Good Bets For The World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. Soccer is
earth’s most popular sport, so that should come as no surprise. Every 4 years,
the world gathers to watch the greatest players on the planet get together and
duke it out for supremacy.

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This summer, all eyes will be on Russia, where 31 of the world’s best teams –
plus Russia – will do battle over the course of a month to find our next world
champion. In 2014, more than a billion viewers from around the world tuned in to
watch Germany’s thrilling 1-0 win over Argentina in the final. In all, the
tournament reached 3.2 billion television viewers worldwide.

The 2014 World Cup broke television viewing records in many major markets,
including the United States and Germany. This was despite the fact that the
games were broadcast in the late-night and early-morning hours in Asia, which is
where nearly two-thirds of the world’s population call home. It’s safe to say we
can expect even more viewership this time around.

The World Cup Video Game For Wii

Obviously, the World Cup is also huge from a betting standpoint. In the
United Kingdom, wagers for the 2014 edition topped the £1 billion ($1.8 billion)
plateau for the first time ever. The figure would have been even higher had
England not embarrassingly bowed out in the group stages.

Because the World Cup draws such heavy viewership, it only makes sense that
it’s a massive betting event. What better way to supplement your viewing
experience than by having some money on the line, right? Online betting has
exploded since the 1998 World Cup in France, with tons and tons of money
changing hands every 4 years. Obviously, with an event as popular as the World
Cup, there is no shortage of options for you, the bettor.

Betting on the World Cup – How to Get Started

If you’re new to betting on the World Cup,
there are a few differences to note when comparing
it to betting on a domestic league like the Premier League or Major League
Soccer.

For starters, the tournament’s 32 teams are randomly drawn into groups
containing 4 teams apiece, much like the UEFA Champions League. Unlike Champions
League, however, each team will face the other 3 teams in the group once apiece.
In Champions League, each team plays the other 3 teams twice apiece.

The points system is the same, however. If a team wins, it gets 3 points. If
it loses, it gets 0, and a draw results in 1 point for each team involved. Once
each team has played every other team in its group, the 2 teams with the most
points will advance to the knockout stages. The draw is weighted to where there
can be no more than 2 European teams in the same group and no more than 1 team
per group from each of the other represented confederations.

If 2 (or more) teams finish the group round with the same number of points,
there are some tiebreaker scenarios. They are as follows:

1. Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches
2. Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches

If there are still teams tied after those tiebreakers, things get more
specific:

1. Greatest number of points in head-to-head match between those
   teams
2. Greatest goal difference in head-to-head match between those
   teams
3. Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head match between
   those teams

If there are still a couple of teams tied after all of that, then the team
that advances is decided rather cruelly by a random draw.

While we obviously never know what exactly is going to happen when the teams
hit the pitch, the World Cup is an event typically dominated by the usual
suspects . So, when you’re reading the odds, you’ll see lots of
the same names favored at the top. Teams like Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and
France typically fare well in the world’s biggest event.

You probably also know that there is a
wealth of options when it comes to
soccer betting in general. Rather than simply having the chance to bet on a
game’s outcome, there are a number of props and micro bets available, too. You
can bet on which team (or player) will be the first to score, or you can bet on
the total number of goals to be scored, and so on.

History of the World Cup

The first international soccer match pitting 2 countries against one another
went down in 1872 between Scotland and England in Glasgow. The first organized
international tournament was called the British Home Championship, which began
in 1884. These pre-dated the FIFA World Cup by quite a bit.

FIFA wasn’t created until 1904, and soccer wasn’t an Olympic sport until
1908. FIFA originally called Olympic soccer “a world football championship for
amateurs” and managed the event themselves. Because the Olympic events were so
popular, however, FIFA decided to branch out and create a new tourney.

FIFA President Jules Rimet and the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam agreed to stage
a new world champion. Because Uruguay had won the previous 2 Olympic events,
they decided to reward Uruguay by naming it as the first home country for the
new World Cup. The first World Cup took place in 1930, and the home country
emerged victorious.

