Who Will Win the 2022 World Cup?

Article By Grant McQuillan

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Grant is a British sports and iGaming writer based in America and was previously the head of content for the UK's leading brands, Footy Accumulators and Oddschanger. Grant has also worked in the Premier League and for brands like 90min as a European soccer journalist.

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Last Updated: 2024 Mar 14

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The 2022 Qatar World Cup has reached the quarterfinals stage. This means there are just eight teams left competing for soccer's biggest prize, as the favorites Brazil, last World Cup's two finalists, Croatia and France, Lionel Messi's Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and England are all still in the mix for the trophy.

Our current prediction on who will win the World Cup is: France.

We'll break down the tournament and look at the World Cup betting odds for the quarterfinals and to win it all.

Who Will Make it to the World Cup Semifinals?

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals taking place on Friday and Saturday, Morocco, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, France, Croatia, the Netherlands, and England are all getting ready for a place to battle in the last four. However, the entire tournament has been thrilling and unpredictable, with many upsets, so it's tough to predict the four teams that will make it to the semifinals.

After beating Switzerland 6-1 in arguably the best performance of this World Cup so far, Portugal is rightfully the favorite to beat Morocco in that quarterfinal showdown. But, Morocco is yet to concede a goal from an opposition player so far, with the goal against Canada going down as an own goal. Regardless, Portugal should make it through.

The match between France and England is arguably the toughest game of the competition to predict. France is the defending champion, but England has since made it to the final of the European Championships, losing out on first place only because of a dismal effort in the penalty shootout against Italy. It's an incredibly tough game to call, but we cannot look past the form of France's Kylian Mbappe, as he is now on five goals at this World Cup and he's almost certainly going to win the Golden Boot. So, we'll pick France to beat England.

In the other two matches, Brazil has a tough test against a resilient Croatia team, but the offensive talent of the five-time world champions should be enough for it to beat the 2018 runners-up. Argentina will also meet with the Netherlands, where anything but a Messi masterclass will be a surprise, although the Netherlands has looked better than expected.

Why France to Win is the Best Bet to Win the 2022 World Cup

When it has mattered, France has turned up. Indeed, the defending champions did lose to Tunisia in the group stages, but with the team changing drastically for that game because it was already through, it's tough to analyze that match with any real conviction.

In the round of 16 against Poland, however, the 2018 winners showed what kind of team it has. Mbappe scored twice, Olivier Giroud broke France's all-time goal scoring record, as France only conceded a penalty to stop it from a shutout.

If it can get past England, it's tough to see how anybody stops the French from its run to win the World Cup again.

A Quick Run Down of the Qatar World Cup Games So Far

This 2022 World Cup has seen upsets, stunning goals, and some of the world's best players performing on the greatest stage. It has been a bumpy ride for those betting on soccer.

If we were to predict the official World Cup 2022 Best XI, players like Mbappe, Messi, Jude Bellingham, and Bruno Fernandes are surely set to be the first names involved.

Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina remains arguably the shock of the tournament, as it came from behind to beat the two-time world champions. Harry Kane and Fernandes lead the way with the most assists at the tournament with three, while Morocco has the best defensive record at the tournament with just one goal let in.

Neymar missed the final two games for Brazil in the group stages, but he returned with a goal to help his country past South Korea in the round of 16. At the same time, this is the first time in World Cup history in which there has been a representative from all participating continents in the knockout rounds, while Qatar 2022 has marked the first time in history that Germany has failed to get out of the groups for a second World Cup in a row.

Quarterfinals Schedule and Odds

Best Bet Opportunity Friday

The Netherlands has gone under the radar at this World Cup, as all attention has been on France or the potential meeting in the final between Messi and Ronaldo. Can it be a dark horse team? This might be a good place to use your free bets to take a chance.

The Netherlands has been great in defense with Virgil van Dijk at the back, while Cody Gakpo has scored three times in four games. In fact, besides a 1-1 tie with Ecuador in Group A, the Netherlands has strolled into the quarterfinals and is now the underdog in the next round against Argentina at +255 with DraftKings.

Latest Favourite to win the World Cup

Not surprisingly, Brazil, no stranger to winning World Cups, was the pre-tournament favorite and still has the best odds to win the World Cup - it is priced at +175 at BetMGM to win it all. This is also helped by the fact that Neymar has returned to full fitness after fears he may be out for the rest of the competition. He scored in the 4-1 win over South Korea, just as Richarlison got another goal to make it three for him at this World Cup.

The five-time World Cup winners have also been incredible in defense this tournament. Thiago Silva and Marquinhos have barely put a foot wrong so far, and Casemiro in midfield has been one of the best players in the competition. Alisson in goal is also looking incredibly tough to beat, and for all the ways in which Brazil can win a game, we can't see many ways it loses.

Breaking Down the Canada World Cup Team's Performance

In its first World Cup in 36 years, Canada failed to get a World Cup win. It did score a goal after failing to do so at the 1986 World Cup, as Alphonso Davies smashed in a header against Croatia before an own goal by Morocco in the final group game.

In reality, however, Canada was terrible at the World Cup. Only Qatar registered a worse record in the competition by losing every game, but the hosts scored one less goal.

In the group stage, Canada lost 1-0 to Belgium after missing a penalty before a 4-1 demolition by Croatia and a 2-1 defeat to Morocco. Star players like Jonathan David never even got a chance to score at this World Cup and all attention for the Canadians now turns to the 2026 World Cup on North American soil.

What is the Most Positive Take-Away For the Canada Team

In truth, there are not many positives to take from the World Cup when the team didn't get a win, but if there are any, it's how Davies scored Canada's first and only World Cup goal in history, while the 1-0 loss to Belgium also had a few positives.

Canada could have gotten its first World Cup win if it had beaten Belgium in the group stage if it had scored that penalty early on in the game. Belgium looked weak defensively, and should Davies have netted the penalty after nine minutes, anything could have happened. It didn't get converted, however, and consequently, there is very little to discuss in terms of positives for Canada.

How Canada's Group Performed at The World Cup

Despite Canada finishing bottom of the World Cup, the progression of teams since then has shown how tough Group F was.

Morocco has now made it to the quarterfinals alongside Croatia, and both teams can be considered the biggest dark horses at this World Cup. There is a chance that Canada's Group F sees two of its participants end up in the semifinals, which would probably ease the pain of such a devastating World Cup for the Canadian team.

Past Winners of the World Cup

• 2018: France defeated Croatia 4-2 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow
• 2014: Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro
• 2010: Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 at the Soccer City in Johannesburg
• 2006: Italy defeated France 5-3 after a penalty kick round was used to settle a 1-1 tie at the Olympiastadion in Berlin
• 2002: Brazil defeated Germany 2-0 at the International Stadium in Yokohama
• 1998: France defeated Brazil 3-0 at their home stadium of State de France, Saint-Denis
• 1994: Brazil defeated Italy 3-2 after the penalty round at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
• 1990: Germany beat Argentina in the final after Andreas Brehme scored a penalty with five minutes left of regular time at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome

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Grant is a British sports and iGaming writer based in America and was previously the head of content for the UK's leading brands, Footy Accumulators and Oddschanger. Grant has also worked in the Premier League and for brands like 90min as a European soccer journalist.

Read Full Bio

Grant McQuillan

Last Updated:   2024 Mar 14

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