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2022 World Cup Draw – Opening Odds to Win Every Group

Ryan Metivier

by Ryan Metivier in Soccer News

Updated Apr 1, 2022 · 1:15 PM PDT

World Cup 2022 Draw
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks before the 2022 soccer World Cup draw at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
  • This afternoon saw the draw completed for World Cup 2022 in Qatar
  • The favorites for the tournament include Brazil, France, England and Spain
  • See the opening odds to win all eight groups below

We now know the participants for each of the eight World Cup groups. The World Cup 2022 draw took place this afternoon in Doha, Qatar, and the teams have now been split up into Groups A-H. With 29/32 World Cup participants confirmed, the final field is nearly set. See the World Cup odds to win each group below.

With Canada into the tournament for the first time since 1986, Canadian sports fans will be able to look forward to legal Canada sports betting once the tournament comes around with sports betting being launched in the country on April 4.

Group A Odds

Team Odds to Win
Netherlands -200
Senegal +275
Ecuador +650
Qatar +2000

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As hosts, Qatar was drawn from Pot 1 as the first team drawn. Their first match will be against CONMEBOL side Ecuador who finished fourth in South American qualifying. Ecuador’s best World Cup performance came in 2006 when they advanced to the round of 16.

The Netherlands are into the World cup for the first time since 2014, but look to be the clear odds-on favorites to top Group A at -200 odds.

Senegal rounds out the group and has the highest winning percentage of any African team. They defeated Egypt on penalties to book their place in Qatar. They are also the current African Cup of Nations winners, defeating Egypt earlier this year.

Group B Odds

Team Odds to Win
England -400
USA +600
UEFA Playoff Winner (Wales vs Scotland/Ukraine) +650
Iran +2000

Their six-straight World Cup appearance, England gets drawn into Group B. The Euro 2020 finalists are massive favorites to win Group B. England hasn’t won a World Cup since 1966 and was fourth in 2018.

Their closest competitors look to be the United States and one of either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. Wales will play the winner of Scotland vs Ukraine in a playoff to qualify. These UEFA qualifying matches have been delayed due to the conflict in Ukraine.

The United States missed out on the 2018 World Cup but qualified third in CONCACAF behind Canada and Mexico.

Iran was drawn to Group A, but had to move to Group B with Qatar, a team in their own federation, already being in Group A. While they look to be the longshots of the group, they are ranekd 21st in the FIFA rankings.

Group C Odds

Team Odds to Win
Argentina -165
Poland +340
Mexico +350
Saudi Arabia +1600

Lionel Messi continues his quest for World Cup glory in Group C. Can he and Argentina continue their success after winning Copa America in 2021? Argentina is currently on a run of 31 matches undefeated, the best of any nation in the world.

Mexico has participated in each of the past seven tournaments. They along with Poland and Robert Lewandowski, a Ballon d’Or odds contender for 2022, are considered co-favorites to come in second.

Poland  qualified through a playoff by beating Sweden this week, The Poles were last in their group in 2018 in Russia behind Colombia, Japan and Senegal.

It’s a second World Cup participation in a row for Saudi Arabia which rounds out the group.

Group D Odds

Team Odds to Win
France -225
Denmark +250
Inter-Continental Playoff 1 Winner (UAE/Australia vs Peru) +1000
Tunisia +1600

Defending champions France are expected to win Group D. Superstar Kylian Mbappe will be leading the line for the French in a bid to become the first country to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil won in 1958 and 1962.

Denmark made the round of 16 in 2018 and were the darlings of the Euros this past summer after Christian Eriksen’s heart attack on the field (now recovered), made them inspirational favorites. The Danes made the semifinals last summer losing to England.

Easily the minnows of Group D, Tunisia, ranks 35th by FIFA. They claimed a spot by defeating Mali in qualifying.

The winner of the playoff between the United Arab Emirates and Peru will fill out the group. Should it be UAE, they’d be the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, currently ranked 68th.