Because the jaunt from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean was far more daunting
in those days, there wasn’t a big European delegation at the inaugural World
Cup. Only Belgium, Romania, France, and Yugoslavia made the trip. Thirteen
nations in all participated, 7 of which came from South America.

The same travel problems faced American nations ahead of the 1934 World Cup,
which took place in Italy. In fact, all North and South American teams aside
from Brazil and Cuba boycotted the 1938 tournament in France. The 1942 and 1946
World Cups were canceled due to World War II.

In all, the 20 previous editions of the World Cup have been won by just 8
teams. As you may expect, Brazil leads the way with 5 trophies on their ledger.
Germany will be looking to tie them this summer, as their 2014 triumph was their
fourth. The Germans are tied with Italy, while Argentina and Uruguay have each
won it twice. France, England, and Spain have won 1 apiece.

The Netherlands have been runners-up 3 times, most recently in 2010 when
Spain came out on top.

Best World Cup Betting Sites

If you’re interested in getting in on the wagering for the World Cup, you’re
obviously going to want to do so at the safest and most reputable sites on the
web. One thing you certainly don’t want to do is to put your money and
information on a sketchy, untrustworthy site.

One of the primary concerns that new users have when it comes to online
betting is the safety. Can you safely put your information out there without it
getting stolen? Can you safely enter a credit card number? Depositing money at
just any gambling site is an inherent risk, and any bettor would be remiss to
not consider safety first.

Fortunately, there are plenty of reputable sites out there that won’t steal
your information.

Most legitimate gambling sites are safe. You’ll have your
exceptions to that rule here and there, but generally speaking, they’re easy to
avoid. Reading reviews from other users is one easy way to figure out whether a
site is safe for your perusal.

As you may imagine, all of the top dogs offer plenty of betting options when
it comes to the world’s biggest soccer tournament.

Popularity of the World Cup Around the World

We’ve mentioned a number of times that soccer is the most popular sport in
the world, and the World Cup is the most popular soccer competition in the
world, too. Some in the United States may scoff at the notion that soccer is
king, but the sport is also growing exponentially in America, too.

Soccer, called football just about everywhere else, was created in the United
Kingdom. As you may imagine, footie is king in the UK to this day. As is the
case with the Olympics, the popularity of the World Cup stems from a sense of
patriotism. Those from England understandably root hard for their squad of
England-born players to conquer the world.

Unlike the Olympics, however, there’s just one sport on which to focus at the
World Cup. This is not quite the case in the US (and it certainly won’t help
that the US failed to qualify for Russia 2018), but in some places, kids will
skip school and adults will skip work to watch their team at the World Cup.

It certainly helps to have a dog in the fight. As mentioned previously, the
2014 World Cup set new television records in Germany. Of course, a lot of that
has to do with the fact that Germany’s team stormed their way to a World Cup
title that year. In fact, the ’14 World Cup Final between the Germans and
Argentina drew 34.65 million live viewers in Germany, which accounted for a
market share of 86.3 percent. That’s the highest single TV event in Germany
since television ratings began to be measured. The viewership for the Final
eclipsed the previous television record, which happened to be Germany’s
semi-final rout of Brazil. That match drew 32.57 million sets of eyeballs.

World Cup Betting Tips

Betting on the spread is a risky endeavor

Betting on the point spread is most common in sports like football and
basketball. In soccer, however, betting on the spread is a bit trickier. In some
cases, you’ll have a team favored by 0.5, which means they just have to win by
at least one goal for the bet to hit. In those instances, you can probably bet
on the spread fairly safely.

Anything above 0.5, however, looks risky. Expecting a team to win is one
thing, but expecting a team to win by at least 2 goals is dangerous, especially
given just how difficult it is to score goals. Can France beat Saudi Arabia by
at least 2? Absolutely. Still, expecting a team to score multiple goals is a
dangerous game, so finding another way to attack a game is likely for the best.

Parlays in the group stages can be profitable

Obviously, nailing a parlay is profitable no matter what. While the World Cup
is designed to pit the planet’s 32 best teams against one another, we know
there’s still a massive talent discrepancy between the best team in the
tournament and the worst.

