Which teams outside the top five World Cup favorites could win the tournament?
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When you start to take a look at the odds from various New York sportsbooks to win the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the focus immediately goes to a small group of teams.
Of course, France won the tournament in 2018 and also won the UEFA Nations League in 2021, so Les Bleus will be backed by bettors all over the world. Brazil is the current favorite (and my pick) at +450 to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy. The Seleçao are loaded all over the squad, and have the depth to make a deep run. Argentina is the current second favorite +650 along with France, and for some reason, England is still the fourth choice despite a disastrous Nations League group stage.
But which teams outside of the top five teams in the current odds might be able to break through and win the cup? There are definitely a few that could be this edition’s Croatia, which made it all the way to the Moscow final in 2018 before it was beaten 4-2 by France.
Most sports books will let you bet on teams to finish top two in the tournament, or even get to the semifinals, so there may be some value backing a team that could do what Croatia did.
So who are the teams that bettors should be watching?
Here is your list of teams to watch outside the top five, with their odds from New York sports books.
Netherlands, +1300 with BetRivers: this is a very dangerous team, and they should really be much higher in the futures odds than they are right now a couple weeks away from the start of the tournament. But I am not going to argue, and will be using Holland in my plays. I see a real path for them to get to the final.
Portugal, +1500: this team has so much talent all over the pitch, but the main question is going to become what do they do with Ronaldo. He has been on the periphery for Manchester United and will most certainly be sold in the winter window to a UEFA Champions League side.
Germany, +1100: I just don’t know if this team is going to be good enough to win four knockout stage games. The Germans did not get out of the group last time after winning it in 2014. There is talent, though, and I would not be surprised to see them in the late stages: however, I think I would rather put my money elsewhere.
Belgium, +1700: the Belgians were “this close” to making the final last time, after a 1-0 loss to France in the 2018 semifinal. They would have beaten Croatia in the final, too. But they didn’t, and they might be a little too old to do anything here.
Denmark, +3300: I don’t really believe this can happen, but they have a little air of Croatia 2018 around them.
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