Group E Odds

Team Odds to Win
Spain -120
Germany +105
Japan +1600
Inter-Continental Playoff 2 Winner (Costa Rica/New Zealand) +2800

The 16th time Spain will play in the competition, the Spaniards are past champions in 2010. They had a poor showing in 2018, being knocked out in the round of 16 by hosts Russia. However, at last summer’s Euros they made it to the semifinals, losing to eventual champs Italy.

The Germans are always contenders but failed to make it past the round of 16 at the Euros. In 2018, they had an embarrassing showing in Russia, finishing last in the group stage behind Sweden, Mexico and South Korea. They have a new head coach though this time around though, with Hansi Flick replacing Joachim Low.

Japan’s recent showing in the World Cup saw them finish second in the group stage in 2018. They lost to Belgium in the round of 16.

One of Costa Rica or New Zealand will join Group E after an inter-continental playoff.

Group F Odds

Team Odds to Win
Belgium -275
Croatia +300
Canada +1400
Morocco +1400

Thrid-place in 2018, the golden generation of Belgium soccer is running out of time to reach World Cup supremacy. They’re full of recognizable names from the top teams in Europe. However, Belgium’s top players are advancing in age and the time is definitely now if they want to reach their potential. Belgium lost in the semifinals to France (winning third place) in 2018. They lost to Euro champs Italy in the quarterfinals last summer. Belgium currently ranks second in the world.

2018 World Cup finalists Croatia weren’t as successful in the Euros. They lost to Spain in the quarterfinals. They too, have a squad full of quality players who are getting up in age.

Morocco was the first African team to make it to the round of 16 back in 1986. They particpated in Russia in 2018  but failed to make it out of the group stages.

In another 1986 stat, Canada makes their first appearance on soccer’s largest stage for the first time since 1986. The country has never scored a World Cup goal but have been one of the surprises of World Cup qualifying. They topped the CONCACAF qualifying with an 8-4-2 record. Of those losses, one came a man down to Costa Rica last week and the second to Panama on the last day of qualifying, just days after they had officially already qualified. Canada could be a big upset contender in Qatar. However, their World Cup futures did drop after being drawn into Group F.

Group G Odds

Team Odds to Win
Brazil -225
Serbia +500
Switzerland +500
Cameroon +900

Brazil is one of the favorites for the competition and ranks first overall in the world. They’ve never missed out on a tournament and are five-time winners, however, have not won since 2002. They lost in the quarterfinals to Belgium in 2018. Last summer they lost in the finals of the Copa America to Argentina.

It’s five-straight World Cups for the Swiss who topped their qualifying group with a 5-2-0 record with 15 goals scored and just two conceded. That was good enough to finish ahead of the likes of Italy. Switzerland lost to Spain in the quarterfinals of the Euros last summer and lost to Sweden in the round of 16 at World Cup 2018.

Serbia could not be drawn in Groups D, E or F with two European nations already drawn there and therefore find themselves in Group G. It’s back-to-back World Cups for the Serbs. They finished third in their group in 2018 behind Brazil and Switzerland. This makes for a weird group in 2022, with three of the four teams having been in the same group just four years ago.

It’s Cameroon’s eighth time in the World. They have qualified more than any other African nation. They defeated Algeria to book their spot.

Group H Odds

Team Odds to Win
Portugal -190
Uruguay +275
Ghana +700
Korea Republic +1200

Portugal needed playoff wins over Turkey and North Macedonia to qualify. Giving Cristiano Ronaldo one last chance to win the World Cup. The Portuguese could only reach the round of 16 at both the Euros and the 2018 World Cup. They are, however, 2016 European champions.

Uruguay first got drawn for Group G, but due to Brazil already being there, they could not be drawn against a team in their own federation. Therefore, they moved into Group H. Uruguay was third in South American qualifying behind only Brazil and Argentina. They were first in their group in the 2018 World Cup but went out in the round of 16 to France.

Ghana has participated in four of the past five World Cups, however, not in 2018. The Korean Republic are regulars in the World Cup making their ninth-straight appearance. In 2018 they faield to progress from their group stage finishing third in their group.

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