World Cup 2022 Outright Betting: Assessing the favourites ahead of the tournament
It's nearly over! The wait for the 2022 World Cup is finally diminishing rapidly as 32 nations are set to battle it out over the next month to try and their name on the illustrious roll of honour.
Unsurprisingly, Brazil are currently heading the World Cup Winner market, with the likes of Argentina, France and England all sitting prominently in the betting.
Our man Steve Chambers assesses the favourites for the World Cup here and picks out some of the stars that are set to light Qatar up...
Brazil - 4/1
Five times World Cup winners Brazil will be looking to win the showpiece event for the first time in 20 years and will be the favourites heading into the competition.
Tite's men will have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking third with Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar sure to spearhead the South American heavyweights' frontline.
Their squad has tremendous strength in depth with a multitude of Premier League stars set to put on the famous gold jerseys, with the likes of Manchester United's Antony, Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus and Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes just three of the standout names.
There's no doubting that Brazil have a mouth-watering squad and they are sure to go deep in the competition, but can they deliver the goods as a team? Recent tournaments has seen them struggle in the knockout stages and they will need to improve if they are to playing in the final on December 18.
Argentina - 11/2
Lionel Messi finally managed to get his hands on some notable silverware last year when Argentina won the Copa America, and the legendary PSG star will look to be holding the World Cup aloft at the end of December, with Argentina currently the 11/2 second favourites with Betfair.
The South American nation have not tasted success in this event since 1986, but the two-time winners are well-fancied to go deep in the competition.
Messi will need to be at his inspirational best if he is to be the catalyst for a third World Cup crown, and a first since 1986, but the legendary forward certainly has the capabilities of inspiring Lionel Scaloni's men.
Six points behind the above-mentioned Brazil in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification stages, Argentina will find it tough to down their neighbours here, but with Messi and a host of classy performers, who have shown recently they can win tournaments then they have to be respected.
Outright Winner
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France - 7/1
Reignig champions France will attempt to become the first nation in 60 years to retain the World Cup. Didier Deschamps' men are the 7/1 third favourites with Betfred at the time of writing, and have to be considered one of the leading contenders.
Drawn against Denmark, Australia and Tunisia in Group D, France should cruise through qualification and with superstar striker Kylian Mbappe ready to try and set the world alight and challenge himself to claim the World Cup Golden Boot, Deschamps will have real exciting talent in his squad to go deep in the competition.
Frailties within the squad have been known to scupper the 2018 champions chances in recent times, but should they hit the ground running then they should be a major player for glory once again.
Spain - 8/1
2010 champions Spain certainly don't have the qualities that World Cup-winning squad from South Africa 12 years ago had and they have been handed a tough group in terms of facing Germany in Group E, but with relative minnows Japan and Costa Rica in the group then they should cruise through.
Luis Enrique lacks that real spark within his squad, but they still have an abundance of first rate players on the international stage, so they are entitled to be available at single figures with the bookies, but ultimately could lack the class to go deep.
England - 9/1
Gareth Southgate's England have been arguably the most consistent country in recent times. They reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 they then finished runners-up in the Euros next time out, when beaten by Italy at Wembley.
However, move forward to 2022 and the Three Lions have become a shadow of their former self as negative tactics aplenty have seen them falter in recent times, but Southgate has shown he can excel at tournament football and there's an enhanced 10/1 available with 10Bet.
Much will rest on captain Harry Kane, who is a leading contender for World Cup Top Goalscorer, while the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish bring a bit of spark - but whether they start is questionable.
An easy qualification group will be followed by tougher assignments later in the event and frankly, it could prove too much for a team devoid of defensive stability.
Germany - 11/1
Moving down the betting to those available at double-figured odds, Germany are the first nation on that list and are 11/1 shots.
Winners back in 2014, the Germans have a new manager to go to battle with now in Hansi Flick and he looks to face a tough challenge to try and get this German squad firing on all cylinders.
A potential lack of firepower could scupper their chances in the latter stages of the tournament, and their clash with Spain should provide more details on where they stand on the world stage.
Dispatched with aplomb by England in the Euros, Flick will need to galvanise his team, who could just find this a tough ask to reign supreme next month.
Of the others
Netherlands and Portugal (both 14/1) and Belgium (18/1) are the other three countries that will head to Qatar believing they can claim glory.
Portugal will be hoping that under-fire Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo can sparkle once again in a Portugal shirt, while Belgium will be hugely reliant on Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, who is one of the best players on the planet at the moment.
But, both lack significant strength in depth and of the three it's the Netherlands that make most appeal at 14/1 with Betfred as they have blossomed in recent times and appear to be recapturing the ability to play at the highest level again.
