World Cup 2022 Soccer Betting Guide – List of the best Canadian onlines portsbooks to choose from, betting sites offers and sign-up bonuses for players from Canada.
There is an ongoing argument which is the biggest soccer competition on the planet – the UEFA Champions League, or the FIFA World Cup? The Champions League does have its perks: some of the best players represent top-notch clubs every year, and the knockout stages are very thrilling. Every now and then we can see some surprises, and there’s almost never a boring tie.
The World Cup 2022 in Qatar is something special. There are so many great players out there (like Messi, for example) who have never lifted this trophy, and it’s the one thing missing from their collection. The fact that it is played only once every 4 years does a world of good in terms of excitement, too. And, of course, it means the entire betting world is ready for this great competition.
We’ve seen teams rise from group stages and become legendary in their respective countries without any kind of expectations, and teams which fail miserably and exit the tournament prematurely. The best Canadian sportsbooks are, of course, prepared as they should be for this holiday, with all the special betting offers, sign-up bonuses and strategy articles you can think of.
Regardless if you’re a seasoned pro when it comes to soccer World Cup 2022 betting or just beginning your journey, we recommend reading today’s article thoroughly – it will cover most of what you need to know to prepare for the tournament.
Best Betting Sites Online For FIFA World Cup 2022
So, Is Betting On Soccer World Cup Matches A Good Idea?
This year’s World Cup will take place in Qatar, where 32 teams will battle for one of the most sough-after trophies in football. The are among the favorites this year as well, besides classic contenders like Brazil, Spain and Germany and together with more up-and-coming nations, like Belgium or Argentina.
There are loads of other statistics and numbers when it comes to this tournament, but the one major question persists: is betting on the World Cup a good idea? We think it is. Not only on the World Cup, but on games between nations in general, for a handful of reasons:
National teams have less time to practice and less discipline, meaning that skill differences are more visible
There are far fewer surprises among international games than club games, specifically because teams have different skill levels. Coaches don’t have a lot of time to prepare sound tactics or excellent set pieces, so more often than not, the players are the ones which make the difference. Additionally, the more players capable of winning you games you have, the better you perform in these tournaments.
Styles are a lot more obvious
We all know that Spain enjoys possession football, Germany plays a direct, attacking style while Italy defends well and wants to strike on the counter-attack. These are styles passed from generation to generation and can be taken advantage of when placing your bet.
All eyes will be on the soccer World Cup
That means you’ll be able to see a lot of games, watch highlights and read analysis performed by top-notch industry professionals. This kind of coverage is never there for club competitions, making the World Cup unique.
All in all, we know for a fact that betting on such an incredible competition is not only fun, but also rewarding. Of course, these rewards won’t only come when (or if) you win bets. Online sportsbooks will do everything in their power to get their customers to bet on the World Cup 2022 as much as possible, meaning that they’ll step up their promotions and bonuses.
Expect tons of enhanced odds for games, especially in the latter stages of the competition, also daily sportsbook bonuses, as well as deposit bonuses which can be used specifically for the soccer World Cup.
Expect lots of offers involving your favorite team, as well as some great odds for weird bets – like how many fans will enter the field, how many players will smile during the anthem, and how often will we see Cristiano Ronaldo’s chest.
All online betting sites in Canada will want to be on the top of their game for this competition, and the quantity and quality of their bonuses will be unparalleled.
We must remember one thing though – we have to carefully choose the betting markets in which we want to spend these World Cup betting offers. There are a couple of main types of bets which you should be on the lookout for during the World Cup:
Outright bets – Self-explanatory and easy.
Group-related bets – You can find bookmakers which give you odds on which teams progress or don’t progress from their respective group, and even how far in the competition can a team go.
Outright winner of the tournament – Will France defend their title, or will we have a surprise winner? Possibly Belgium, maybe Qatar on home soil?
Under/over bets – Very popular during the World Cup, especially if you can follow teams and understand their style.
Individual player bets – Top goal scorer, most yellow cards, you know the drill. These are the most common ones, and we recommend sticking to them. Other, more specific, selections can be hard to predict, especially since the teams haven’t really played together a lot in the past few months.
As always, the basics are tried and true and can net you excitement, as well as a few bucks. And if we’ve said enough generalities, it’s time to go down into the specifics of this year’s tournament: the favorites, the underdogs, and the spotlight winners.
World Cup 2022 – The Favorites and Their Odds To Win
Unsurprisingly, Brazil are the favorites to win this year’s competition.
They’ve proven to be one of the strongest team in the qualifiers and they are the sportsbooks pick as well, with +450 odds to triumph and win the entire competition.
They have quite easy group, alongside Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon and should be able to claim top spot with relative ease.
Next up, although somewhat surprisingly, is England. Kane is the player that has to lead his side to victory, and he has shown that he’s matured and is now capable of doing so.
England also benefits from a very simple group, being drawn in group B alongside Iran, United States and Wales. Odds to win: +550.
France is 3rd in terms of bookmaker preferences, with average odds around +600 to win the competition.
They have one of the best teams in their history with lots of world-class talent, as well as young players eager to make a name for themselves.
