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A look at the favourites for the 2022 World Cup

With just a few sleeps to go until the start of the World Cup, football fans around the globe are eagerly anticipating the return of the sport’s biggest international tournament. A four-week festival of football, Qatar hosts the 2022 edition of the competition, becoming the first host nation from the Middle East, and in turn, the first hosts of a winter World Cup. The hot weather meant that the tournament was rescheduled to November from its original summer slot, meaning there is an extra level of unpredictability around this year’s event in the odds for World Cup 2022.

Indeed, with the World Cup coming right in the middle of various domestic leagues around Europe, the injuries have started to pile up giving fans something else to think about when placing a World Cup bet. The 2018 tournament in Russia saw France beat Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling final, but plenty has changed in the footballing landscape since Hugo Lloris hoisted the famous trophy aloft in the Moscow rain. 

With plenty of narratives to unpack, there’s every chance an underdog could reign supreme in the Middle East, but here we’ve put together a list of favourites for the 2022 World Cup. Read on, as we take a look at who we think could go all the way.

Brazil

The bookies’ favourite for the World Cup, Tite’s Brazil side have come a long way since their quarter-final exit in Russia, and the humiliation on home soil in their 7-1 thrashing to Germany. Having reached the Copa América final and finished unbeaten in qualifying, the Brazilians are a rampant goalscoring machine, and should be too much for their group, consisting of Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon. 

If rumours are to be believed, this will be Neymar’s last tournament for Brazil, and therefore the Paris Saint-Germain star will look to cement his legacy in the famous yellow jersey, adding a sixth star to their badge and the first since Ronaldo’s brace earnt his side the trophy back in 2002. With an experienced squad including Premier League stars Alisson Becker, Thiago Silva and Casemiro, Brazil have the depth and firepower to win in Qatar. 

France

Despite so many injuries, France are still one of the favourites to retain their title in Qatar. The core of the squad is still intact from the side that won in Russia, and while the likes of Lloris and Olivier Giroud are approaching the twilight of their careers, the array of attacking talent from four years ago is still as deadly, with Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé ready to hunt down a second medal. While it’s unsure if Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté will be available, Les Blues are still expected to top their group of Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. 

The other dimension that is new in Didier Deschamps’ side is the return of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema. The 34-year-old missed the victory in Russia but since returning to the fold has won the Champions League and is perhaps one of the most in-form players in Europe at the moment. Could he be the difference in France retaining their crown?

Germany

After such a disappointing World Cup last time out, a new-look Germany side are out for redemption. Usually a stalwart of the tournament’s latter stages, the pressure of defending the trophy they won in Rio was clearly too much for Joachim Löw, with former assistant Hansi Flick now in charge. With a large Bayern Munich contingent, Flick won the treble with a lot of the players at his disposal. Add to that exciting talent like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Karim Adeyemi and the Germans stand a chance of exhibiting that efficiency that could see them successful in Qatar. 

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