2022 FIFA World Cup Early Betting Odds, Preview, and Prediction

As early as a day after France captured the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the betting lines for the next World Cup were already up in most odds boards. Rightfully, the champs were the first odds-on-favorite when the lines were released. Fast forward to one year after Russia, we look at the latest odds boards and take a look at who are the way too early favorites to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, three years before it is slated to take place.

Here are the way too early odds to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Odds were taken from 5Dimes.eu as of 6/19/19:

Who Are The Favorites?

A World Cup isn’t one without Brazil as one of the favorites, if not the top soccer betting favorite to win it all. The Samba Boys have won five World Cup titles and as always, they will be looking to add the next one. With the amount of talent all over the country, Brazil will always be among the best teams in the world. During last year’s World Cup in Russia, coach Tite opted to go with experience over youth as he fielded a squad with an average age of 29. This only means that in 2022, we are going to see plenty of new faces for Brazil. 24-year old Marquinhos could be the only holdover in their back-line while their attacking unit might need fresh legs with the likes of Neymar, Coutinho, and Firmino hitting their 30’s by then. Despite these expected changes, there is no need to worry because as we said earlier, Brazil is a breeding ground for the best soccer players in the world.

France is way up in the early odds board because they are the defending FIFA World Cup champions. The French won in Russia last year, beating Croatia 4-2 in the finals. That’s why we shouldn’t be surprised at why the oddsmakers are high on them right now. Winning in 2018 wasn’t really a surprise because France was among the favorites to win in Russia. With their star players worth over $1.2B in club contracts, the French squad was a powerhouse unit. The only concern last year was their inexperience given their age. With those concerns answered already, imagine how good they will be in 2022? But there’s a piece of history going against France. The previous three winners of the FIFA World Cup failed to make it out of the last 16 in the subsequent World Cup.

After Spain lost to Russia in the Round of 16 at last year’s FIFA World Cup, a lot of people said that tiki-taka had died. But those declarations may have been too early or even premature. While Spain no longer has a dynamic midfield duo in Andrés Iniesta and Xavi to dictate the game, they still have the best passing game in the whole wide world. That passing was nowhere near effective against the hosts but during the group stages, it made Spain one of the top betting favorites for a while. Although their match against Portugal ended in a draw, that was perhaps the best display of passing during the entire tournament. Luis Enrique has been installed as their new manager. Isco and Saul will then have the field with Iniesta and David Silva retiring from the national team.

The next couple of years will be interesting for Germany. The Germans exited the 2018 World Cup in the group stages, the first time that’s ever happened to them. Despite that failure, head coach Joachim Low has kept his position, for now. Low led Germany to victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup but their early exit in Russia has supposedly put his fate hanging in the balance. Other than that though, things look bright for Germany. Leroy Sane should figure in a big role in 2022 after being ridiculously cut in 2018. Timo Warner will be wiser after four years and Joshua Kimmich could be the best defender in Germany’s history by then.

Argentina had the third-oldest squad in Russia with an average age of 29.3 years old. La Albiceleste midfielders Lucas Biglia and Javier Mascherano retired almost immediately after they lost in the Round of 16 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Their attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín and Sergio Agüero are already in their 30’s and will be nearing retirement or even retired by then. There aren’t too many noticeable young talents coming from Argentina right now, except Paulo Dybala and even Muro Icardi. Personally, I’m not sure why the oddsmakers are very high on Argentina right now.

Who Wins?

Of course, it’s too early to tell who’s going to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup. But when you look at the current landscape, France is the team which is in good hands. Kylian Mbappe, adjudged as the best young player in Russia, will only be 23 years old in Qatar. If he continues to develop in the next three years, France is going to be really scary good.

But Mbappe isn’t the only reason why France won in Russia. Much credit should go to their aggressive defense and their industrious midfield should take a bow as well. Depth was also an asset of Deschamp’s squad and if those aren’t enough, the team was well-stocked with youth that will only be better in 2022. France had an average age of 25 years and 10 months. Only Brazil’s 1970 title team was the younger winners. Way Too Early Prediction: France

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