Our 2022 FIFA World Cup futures betting previews begin with finding the Group A winner, a group headlined by hosts Qatar and three time finalists Netherlands.
Group A group winner odds have the Netherlands as the heavy favorites to win the group at -250 odds, followed by Senegal at +400 and Ecuador at +600 odds. Oddsmakers are predicting the hosts Qatar to finish bottom in Group A, with longshot odds of +1400 to finish top of the group. In our soccer betting picks from the World Cup, we look at the World Cup Group A futures markets.
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No Hope for Qatar
Qatar welcomes the world as controversial hosts for the tournament with low expectations for their on-pitch performance. With no prior accomplishments on the international stage, Qatar’s national team spent the last half decade in an attempt to accelerate its program to a respectable level.
Manager Felix Sanchez has succeeded in improving Qatar’s squad immensely since taking on the project. Even winning the 2019 Asian Cup in a shocking run to the title in the process of preparing the team for this moment of being World Cup hosts.
Still, Qatar’s chances of winning Group A are as close to zero as you can get. They will need a lot of luck to even make it out of the group as it is likely Qatar will join South Africa as just the second host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout rounds. Every nation was hoping to draw themselves into Group A for the chance at an easy three points against them and now Qatar will have to prove they are talented enough to compete as hosts.
Bettors who wish to back the hosts should check out the Group Qualification odds, where Qatar is +400 to make the Round of 16.
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Senegal to Challenge Dutch
At +400 odds, Senegal are an interesting Group A dark horse thanks to a squad that possesses a fair amount of star talent in top European leagues.
At forward, current FC Bayern and former Liverpool star Sadio Mane leads the line. At the back, Chelsea summer transfer Kalidou Koulibaly and PSG veteran Abdou Diallo give the team a sturdy presence as Senegal are well balanced in experienced world stars.
Senegal are the nation most likely to put a scare in the Dutch out of this group. At +400 odds, they are worth a play for longshot bettors and are an incredibly heady play to qualify for the knockout round at -138.
Ecuador Lack Firepower
Don’t expect too many goals when Ecuador take the pitch in Group A play as the South American nation look to succeed via defending.
Ecuador qualified for the World Cup after a string of 1-1 draws in qualifying, including 1-1 results at home against both Argentina and Brazil. Since then, they continued to struggle to find many goals during their preparation friendlies over the past few months.
Ecuador beat Nigeria 1-0 and accumulated three Nil-Nil draws against Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Lacking a threat in attack, Ecuador are likely to be overpowered by the Netherlands and Senegal in this group.
There is also the minor chance Ecuador doesn’t even make it to the World Cup. There is a pending appeal surrounding the use of an ineligible player during qualifying that may lead to Ecuador’s dismissal and either Chile or Peru’s inclusion. FIFA has ruled to clear Ecuador of wrongdoing already, so expect to see them take the pitch in Group A.
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Netherlands Back On Top
After spending most of the 2010s struggling to maintain their status as one of the elite nations in international competition, the Dutch are all the way back as World Cup contenders in Qatar.
The Netherlands finished their UEFA Nations League group undefeated, beating Belgium and Poland in their last matches to make it clear they are to be taken seriously as potential World Cup winners.
World Cup Qualifying was also an easy task, as the Dutch lost just once while scoring an impressive 33 goals. Led by a now experienced Memphis Depay in attack, manager Louis Van Gaal can also deploy rising young stars Cody Gakpo and Xavi Simons from PSV Eindhoven to provide a youthful jolt of energy.
Van Gaal is as experienced of a manager as they come and has his country playing its best ball since Arjen Robben guided them to the 2010 World Cup Final. The Oranje should top Group A and make a deep run in Qatar as one of the group of favorites to win the tournament.
