It took 871 matches over almost three years. In those matches, players scored 2,454 goals, and referees hoisted 2,965 yellow cards. When Peru knocked off New Zealand, 2-0, in the second leg of their playoff series, and earned the last spot in the World Cup (and Peru’s first since 1982), the field for Russia was set, so let’s take a look at some of the qualifiers and talk about their chances, as you begin to plan your 2018 World Cup betting strategy.
We still haven’t seen the groups, and we don’t know who of all the seeded teams will be in the draw. But we know enough to start looking at the field. We know which of the usual qualifiers are out — Chile (the reigning South American champion) is out. The Netherlands is out. Italy is out — for the first time since 1958. The United States is out. So is Ghana. But we’ll still see many of the usual soccer odds top favorites — Germany, England, Spain, Brazil, France, and Portugal, along with Iceland who became the smallest nation ever to qualify, with just 335,000 inhabitants.
Early 2018 World Cup Betting Preview
- Host country: Russia
- Dates: 14 June – 15 July (32 days)
- Teams: 32 (from 5 confederations)
- Venues: 12 (in 11 host cities)
- Total matches: 64
- Debuting teams: Iceland / Panama
The Draw
The next step happens on December 1, when the 32 World Cup teams find out there group assignments (eight groups, labeled A-H). They have been placed in four pots, numbered 1-4, on the basis of their FIFA Ranking on October 16, 2017.- 1: Russia (already in Group A as the host team), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France
- 2: Spain, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia, Peru
- 3: Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran, Denmark
- 4: Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Serbia
Last 10 World Cup Champions
- 2014: Germany
- 2010: Spain
- 2006: Italy
- 2002: Brazil
- 1998: France
- 1994: Brazil
- 1990: Germany
- 1986: Argentina
- 1982: Italy
- 1978: Argentina