Just look at some of the matchups we’re getting in the group stage.
Germany-South Korea? Spain-Iran? Belgium-Tunisia? Strange things tend to happen
at the World Cup, but these look like incredibly lopsided matchups on paper. The
group stage presents a good opportunity to pick on some of the worst teams in
the field. You can string bets involving these heavy favorites together into a
parlay before things get more dicey in the knockout rounds.

Take advantage of the odds

Attacking favorable odds is a general rule of thumb for betting on any sport,
but the World Cup presents an interesting dynamic. Rather than simply playing
the odds and making the smart bet, lots of bettors bet with their heart rather
than with their head when it comes to the World Cup. This goes back to the whole
patriotism aspect. Just look at the 2014 World Cup. Were the United States
really going to beat Belgium? Probably not, but the American betting public was
so caught up in USMNT fever that the odds were bet down to the point where
taking Belgium was almost a no-brainer. In the end, it panned out.

You’re not so much betting against the house as you are betting against other
bettors. Most casual bettors bet on the outcome they want to see happen rather
than the outcome they think is most likely to happen. Taking a more analytical
stance is the way to enjoy more long-term success. No viewer wants to watch a
game that ends in a draw, so there’s almost always value in opting to bet on a
game ending with the spoils shared.

Don’t be fooled by big names

If you asked some casual soccer fans on the street which teams have the best
chance to win the World Cup, you’d probably hear the same names over and over.
Germany, England, France, Brazil, etc. While these are all teams that have
enjoyed World Cup glory in the past, letting the past dictate the future doesn’t
make any sense in this instance.

Good Bets For The World Cup Champions

The World Cup is played once every 4 years, which leads to plenty of roster
turnover from one World Cup to the next. Look no further than Spain, who won the
Cup in 2010. The Spanish side featured many of the same names in 2014, but that
team crashed out in the group stage. Why? Well, most of the key players from the
2010 team got old in a hurry, and the overall talent level wasn’t where it was 4
years prior.

Brazil has won 5 World Cups. This means absolutely nothing when it comes to
Brazil’s chances of winning in 2018, especially because a grand total of zero
players on the current Brazil roster have ever won the World Cup before. There’s
potential value in betting against big-name teams that are going to draw heavy
betting interest.

Keep an eye on world rankings

Ranking teams is certainly an inexact science, but keeping tabs on where
experts rate certain teams can help you when it comes to deciding where to bet
your money. As of this writing, England, one of the aforementioned big-name
sides that draws heavy betting interest, are ranked just 16th in the world. Even
so, the Three Lions are still considered to be one of the betting favorites to
win in Russia.

People are always going to bet in favor of a team like England, even if there
isn’t much logic to it. Most believe the upcoming England squad is one of the
better teams to come out of the UK in recent years, but the overall talent on
the roster still pales in comparison to a team like Germany, Brazil, or even
France. There’s almost no value in betting for England, so betting against a
team like that is a sneaky way to potentially make a profit.

Don’t go too hard too early

We mentioned that there’s great potential in betting on the group stages, but
don’t go all-in at the beginning of the tournament. Managing your bankroll is
another general rule of thumb, and it certainly pertains to the World Cup. The
deeper we get into the tournament, the more fans are likely to put big money on
their national team to win the games.

While the matchups tend to get juicier as the competition goes on, the latter
stages of the tourney also tend to bring more inexperienced, casual bettors into
the mix. This is especially true if you have a famous-but-not-that-great team
like England or Mexico still around. It’s also recommended to go bigger in the
latter stages of the tournament than you might in the group round, especially
because a juggernaut like Germany may take it easy in the third game of the
group stage if they have already secured advancement into the next round.

Sleepers are out there

Just because the World Cup is usually won by a household team like Germany or
Brazil doesn’t mean we won’t see some upsets along the way. It obviously isn’t
recommended to bet against teams like that, but there are some valuable
underdogs that can be found in the early rounds.

