2022 World Cup Tournament Preview

A World Cup only comes around every four years, and a World Cup in winter is even rarer. This year, the planet’s most prestigious football tournament takes place in Qatar, kicking off on 20th November.

Featuring heavyweight nations like defending champions France, England, Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain, plus a host of other teams hoping to spring a surprise, a six-week festival of football is about to get underway.

Who has qualified for the 2022 World Cup?

Qualifying for the World Cup is no easy task, although Qatar’s spot among the 32 teams was secured by virtue of being the host nation. The other 31 teams had to go through a gruelling and often dramatic qualifying stage, with some big names – European champions Italy, in particular – eliminated along the way.

European sides with aspirations of lifting the famous trophy include former winners Germany, Spain, England and of course the defending champions, France. Meanwhile, Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal travel to Qatar with hopes of winning the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Wales, Denmark, Serbia, Poland, Switzerland and the beaten finalists from 2018, Croatia, will all hope to go deep into the tournament.

From South America, the traditional powerhouses of Argentina and Brazil – powered by Lionel Messi and Neymar in particular – hope to add to their illustrious histories, while Uruguay and Ecuador are not just here to make up the numbers.

Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia emerged from a closely-fought AFC section, with Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia joining Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions Senegal in qualifying from the CAF group.

Finally, Canada qualify for their second-ever World Cup by topping their CONCACAF group – they are joined by Mexico, the USA and Costa Rica.

Who are the favourites to win the 2022 World Cup?

Brazil are the 4/1 favourites to win the 2022 World Cup, as the most-successful nation in tournament history look to lift the famous trophy for the first time in 20 years. With the star power of Neymar plus the goalscoring power of Vinicius Junior and Richarlison, could this be the year?

The defending champions, France, look stronger than ever – ‘Les Bleus’ are 13/2 to retain the trophy, although no side has done so since Pele’s Brazil in 1962. Argentina reached the final eight years ago and this could be the last opportunity for Lionel Messi to bring home the biggest win of his glorious career – Argentina are 11/2 to see Messi bow out with a winners’ medal around his neck in December.

Gareth Southgate’s England have stumbled in recent months but flew through their qualification group, reached the semi-finals in 2018 and the final of Euro 2020. They are 7/1 to go one step further and win a first World Cup since 1966 in Qatar. Spain have improved in recent years under Luis Enrique and are 8/1 to win a second trophy, while Germany are as consistent as they come and are 10/1.

Belgium and Portugal bring superstar quality to the international stage in the shape of Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo, and both are looking to win the World Cup for the first time. We have Belgium – so often the traditional “dark horses” – at 16/1, with Ronaldo’s Portugal at 12/1.

Croatia still count Luka Modric among their ranks, and the beaten finalists from four years ago are 50/1 to win the trophy, while Sadio Mane’s AFCON champions Senegal are 80/1. With the World Cup taking place in the middle of the domestic season for a lot of major leagues, anything could happen this time out.

Who is the favourite to win the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup?

England captain Harry Kane won the Golden Boot in Russia in 2018, with his goals firing the ‘Three Lions’ to a first semi-final since 1990. Kane is 8/1 to repeat the feat this winter by finishing as top-scorer in Qatar, but faces stiff competition from France’s Kylian Mbappe at 9/1 and the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema – he is 10/1.

Check out more on the contenders for the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot.

This may be the last tournament for the two men commonly referred to as “the GOATs” –  Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – are 12/1 and 14/1 respectively to win the Golden Boot in Qatar. Among the other contenders are Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez, who top-scored during qualifying, at 25/1, and Germany’s Kai Havertz at 33/1.

As for outsiders: Sadio Mane has been tearing up the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and leads the line for Senegal – he is 66/1 to win the Golden Boot. Raheem Sterling has proven tournament pedigree after some big goals at Euro 2020 and is 33/1 to be top-scorer, while Poland’s Robert Lewandowski is 50/1.

The Golden Boot is a sought-after achievement, but it is not the only award presented at the World Cup. William Hill runs through the different World Cup Player Awards and what they mean.