The World Cup is right around the corner, and it is time for us to take a deep look at all eight groups. While we have no real ‘Group of Death’ in the 2022 tournament, most of the groups look slightly less predictable than usual due to the relatively small skill gap between some 2nd-best and 3rd-best teams.
Therefore, we will be looking at group winner odds and odds for teams to advance to the Round of 16. Let’s see if we can find a few overlooked teams that can realistically clinch the 2nd seed!
An overview of Group A odds
Group A is the host to the controversial host nation, Qatar. As well as Senegal, Netherlands and Ecuador. Four sides that all differ in quality quite greatly, which is reflected by the odds from Bet365.
- Netherlands- 1/8
- Senegal- 8/11
- Ecuador- 1/1
- Qatar- 5/1
As you can see, there is a clear favourite in this group who are head and shoulders above their group. The Netherlands have some exceptional talent in their ranks. They have quality from top to bottom.
Senegal are the second favourites to qualify and after their impressive AFCON performance you’d expect them to make it past Qatar and Ecuador who have significantly weaker teams.
Our pick for Group A winner
Our favourites are Netherlands and by a big stretch. They have by far the most impressive squad in Group A.
Virgil van Dijk, Jurrien Timber and Matthijs de Ligt will keep things tight at the back, their midfield area is also full of talent with the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Donny van de Beek likely to feature and their attack consisting of Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwign will be enough to put fright in their opponent’s.
Their World Cup group odds to finish 1st are 2/5 which is very low reward on most bettors’ average stakes. We’d recommend looking at other markets.
Which other team will qualify from Group A?
The bookies have Senegal as the next favourites to qualify and we wholeheartedly agree with them. Senegal have developed into a fantastic team in the past few seasons and now have an excellent spine.
Edouard Mendy has become one of the best keepers on the planet and has Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly in front of him. In midfield they have Everton man Idrissa Gana Gueye, who is not only capable of being a gritty ball winner but can also offer attacking threat. And of course the main man, Sadio Mané who we know is one of the world’s best players.
Senegal has much more firepower than Ecuador and Qatar. They have World Cup group odds of 9/2 to win their group and it could happen.
An overview of Group B odds
Group B is one of massive interest for people from the UK as it contains both England and Wales. The two countries have a bitter rivalry and will both be desperate to win that game. The two UK sides are joined by the USA and Iran.
The favourites are England by a distance with USA and Wales being tipped to battle it out for second in the group. Iran is not given much of a prayer by the bookies.
Our pick for Group B winner
Our pick for the winner of Group B has to be England, their recent tournament performances have been fantastic. With the quality their side possesses, England should have no issue in winning at least â…” of their World Cup fixtures.
Their World Cup group odds to finish 1st are at 1/3, which won’t offer great return sadly, but if you’re looking for a safe bet then this could be a market for you to delve into.
Which other team will qualify from Group B?
Group B is one of the toughest to pick in terms of the second place battle. Wales and USA are so similar in quality and both have a fair shot of advancing, but there is only room for one.
The USA have Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie while Wales have Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale. Both sides have quality and plenty of passion. It’s Wales’ first World Cup since 1958! The World Cup Group B odds for either to qualify are almost inseparable.
- Wales- 11/10 to qualify
- USA- 1/1 to qualify
With all things considered, our pick lies with the USA. They have something to prove before they host in 2026 and I think they’ll just about do it.
An overview of Group C odds
Group C is home to one of the favourites to go all the way, Argentina. They are the favourites and you won’t be surprised when we tell you why. The competition they’ll be facing comes from Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
The second place spot is where everything’s to play for. The three sides will be battling it out to come second fiddle to Argentina who will surely win all three of their games.
Our pick for Group C winner
If you hadn’t already guessed, our pick for the winner of group C is none other than Argentina. With Lionel Messi on their side, among some other great talents- it would be hard not to pick them.
They have begun to reach a balance in their ranks, with quality all over the park. Man United star signing Lisandro Martinez and Spurs’ key man Christian Romero have formed a formidable partnership. Argentina have struggled for centre backs previously.
Argentina are going into the World Cup 35 games unbeaten, which will fuel them with confidence. They are â…– to win the group and 1/12 to qualify.
Which other team will qualify from Group C?
For us, we see the other qualification spot as a two horse race between Poland and Mexico. The two sides are fairly equal in quality and have exactly the same World Cup group C odds:
- Mexico- 10/11 to qualify
- Poland- 10/11 to qualify
For us we can see Poland edging out Mexico. Purely due to the fact that they have one of the most lethal strikers in the world leading the line in Robert Lewandowski, or Lewangoalski? No? Anyway, they don’t have as much of a well rounded team as Mexico but it could be the talisman’s last World Cup and he’ll be well up for it.
