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The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is undoubtedly the highlight of the sporting calendar this year.
Scheduled to take place during November and December, the prestigious tournament provides punters with thousands of betting opportunities.
Our guide will show you how to bet on the World Cup to boost your chances of winning the battle against the bookmakers.
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The 2022 World Cup kicks off in November with 32 internationals dreaming of lifting the prestigious trophy. The key dates are as follows:
Brazil and France are amongst the favourites to win the World Cup, but plenty of other teams have a genuine chance of getting their name on the roll of honour.
The World Cup is a betting extravaganza, with punters able to wager on loads of markets including outright, group betting, match betting, top goalscorer, and many more.
We’ll show you how to bet on World Cup games, explain the different markets, offer betting strategies and tell you all you need to know about wagering on the tournament.
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty now – which are the most popular World Cup markets and bet types?
The ante-post market always attracts plenty of attention, both before the tournament and when the action gets underway.
Odds were published by all the leading bookmakers soon after the previous World Cup, highlighting the importance of the outright market.
Bookies also offer odds on every single match – maybe you fancy wagering on reigning champions France to win their opening game?
Predicting the group winners, teams to qualify for the knockout stage and top goalscorer are other popular ways you can bet on the World Cup.
Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular World Cup bet types:
Every punter loves to bet on which team will win the World Cup. History suggests that focusing on the biggest football nations is the best way to go about it.
Only eight teams have won the World Cup, with Brazil the current record holders with five titles under their belts.
While the Samba Kings are one of the favourites this time around, they have not lifted the trophy since 2002 and are a risky betting proposition.
France are the defending champions, but no team has gone back-to-back in the tournament since Brazil achieved the feat in 1962.
Spain is a popular pick with many punters, but we believe that Germany are the value bet after impressing during qualifying.
As for England, they have not won major silverware since 1966 and are unlikely to snap their drought under manager Gareth Southgate.
Accumulators – also known as multiples, combos, or parlays – are popular wagers containing four or more selections.
They are often used to combine several selections within a bet in the hope of landing much bigger returns than singles or doubles.
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Most punters use combo bets to wager on a few teams to win their games. On the World Cup, you could also use a combo to bet on teams to win their groups.
For example, Uruguay, Spain, France, Brazil, and Belgium were all odds on to claim the top spot in their respective groups at Russia 2018.
All five teams finished top of the pile to deliver a near 7/1 five-fold – in this instance, a £10 bet would have returned nearly £80!
Combos on World Cup matches can also be lucrative, and many punters are likely to adopt this approach during the group stage.
England, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, and Germany all look good bets to win their opening games – the five-fold pays nearly 7/2. Not too shabby!
Most of the top bookmakers have acca calculators where you can enter the odds for your selections, tap in a unit stake and see how much your returns will be if all your picks win.
You can also use simple mathematics to calculate an acca, although this is obviously not as simple as using an online bet calculator.
To explain how accas work, let’s use a simple example of a bet containing four selections with odds of 1/1 (Evens) to win their respective matches.
In simple terms, your return from your first successful selection goes on the second pick and so on. If every selection is correct, you win!
We’ve explained the different World Cup markets and types of bets, but what are odds?
The odds reflect a bookie’s opinion on the likelihood of a particular outcome. The shorter the odds, the more likely the outcome.
For example, England play Iran in their opening game. They are priced at 3/10 to win, with Iran rated as 19/5 shots and the draw at 11/1.
This means they are rated as big favourites to win the game. If you bet £10 and they beat Iran your return would be £3 + £10 stake = £13 return.
More generous odds can be found in markets such as the outright betting, particularly before the tournament gets underway.
If you fancy England to end their trophy drought they can be backed at 6/1. A £10 bet would return a healthy £70.
However, bear in mind they have an overly cautious manager who is yet to prove he can win major silverware. Spain at 15/2 and Germany at 10/1 are far more tempting.
As we’ve highlighted above, the figure on the right-hand side of the odds format is the unit stake you must wager to win the unit on the left.
If all of that leaves you baffled, the top bookies have odds calculators where you can enter your odds and tap in your stake to see your potential returns.
Most online betting slips also automatically calculate the possible amount you would win as you add your selections and stake.
As we highlighted earlier, the group winners market offers punters an excellent opportunity to secure a sizeable return for small stakes.
It not only gives you a good run for your money as each team plays three group games, but it is often one of the easiest things to predict at the World Cup.
Using the 2022 tournament as an example, three of the eight groups during the opening phase are tough to predict as they contain more than one big team.
The other five groups look less difficult, with Netherlands, England, France, Belgium, and Brazil all banker bets to finish top of their respective sections.
The five-fold pays 9/2, giving you a £110 return if you place a £20 bet. Using this strategy is a great way to make a profit on the World Cup.
Another tip worth following is taking advantage of World Cup bonuses and promotions, both for new and existing customers.
The top operators offer special deals when you open sign-up during the World Cup, so don’t be afraid to open an account with more than one bookie.
There are also loads of offers for existing customers during the tournament including Acca Boosts, daily specials, money back specials, and more.
If you want to take your enjoyment of betting on the World Cup to another level, the in-play markets are well worth checking out.
All of the bookies we recommend have loads of live wagering opportunities when the games are played, giving you the chance to make more informed betting decisions.
We love the strategy of using the match betting markets to bet on short-priced favourites when they fall behind early in a game.
With time in their side, those teams are still likely to come back and win the game, but the live odds will be higher than what was available pre-match.
Live betting is a great way to boost your returns if you get your timing right. Are you brave enough to hold on a few minutes more before wagering?
The best sportsbooks have special features designed to enhance your enjoyment of betting on the World Cup. Our favourites are as follows:
Generally speaking, betting on the underdogs at the World Cup is an easy way to blow your bankroll.
Only eight teams have won the tournament, highlighting how difficult it is for smaller nations to be competitive.
However, there have been instances where upsets have occurred such as Belgium knocking out Brazil in the 2018 quarter-finals.
The outright market can produce value, particularly if you are prepared to place each-way bets.
For example, Croatia were priced at 33/1 to win the 2018 World Cup. They were beaten in the final by France, but an each-way wager would have delivered a healthy return.
Check out our list of recommended betting sites for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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We’ve explained most of what you need to know about the World Cup and the best places to wager on the tournament. Now you need to know how to bet on the World Cup.
The process may differ slightly between different operators, but generally runs along these lines:
