you must take a look at the form of the two countries that are facing each other. By this, we mean taking a look at each team’s recent results in the lead-up to the World Cup. You will need to consider the line-ups for the recent matches as it is unlikely full strength teams were playing in friendlies. You should also take a look at the form of specific key players. You should look at their play for both the national team and how they are doing in international and domestic leagues. 

Important stats to keep track of are: the number of corners and free kicks, shots on goal, how many fouls were committed and overall winning percentage. You should also take a look at results in past major tournaments to show you just how good or bad teams have been playing.

Keep in mind that while the form of a team can be very telling, the World Cup stage can be very different. It’s often best to analyze how a team plays during the World Cup before attempting to place bets.

Sign Up to Multiple Bookmakers

It’s best practice to sign up to multiple bookmakers when placing soccer bets to find the best betting odds. One bookmaker may hold the best odds for a specific match, whereas another may have better odds for another. If you have accounts at multiple sportsbooks, you will have a better chance to find the best odds for your wagers.

Another reason to register at multiple bookmakers is the chance to take advantage of special wager types and props. Not all bookmakers hold the exact same betting markets.

Wager On Low Risk Betting Markets

Oftentimes bettors can become obsessed with making big wins on soccer bets. This is generally done by making large parlay bets which while payout a lot, have low chances of winning. We find it better to wager on a variety of low-risk bets to mitigate your losses.

Some of the best low risk bet types to keep an eye out for are Double Chance bets. With Double Change wagers, you can bet on two outcomes of the same game. Example: wager on whether a team will win or draw the match. The odds for Double Chance wagers are lower than money line bets but give you two opportunities to win.

Totals and Over/Under bets are another good bet type which give you even odds on most matches. The sportsbook will pick a number of goals for the match of which you can choose whether the total goals will be over or under.

Stick to Pre-Match Betting

While wagering on live betting markets can be very tempting, they often lead to losses. Sticking to pre-match betting can be much more beneficial in the long run. This is because live bets generally are made rashly without much thought being applied. It’s hard to do research with live wagers as there isn’t enough time to properly analyse the situation. We find it best to make primarily pre-match wagers with a few live bets that have already been thought out beforehand.

World Cup 2022 Group Odds

There will be 8 groups which make up the 32 teams competing in the Group stage of the World Cup. Each group will have 4 teams of which the top 2 will advance into the Knockout Stage. There are three bets available for each Group: Odds to Win the Group, Odds to Advance (Yes) and Odds to Advance (No).

The following odds are taken from bet365 and 888.

Odds to Win Group A Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Qatar	+1,400	+500/-800
Ecuador	+600	+100/-138
Senegal	+450	-138/+100
Netherlands	-250	-800/+500

Odds to Win Group B Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
England	-300	-2000/+1000
Iran	+1100	+400/-600
USA	+650	+100/-138
Path A winners	TBD	TBD

Odds to Win Group C Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Argentina	-250	-1200/+700
Mexico	+500	-110/-125
Poland	+450	-110/-125
Saudi Arabia	+2000	+500/-800

Odds to Win Group D Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
France	-300	-1200/+700
Denmark	+300	-175/+125
Tunisia	+1100	+250/-350
AFC–CONMEBOL winners	TBD	TBD

Odds to Win Group E Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Spain	-120	-900/+550
Germany	+110	-900/+550
Japan	+1100	+333/-500
CONCACAF–OFC winners	TBD	TBD

Odds to Win Group F Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Belgium	-188	-900/+550
Canada	+1200	+275/-400
Croatia	+250	-175/+125
Morocco	+1000	+200/-275

Odds to Win Group G Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Brazil	-225	-900/+550
Cameroon	+1200	+240/-334
Serbia	+550	+125/-175
Switzerland	+450	+100/-138

Odds to Win Group H Draw

Team	Odds to win group	Odds to advance (Y/N)
Ghana	+1100	+225/-300
Portugal	-150	-550/+350
South Korea	+1100	+225/-300
Uruguay	+200	-200/+150

World Cup 2022 Dates

World Cup 2022 kicks off on Monday, Nov. 21 and will be wrapped up in less than a month. The tournament will follow along the lines of past editions with a 32-team group stage that whittles the field down to 16 teams. Only the top two teams from each Group will make it to the knockout stage. The 16 teams that advance will then begin a single-game knockout competition until the Finals on December 18th. Below is a list of important World Cup dates to keep in mind this year.

Group stage: Nov. 21 – Dec. 2

Round of 16: Dec. 3 – 6

Quarterfinals: Dec. 9 -10

Semifinals: Dec. 13 -14

Third-place match: Dec. 17

Final: Dec. 18

World Cup 2022 Best Betting Sites

To pick the best betting sites for World Cup 2022, our experts scoured the internet and rated each major bookmaker in Ontario. The following criteria was used to evaluate each sports betting site:

• Betting Odds- a review of each sports betting site’s odds compared to other top bookmakers in Ontario.
• Soccer Bet Types- a look at the sports betting markets available for soccer at each sports betting site.
• Live Betting & Streaming- a review of the live betting sections and availability of live streams to watch world cup matches while betting.
• Mobile App- an evaluation of the mobile app available at each sportsbook and site’s mobile accessibility.
• Payment Options- a review of the payment options available for both deposit and withdrawal and any restrictions/terms and conditions.
• Customer Support- a review of the customer service availability and response times.

World Cup 2022 Betting FAQ

In need of quick answers to frequently asked questions about the World Cup 2022? Read our detailed FAQ section below.