An overview Group D odds
Group D holds an interesting group of sides, the World Champions France are among them as well as Australia, Denmark and Tunisia.
France were grouped with Australia in the previous World Cup and were knocked out of the European Championships by Denmark just last year. So we do have some recent history between these sides, perhaps aside from Tunisia.
The clear favourites are of course France at 1/10 to qualify and â…– to win the group. They will need to be on top form to pull through though.
Our pick for Group D winner
Our pick for the World Cup group D odds is France. The current holders of the trophy and second favourites to win the World Cup (6/1) have been drawn in a very easy group on paper, but as we know- anything is possible at the World Cup.
France do however have a fantastic squad core, similarly to Brazil- they have an ideal combination of youth and experience. Aurelian Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga will be playing in their first World Cup. With Paul Pogba and N’golo Kanté setting the example, they will see exactly how to perform.
Players such as Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembelé are much more seasoned than they were in their first World Cup and will likely perform even better. Karim Benzema is also back in the fold and his brilliance this season has him favourite for the Balon D’or.
These are just a few of many talented players in the French squad and there are even more that will potentially miss out. They should blow their group out of the water.
Which other team will qualify from Group D?
The overwhelming second favourites to qualify are Denmark at 4/9 and we have to agree with the bookies here. Denmark have some fantastic players in their squad, including Christian Eriksen who has revitalised his career since the tragic incident that took place at Euro 2020.
Not only has he earned a move to Manchester United since then, he’s also won the club’s player of the month award. He recently scored an absolute beauty of a goal for Denmark in the Nations League too! It’s fair to say that Eriksen is back to his brilliant best and we couldn’t be happier to see it.
This being said, we think they will have what it takes to qualify. Maybe even topping the group! Bet365 have the odds of this at 3/1.
An overview of Group E odds
Group E is as close to a ‘group of death’ as it gets. It contains two of the last three World Cup winners in Germany (2014) and Spain (2010).
The two have very much been sleeping giants as of recently. They have failed to reach the later rounds of major competitions for a few years now and they’ll both be desperate to change that and have a successful World Cup.
They are joined in the group by Costa Rica and Japan who are massively lacking in quality in comparison. It will still be a tough group and after 2018, both Spain and Germany will take it very seriously.
Our pick for Group E winner
Our pick for the World Cup group E odds has to be either Germany or Spain, the two are head and shoulders above the competition in their group and theoretically they should both qualify.
The question beckons, who will come out on top? The two sides both have new look squads from their World Cup triumphs and have well and truly entered a new era. Spain have the likes of Pedri, Gavi and Ansu Fati who will all be playing in their first World Cup. In this department, Germany has Jamal Muisala, Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz.
For us, we think that Spain will rewrite the wrongs and advance further than their previous effort, topping the group in the process. I can see them winning two and drawing one. Their World Cup group E odds are â…š to top the group.
What other team will qualify from Group E?
This is a much easier question to answer now that the previous question has been settled. Our runners up in Group E will be Germany. The Germans will finally bring a spirited performance to a major and put on a good showing in the group, but it won’t be enough to finish above Spain. Nevertheless they’ll still qualify and have a chance at the knockout stages.
They have some elite talent in the ranks, including Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Leroy Sane. Who have all won some fantastic accolades in their careers. Kroos and Muller are two of the last remaining players from the 2014 winning squad.
An overview of Group F Odds
Group F is perhaps the weakest that the competition has to offer. It consists of:
- Belgium
- Canada
- Croatia
- Morocco
There are definitely going to be some competitive matches in the group, particularly the games between Croatia and Belgium and Canada vs Morocco. But aside from Belgium, none of these sides have much of a prayer of winning the competition.
Croatia were the World Cup runners up in 2018 but that year their top players were exceptionally younger. The likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic are all still quality footballers, but with age comes a drop in capability. It would be a massive surprise to see them reach the heights they did back then.
Canada are playing in their first World Cup since 1986. It’s only the second time the country has qualified and this can largely be put down to the talents of Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies who have inspired Canada to improve. Their odds to qualify are 11/4.
Morocco are known for their flair players and will certainly bring technique and high quality entertainment to the table. Their World Cup group odds are 2/1 to qualify.
Our pick for Group F winner
There is only one pick for World Cup group F odds and that is Belgium. Belgium are very much in a golden generation of talent and have one of, if not the strongest squad in their history.