Look no further than 2014, when teams like England, Portugal, Spain, and
Italy were beaten in the group stage. While it’s tough to peg which team will
falter early on, a team like Mexico might be vulnerable in 2018. El Tri is
trapped in Group F with Germany, Sweden, and South Korea. South Korea looks like
a clear also-ran in this group, but facing Germany and Sweden isn’t an easy task
for Mexico.

Beware of futures bets

Futures bets can be rewarding, but placing a bet on a team so far ahead of
time comes with a great deal of risk. For one, most of these national teams
don’t spend a ton of time playing alongside one another. They’ll spend plenty of
time training in advance of the competition, but there’s no real telling how a
team will gel until we see it out there in live game action.

A team like Brazil looks like a solid bet right now, but we need look no
further back than 4 years to see why going all-in on a futures bet is risky. The
Brazilians were heavy favorites playing the World Cup in their home country, but
we know what happened there. The Brazilians were absolutely steamrolled by the
Germans in the semi-final.

If betting, limiting your action to game-by-game bets or in-game props looks
preferred over futures.

Don’t forget the weather

It’s easy to overlook, but weather conditions always play a huge role in the
way a game is played. If a game is taking place on a 70-degree sunny day, then
there’s little, if any, concern. However, if it’s 40 degrees and the game is
being played in driving rain, you can expect scoring to be quite a bit more
difficult. There’s also a greater margin of error for goalkeepers working with a
potentially slick ball.

The World Cup is taking place in Russia, where we know the weather isn’t
always overly favorable. There is always potential for rain and cold conditions,
even in the summertime. Be sure to check out the forecast before placing a bet
on an upcoming match.

Live bets offer value, too

If your pregame bet isn’t going according to plan, don’t forget that you can
always place a new wager while a game is still going on. Live bets offer an even
more exciting way to immerse yourself in the game, and they afford you the
chance to potentially hedge if your initial bet looks like it’s going up in
flames.

What Happened in the Past?

2014 World Cup (Brazil)

As mentioned often, there were plenty of decorated teams that struggled to
find the mark at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Big-name sides like Spain,
Croatia, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Italy, England, Ghana, and Russia failed to
advance beyond the group stage.

The United States finished second in Group G behind Germany, only to falter
in the knockout stages against Belgium. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, cruised
to a perfect 3-0 record in Group F before beating Belgium and the Netherlands to
advance to the final, where they were beaten in extra time by Germany.

There are a number of high-profile teams missing out on the 2018 festivities,
including the USA, Italy, the Netherlands, Chile, and Ghana.

2010 World Cup (South Africa)

Back in 2010, Spain was triumphant down in South Africa when they toppled the
Netherlands in the final.

France was arguably the most disappointing side at the competition, finishing
bottom of Group A with just a single point. The team’s players essentially
revolted against head coach Raymond Domenech, as they refused to train after the
team decided to send home star striker Nicolas Anelka, who got into a verbal
altercation with Domenech during half-time of the team’s prior defeat to Mexico.

Each of the last 2 World Cup Finals have ended 1-0, with the winning goal
being scored in extra time. Andres Iniesta provided the Cup-winning strike for
Spain in 2010, while Mario Gotze scored the winner for Germany in 2014.

Greatest World Cup Matches of All Time

Uruguay vs. Brazil (1950)

With an event as storied as the World Cup, it only makes sense that some
matches stand out over others in terms of everlasting greatness. Few will
remember a game that took place in 1950, but we’d be remiss to ignore the
decisive match between Uruguay and Brazil.

The format was different back then, with the winners of each of the 4 groups
going into another group stage format to determine the winner. Heading into
their final match against Uruguay, Brazil simply needed a draw to be declared
World Cup champions. Uruguay, meanwhile, needed to win the game outright in
order to win.

