A football tournament doesn’t get any better than the FIFA World Cup. Every 4 years,  an intense showdown of football supremacy from 32 of the best football teams in the world. And the reason you’re reading this post right now is simply that the next installment is knocking on our doors! 

The purpose of this post is to go over the latest groups of the FIFA World Cup 2022 and how they work. And we’re going to top it off with a bonus section where you can find the outright odds for this year’s potential winners!  

When and Where is the 2022 World Cup?

Qatar is the host country for the FIFA World Cup 2022. The entirety of the tournament will take place across 8 stadiums. Since FIFA declared Qatar as the host nation, the government has constructed 7 new stadiums across the country! 

At the same time, it spent a huge chunk of money to build over 100 hotels for international fans of football! It has all been possible simply because FIFA declares the host countries way ahead of time.

In this case, Qatar was chosen way back in 2010. 12 years is enough time to make the adjustments, don’t you think?

The decision came after FIFA’s executive members voted on which country to host the world cup. Qatar beat countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and even the USA! This is a big milestone for the Middle East as a whole.

It’s simply because no middle eastern country has been the host of the FIFA World Cup ever before. 

If you’re interested in the stadiums, check them out!

• Education City Stadium
• Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
• Khalifa International Stadium
• Al Bayt Stadium
• Al Thumama Stadium
• Lusail Stadium
• Stadium 974
• Al Janoub Stadium

How Many Teams are in World Cup 2022?

One of the main reasons the group stage needs to exist in the FIFA cup is that there are 32 teams! If there is no structure to this, keeping track of things will become a nightmare. That’s why FIFA has decided to separate the teams into 8 groups. 

This created the infamous Group Stage in the FIFA Cup. During the group stage, the teams in a group face each other. Only 2 teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage. This phase of the tournament is also known as the Round of 16 for obvious reasons. 

In the group stage, it’s possible for a match to end in a draw. With every win, a team scores 3 points. For a group stage draw, both teams get 1 point each. A loss doesn’t count for the scoring. 

At the end of the group stage, if 2 or more teams are on the same level in terms of points, other aspects of the teams come into play. Which teams scored the most goals, how big of a winning margin did they have, etc. calculations will kick in to determine the eligible teams for the Round of 16. 

During this round, things start to heat up as only the best-performing teams make it to the next level. Each group winner plays against the runner-up from a different group. Every match is an elimination for one team. If the match ends in a draw, it goes to a tiebreaker. 

Following this process, the qualified teams play in the quarter-finals. These matches also follow the knockout system. The last 4 teams standing play in the semi-finals. From there, the finest 2 of the teams go head-to-head in the final game. 

Before the final match, a 3rd place match happens between the losing teams in the semi-finals. The FIFA World Cup event wraps up with the final match. The final match of the Qatar World Cup 2022 will take place in Lusail Stadium, located in Al Daayen. 

What are the FIFA World Cup 2022 Groups?

Now that you’re aware of how the tournament progresses, we can go a little deeper into this year’s FIFA Cup ground. 32 national team rosters are put into 8 groups. In the kick-off match, Qatar and Ecuador are scheduled to face each other. 

Let’s go over each of the groups and briefly see what to expect. 

Group A

• Qatar
• Ecuador
• Senegal
• Netherlands

The host nation always opens the group stage so it’s no surprise that it’s in Group A. According to FIFA rankings, the top 2 teams in this group are Senegal and Netherlands. While we’re aware of Netherland’s performance, it’s too early to comment on what other team will pass this phase. 

Group B

• England
• Iran
• USA
• Wales

While this group looks fairly straightforward, don’t let the world rankings fool you. England is surely the strongest team out of the 4 but it’s going to be an intense battle for the rest of the teams. Iran plays outstanding football. The USA from North America is not really known for its soccer team but it’s been consistently improving since the last tournament. Wales has also shown similar progress in past matches.

As unlikely as it may sound, we believe the matches for this group will be very enjoyable to viewers as well as bettors. 

Group C

• Argentina
• Saudi Arabia
• Mexico
• Poland

From the looks of it, Saudi Arabia has landed in the middle of an unfair battle. Argentina is clearly the dominating force in this group because of Lionel Messi. Mexico too has been doing pretty well in the FIFA rankings. Poland possesses the potential to surprise the viewers with an extra win or two. If we were bettors, we wouldn’t put any money in favour of Saudi Arabia. 

Group D

• France
• Australia
• Tunisia
• Denmark

France and Denmark, both qualified teams are both in very good positions to make it to the Round of 16. France is the defending champion from last year’s FIFA Cup. Australia and Tunisia may have passed the qualifiers but we wouldn’t bet too hard on them qualifying for the Round of 16. 

Group E

• Germany
• Spain
• Costa Rica
• Japan

Germany is pretty far behind in the world ranking. But you’d be mistaken if you let the ranking steer your judgment. Germany is one of the strongest football forces in the world. The same can be said for Spain which is in a better position. And of course, you can’t phase out Costa Rica as it’s known for introducing sudden twists in a game. 

Group F

• Canada
• Belgium
• Morocco
• Croatia

By rocking the 2nd position in the world ranking, Belgium has pretty much made it to the 2nd round of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar country this year. If we have to put money on the other team to qualify, we have to go with Croatia. While Canada and Morocco play decent football, it’s unlikely that any of these teams will make it to the next round. 

Group G

• Serbia
• Brazil
• Cameroon
• Switzerland

When the top-ranked team in the world is in this group, you can surely expect some Drama. It’s none other than Brazil. In fact, the majority of top-tier betting sites are favouring Brazil heavily as the tournament winner!

Group H

• Portugal
• Ghana
• Uruguay
• South Korea

By looking at the teams in this group, we can predict nothing but surprises. All of the teams have been somewhat inconsistent with their performance in the past few years. We’re pretty certain Portugal will manage to make it thanks to the ex-Real Madrid star and captain of the team, Christiano Ronaldo. 

Top 3 Teams Likely to Win and Their Odds

As promised, let’s look at the top 3 most likely teams to win this year’s world cup. Keep in mind that these odds are subject to change as the tournament progresses. 

Brazil: +400

England: +450

France: +650