The likes of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku have excelled at both club and international level in their careers. But, the man they’ll be looking to this winter to produce the World Cup goods is Kevin de Bruyne. Without question, the best midfielder on the planet. He has been brilliant not only this season, but ever since his Wolfsburg transfer.
He has an excellent partnership with Romelu Lukaku, similar to the one he’s formed with Erling Haaland. This will be the likely source of Belgium’s success. There will simply be too much fire power for the other sides in the group. Their World Cup group odds to top the group are 8/15 on bet365.
What other team will qualify from Group F?
We can see Croatia being the other side to qualify, as previously mentioned they reached the final of the last competition. They still have star quality in the side, just not comparable to Belgium’s quality.
Their odds to qualify are 4/7 courtesy of bet365.
An overview of Group G odds
Group G is one of the most exciting groups on paper because it looks like one of the most competitive. It consists of the favourites, Brazil as well as Cameroon, Serbia and Switzerland who all have very similar quality of squad.
They all have an almost equal chance of reaching the knockout stages, it is one of the toughest groups to predict. Aside from the group winner, it seems to be all hanging in the balance.
For this reason, Group G is our favourite group that the World Cup is offering this year.
Our pick for Group G winner
Our pick for group G winner could only be one team and that is Brazil. They are overall favourites and the record holders for most World Cups won. Brazil have by far the biggest World Cup legacy, it’s hard to hate them.
This time around, they have a fantastic squad. Neymar Is at a great age, as is Casemiro, Fabinho and Alisson. They also have young stars, Antony, Vinicius Junior and Gabriel Martinelli have all shone this season and last.
It could finally be Brazil’s year, they’ve been off the pace for a while now but they have built a squad as formidable as we’ve seen in the last decade. Their World Cup group F odds to qualify are 1/9, their odds to win the group are ⅖ and their odds to win the World Cup are 4/1.
What other team will qualify from Group G?
This is a tough call, each side has some quality players and great motivation to succeed. This time around we can see Switzerland edging out Cameroon and Serbia. The influence of captain Granit Xhaka and forward Noah Okafor will make them a deadly force and give them just enough to squeeze through.
Their World Cup group G odds are excellent too, with 1/1 for Switzerland to qualify being offered by bet365.
An overview of Group H odds
Last but not least, we have group H. The end of the list and the final four teams that we’ve not yet mentioned. But who are they?
They are Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea. A quad continental group! Who will come out on top? Europe, South America, Africa or Asia?
The Europeans are the favourites but how do the rest stack up according to the World Cup group H odds?
- Portugal- 2/11 to qualify
- Uruguay- 1/2 to qualify
- South Korea and Ghana- 9/4 to qualify
The qualification odds are heavily in favour of Portugal and Uruguay. For good reason.
Our pick for Group H winner
Our pick for the winner of this group may shock you, we are not backing the favourites… we are instead backing our dark horses for this World Cup: Uruguay.
Uruguay have a worse squad than Portugal on paper, but it’s on pitch performance that counts and under Fernando Santos Portugal have often been lacklustre.
Uruguay have great strength in many areas of the park, particularly their forward line. Edi Cavani, Luis Suarez and young Darwin Nunez. But, their standout man has to be Fede Valverde. He was instrumental in Real Madrid’s Champions League success and has won the La Liga player of the month award already this season.
- Uruguay- 2/1 to win group
What other team will qualify from Group G
Our other qualifying side is of course Portugal. The amount of talent in their ranks is unbelievable. They have at least two world class players in every department. Some of their key players include:,
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Ruben Dias
- Joao Cancelo
- Bernardo Silva
- Bruno Fernandes
- Joao Felix
They should have no issue beating both Korea and Ghana. If not, serious questions will be asked on the management ability of Fernando Santos.
- Portugal to qualify- 2/11
Our favourite World Cup group odds
Now that is a lot of information… to recap, let us take you through our favourite World Cup group odds.
- To win their group: Uruguay at 2/1
- To advance from their group: USA at 1/1
- Most valuable underdog: Uruguay at 50/1 to win the World Cup.
If you back every team that we have picked to top their group, in an accumulator (parlay) bet, you will receive odds of 42/1 at Bet365!
Please remember all odds are subject to change and always gamble responsibly when backing World Cup group odds.
FAQ
Q: Are there World Cup group odds?
A: Yes! There is an extensive World Cup group odds market at many sportsbooks.
Q: Which sportsbook offers the best World Cup group odds.
A: We recommend bet365 for all World Cup group odds
Q: What are the best World Cup group odds?
A: Our analysis has led us to the decision that Uruguay to top the group at 2/1 is the best value World Cup group odds.