Things were looking good for the Brazilians after having disposed of Sweden
and Spain by a collective score of 13-2 heading into the showdown with Uruguay.
Several local newspapers were so confident that they printed Brazil’s victory
even before it happened. You know what happens next. Brazil took a 1-0 lead into
the second half, only to see Uruguay fire back with 2 goals of their own to
ultimately win the game, 2-1. The loss was so brutal that Pele, one of the
greatest players to ever live, broke down in tears afterward. Fortunately for
Pele, he would go on to win 3 of the next 5 World Cups with Brazil.

Brazil vs. Italy (1982)

Let’s not forget another tragic Brazil defeat that took place in 1982. This
Brazil side is commonly thought to be the best team to not win a World Cup. They
were thwarted by Italy, who got a hat trick from Paolo Rossi to counter Brazil’s
goals from Socrates and Falcao. The match’s pace was dictated by the Italians
throughout, and Italy would go on to win the tournament in the end.

Argentina vs. England (1986)

Argentina has won the World Cup once, in 1986, when they were led by the
great Diego Maradona. The Argentines faced England in the quarter-final round at
Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Maradona scored 2 of the most infamous goals in
the tournament’s history – both within 4 minutes of each other.

Good Bets For The World Cup 2022

The first was the “Hand of God” goal. A skewed clearance off the foot of
English defender Steve Hodge cut in the air toward Maradona, who had continued a
run toward goal. England keeper Peter Shilton came out to attempt to clear the
miscue, but the ball deflected off of the outstretched arm of Maradona and into
the goal. The referees inexplicably missed the blatant hand ball, and the goal
stood.

The second goal was a doozy, and it has earned the name “The Goal of the
Century.” Maradona took the ball in his own half of the field and proceeded to
run 60 yards through an array of England defenders before a move that left
Shilton on his rear end. Maradona then calmly tucked the ball into the net,
securing a 2-0 win for his side.

Hungary vs. West Germany (1954)

Coming into the 1954 World Cup, Hungary looked like an unbeatable world
power. The Hungarians entered the 1954 World Cup Final against West Germany on a
32-game unbeaten run that included an Olympic gold medal in 1952.

The result looked like a sure thing, especially once Hungary jumped out to a
2-0 lead after just 8 minutes of play. However, West Germany showed great
resolve and fought back to tie the game at 2-2 heading into halftime. The teams
remained deadlocked throughout the second 45 minutes before a late goal from
West Germany’s Helmut Rahn clinched the victory and brought down Hungary.

The game is known as the “Miracle of Bern” due to the Germans’ dramatic
comeback against a heavily-favored Hungarian side that took place in Bern,
Switzerland. The win was the first World Cup title for Germany, which has gone
on to win 3 others since. Hungary’s second-place finish in ’54 remains the
country’s best World Cup result thus far, and they were also runners-up in 1938.

The 1954 World Cup is additionally the only World Cup thus far that has
pitted a pair of Central European sides against one another in the Final.

Romania vs. Argentina (1994)

Few had Romania pegged to do much of anything in the 1994 World Cup in the
United States, but the Romanians went on to raise plenty of eyebrows during
their run to the tournament’s quarter-final.

The most noteworthy game was the Romanians’ shocking 3-2 win over a
powerhouse Argentina side. Romania stormed its way through the group stage
before ousting a former winner in Argentina in the knockout stages. An
unfortunate result in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regular time at the
hands of Sweden in the next round kept Romania from further glory.

Good Bets For The World Cup Wins

FIFA World Cup Records

The FIFA World Cup hasn’t really been around that long. The world’s most
prestigious soccer tournament has been played every 4 years starting in 1930,
which makes the 2018 version in Russia the 21st ever. The tournament was on
hiatus during the World War II years, so there was a gap between 1938 and 1950.

Good Bets For The World Cup Champions

Still, some noteworthy records have been set along the way. What are some of
the more impressive records in the books?

Records were made to be broken, and it will be interesting to see how long
some of the more prestigious records stand. Will Klose eventually lose his
goalscoring record to fellow German Thomas Muller? Will Joachim Low stay with
Germany long enough to break Schon’s long-held records? Will a new keeper rise
up and set a mark for clean sheets? Most importantly, how long will Brazil reign
supreme atop the list of World Cup winners?