The general consensus is that they deserved to win World Cup 2018 and will surely make a bid for this year’s World Cup as well.
Spain sit 4th, after some less spectacular recent results. The Spaniards will surely want to forget the last World Cup by the time they arrive in Qatar, and make short work of group E games, from which they should progress alongside Germany.
Some people argue that their squad isn’t as strong as it was years ago, but recent results have proven their critics wrong. Sportsbooks give them odds around +800.
The only other team considered a favorite to win the competition is Argentina. They have a squad brimming with talent led by the incredible Leo Messi, but have shown signs of weakness and barely qualified for the World Cup.
We believe that their +800 odds are more about tradition and past performances than about present capabilities. But then again, they do have Messi…
Moving further down the list, we find teams like Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Netherlands, all with +1100 odds or higher to win the competition. They’re not bad teams and can surprise everyone with a good run, but nobody really expects them to progress beyond the quarter-finals.
Soccer World Cup 2022 Underdogs
And moving even lower on the list, we have this year’s underdogs. These are teams with little to no experience playing at such a high level, which should treat the World Cup as a learning experience. Some of them were huge surprises in qualifiers, where nobody gave them many chances to win and qualify for Qatar.
At the bottom of the odds table we find Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica, both at +75000. While the Arabians have been to the World Cup before, they’ve done so very unconvincingly and haven’t won any games in their last 3 participations. On the other hand, Costa Rica won’t be aiming very high.
Although no other teams are considered such big outsiders, there are a few others with huge odds to win the competition. Tunisia (+35000) and Qatar (+3500) are next on the list, followed by South Korea, Ghana, Morocco and Australia (all +25000). These are the kind of teams which nobody expects to see beyond the group stage, and any point they win should be considered golden.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Groups
The group stage is, however, where the magic happens in the World Cup. Favorites will want to win their first two games to make sure that they can rotate players around in the last tie, while other teams will battle for every point they can get their hands on. This year’s groups are fairly balanced, and we’ll provide some brief ideas for each:
Group A – Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
This year’s host nation has had a lucky draw. Ecuador seems to be the only team which can be discarded from the race for top 2, with Senegal being the likely pleasant surprise. We also back Qatar to progress due to home soil, squad quality and maybe a helping hand from referees when it matters most.
Group B – England, Iran, United States, Wales
No-brainer really. The most interesting games will probably be between England and Wales and United States and Iran.
Group C – Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Argentina is without the doubt the big favorite and should have no trouble progressing, but who will win second place? Poland seems to have a big edge over Saudi Arabia, but Mexico can’t be entirely discarded either.
Group D – France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
France and Denmark are our favorites to progress, but we especially back France – they’ve shown excellent football recently.
Group E – Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
Spain to progress, Germany to take second place. Rather straightforward group, with the Costa Rica playing much better than Japan in recent times.
Group F – Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
The battle for the first place between Belgium and Croatia can be decided by the slimmest of margins, possibly even goal difference.
Group G – Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Brazil and Switzerland are the clear favorites here, although neither have a good track record of clearly outclassing inferior opponents.
Group H – Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Probably no winner of the competition in this group, but we believe that Portugal and Uruguay should progress with relative ease.
Top Goalscorers & Their Odds To Win The Golden Boot
Last but not least, there is one prize we haven’t talked a lot so far: the Golden Boot, awarded to the top goalscorer of the competition. Having your team progress through more games give you, of course, more chances to score goals, but history has shown us that sometimes strikers who score during the group stages more tend to win the title.
Harry Kane – 7/1
England’s target man will score goals, but how many? The British are rather disappointing during recent times, and Kane might have to carry a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Players like Lukaku, Muller, Gabriel Jesus, Aguero, Morata, Cavani or Lewandowski are all incredible strikers and prove what a great competition the World Cup really is. Their chances of winning the golden boot are a little lower than the players we’ve presented, but you never know who scored a surprise poker in a game and takes the lead.
Kylian Mbappe – 9/1
The star hits penalties, can score from free kicks, by dribbling opponents, using long shots, you name it. Mbappe is the driving force of a team which we believe will play in the latter stages of the competition, and he’ll surely score goals.
Cristiano Rolando – 12/1
We all know about Ronaldo goal scoring prowess, but his team might not be up to his level. Even during their winning Euro 2018 campaign, Ronaldo hasn’t scored as much as he does at Real.
Lukaku – 16/1
Belgium’s main attacking threat, a typical striker. Has shown quite a bit of talent during his career and will benefit from a strong team, as well as an easy group.
Conclusion
To sum up, we can’t wait to see what the World Cup has to offer this year. We’re sure that the best Canadian betting sites will be well prepared to give us lots of promotions and betting bonuses before and during the competition, so our betting experiences will be close to their absolute best.
We recommend doing as much research as possible beforehand, and most importantly, enjoy the soccer competition after it starts! The World Cup only takes places once every 4 years, and it’s quite a shame to lose. But at the end of the day, games are just a little more interesting when you have a little money on the line.
16/07/2022
Betting odds are presented at the time of writing. Please check them with the respective betting site. *T&Cs apply to all betting offers and sign-up bonuses. 21+, please gamble responsibly.