Football World Championships Betting Guide

Where will the Football World Championships be held?

The 2022 World Championships will be held in Qatar between 21st November – 18th December. It will be the first time a country from the Middle East to host the tournament, and therefore due to the region’s intense summer climate, the first time the Finals will be played during the winter months.   

There has been some controversy around where is the 2022 World Championships being held, owing to the allegations of corruption within the awarding governing body and the fact Qatar itself isn’t a renowned footballing nation. However, with billions of investment into the country’s infrastructure, they are set to put on a spectacular show when the action finally gets underway. 

When looking at how to bet on the World Championships, it remains to be seen how the Arabic climate will affect the matches. Likewise, a mid-season tournament (for most of the world’s football leagues) may also affect how the games shape up – most players will be reaching optimum fitness levels heading into November which could lead to some exciting individual performances out in Qatar. 

With this in mind, you could bet on the World Championships 2022 Top Goalscorer or the player to get the Most Assists at Unibet.   

Geographically speaking, Qatar is a small Middle Eastern country located on the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is mostly surrounded by the Persian Gulf but also shares a land border to the south with Saudi Arabia, another side who have qualified for the 2022 Football World Championships. 

A good tip for how to bet on World Championships could be to take a punt on a big-priced outsider – with Qatar being odds of 301.00 and Saudi Arabia at 501.00 – hoping their adaptability to the climate could see them progress to the knockout stages. At Unibet, you can then cash out your outright World Championship bets at any point if you think a decent profit has been made. 

 

Who Won the Last World Championships? 

The reigning football world champions are France, having won the 2018 tournament hosted in Russia. Didier Deschamps was able to blend his collection of star individuals into a winning side, becoming only the third person to win the World Championships as both a player and manager in the process.

This stellar cast of players included goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris, defender Raphael Varane, midfielders N'Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba, with a front line of Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. Including the readdition of Karim Benzema and a whole host of other exciting young players, they again are one of the favourites to win the 2022 Finals. 

Their route to the trophy in 2018 came after topping their group and seeing off Argentina 4-3 in an incredible Round of 16 game. A more comfortable 2-0 win over Uruguay in the quarter-finals was followed by a tense 1-0 victory over Belgium in the semis. The final against Croatia saw the quality of the team shine through, where a 4-2 victory saw France crowned world champions for the second time in their history.  

You can bet on France to win the 2022 World Championships at odds of 7.50 with Unibet.

 

Who Qualified for the Football World Championships 2022?

32 nations will head to Qatar when looking at how many teams qualified for World Championships. With the exception of the hosts, each will be heading the Finals after navigating through a tough qualification schedule in their respective groups. 

The full list of teams who have qualified for the 2022 World Championships is as follows:

  • Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
  • Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
  • Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
  • Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
  • Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
  • Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
  • Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
  • Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

The biggest name to miss out this time is Italy. The European champions were pipped to second place in their group by Switzerland, leading to a playoff decider against North Macedonia. Despite starting the game as heavy favourites and dominating both possession and goal attempts, an unlikely Aleksandar Trajkovski’s last-gasp strike saw them eliminated. Other notable nations that didn’t qualify for the WC include Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Chile, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

 

When did England win the Football World Championships?

England won their only World Championships in 1966 with Sir Alf Ramsey’s side famously beating West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in the final. The game will be etched into English football history due to the Geoff Hurst hat-trick – which included the controversial strike which did or did not cross the goal line – and the immortal commentary “they think it’s all over… it is now” just before his last minute goal went in.

England’s route to the final came after finishing top of a group which included Uruguay, Mexico and France. In the quarter-finals, an overly-aggressive Argentina side were overcome 1-0 with Hurst scoring a late winner, before two Bobby Charlton strikes saw off Portugal 2-1 in the semis.

Since 1966, England unfortunately haven’t been able to build a squad capable of reaching a World Championship Final. The closest they have come has been two semi-final finishes, one at Italia ‘90 where Bobby Robson’s side agonisingly lost on penalties to West Germany, and also at the previous Russia 2018 tournament where they lost 2-1 to Croatia in extra-time. 

 

England's Football World Championship Group

England have been drawn into Group B at the 2022 World Championships – one of the most intriguing groups of the tournament. They will play Iran first on 21st November, followed by the United States on 25th November, and finally Wales in the late kick-off on 29th November.

The clash between the USA and Iran should be an interesting encounter, with some believing the political friction between the countries could spill over onto the pitch. England fans will also be desperate to see their side avoid defeat against the US, who they infamously lost to during the 1950 World Championships. In their last tournament meeting in 2010, a Rob Green goalkeeping howler allowed Clint Dempsey’s weak effort to trickle over the line during a 1-1 draw.

Likewise, Wales will be doing all they can to overcome their close neighbours, although it may be still fresh in the mind that many of this Welsh squad celebrated England being knocked out by Iceland at Euro 2016. 

You might be wondering what are the odds of England winning the World Championships after being drawn in such a group. With Gareth Southgate’s impressive tournament record – reaching the 2018 World Championships semi-finals and Euro 2020 final – this makes England one of the main contenders to win outright. Bet on England to win the World Championship at odds of 8.00 at Unibet.

 

How to Bet on Football World Championships 2022

With Unibet, you can bet on every game throughout the Football World Championships both pre-match and in-play. A massive selection of betting odds will be presented before each game, as well as Outright markets where you can bet on the eventual tournament winner.

Along with the Full Time market, other popular World Championships odds offered by Unibet include Both Teams to Score, Over/Under Goals and Double Chance. At higher odds, there’s Half-Time/Full-Time markets as well as First/Last Goalscorer, Player to be Carded and various Handicap options.

You can also place a World Championships Bet Builder for each game. This is where various single markets from the same game can be included into one betslip, increasing the total odds as more selections are added.

Similarly, you could also bet on different games to create a World Championships 2022 accumulator. You can thus combine any betting market from any World Championship game into your betslip – a great way to stay engaged in the action when multiple matches take place on the same day.

In an accumulator, every selection you make would need to be settled as a winner for the winnings to be paid out. To add security to your bet, Unibet also presents various ‘multiple’ options which can still pay out returns should one or more result not go your way.

When looking at how to bet on the 2022 Football World Championships, Unibet present a whole host of vital statistics on each game betting page. These include head-to-head records between the two sides, a recent form guide, the starting line-ups and individual player statistics. After the match kicks-off, all the important in-play events are also displayed, such as bookings, corners, shots on target and of course, every goal scored. 

If you’re wondering when is the next World Championships, the first game is on the 20th November 2022 between Qatar and Ecuador. The final is scheduled for Sunday 18th December. 

 

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