Who are the Early Favourites to Win the 2022 World Cup?

2119

Having reached the conclusion of the European Championship and Copa America, thoughts are beginning to turn to the 2022 World Cup.

This will be a different World Cup to what we have experienced in the past as the tournament will be staged mid-way through the 2022/23 season. The reason for that is due to the weather in the host country, Qatar, as the temperatures would be too hot for the World Cup to be played in the summer.

However, one thing we know is likely to remain the same is the winner of the tournament will come from the continent of Europe or South America. Each of the last four winners of the World Cup have come from Europe and no team outside of Europe or South America have lifted the trophy.

In fact, no team outside these two continents has ever reached the final and that is why the conclusion of the European Championship and Copa America leads us nicely to the 2022 World Cup.

At the time of writing, France lead the way in the betting for the 2022 World Cup despite their disappointing exit at the hands of Switzerland in the European Championship. France are the defending champions but you must go back to 1962 to find the last time a nation successfully won the World Cup back-to-back.

There is no doubt France have the talent to come back from their European Championship disappointment strongly and they continue to have fantastic young players coming through the ranks. Raphaël Varane, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kanté, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappé will still be at their best and the likes of Eduardo Camavinga and Dayot Upamecano could make the breakthrough.

Just behind France in the betting to win the 2022 World Cup is Brazil. They suffered disappointment in the final of the Copa America, losing 1-0 to rivals Argentina and it will be 20 years since they last won the World Cup. Neymar will remain their star player and Brazil have a hugely experienced team going into the tournament but they are not the Brazil of old and could fall short.

Argentina are the other major contender from South America and will be full of confidence following their Copa America success. It will be the final opportunity for Lionel Messi to win the World Cup but the likes of Nicolás Otamendi, Ángel Di María, and Sergio Agüero are also coming towards the end of their career and it is going to be a tough ask for Argentina to win the competition.

England, who reached the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and the final of 2020 European Championship must be considered serious contenders for the 2022 World Cup. Their current squad is full of players who will be under 30 at the time of the tournament and the experience of the European Championship will help them progress.

Italy are riding high on the crest of their success and the European champions will now have their eye on the big prize. The only doubt for the Italians is their ageing central defensive partnership and Roberto Mancini may be forced to look at alternatives for the 2022 World Cup.

Germany, Belgium, and Portugal will all believe they have what it takes to win the competition, with perhaps the United States the most likely nation to take it away from Europe and South America. However, it seems likely the next winner of the World Cup will come from Europe.