Top 5 Betting Favorites for the 2018 World Cup

We’re getting closer to the opening of the 2018 World Cup from Russia, with the host nation set to tangle with Saudi Arabia to open group play on Thursday, June 14 at 11am Eastern time. Odds have been released for each of the 32 teams entered in this year’s tournament, and we’re taking a look at your best World Cup betting picks among the top five teams.

Top 5 Betting Favorites for the 2018 World Cup

• Brazil 9/2
• Germany 9/2
• France 11/2
• Spain 6/1
• Argentina 9/1

Brazil rolled to the top of the difficult qualification group in South America after Tite took over the reigns of the team. This is a team that has the typical flair of the region but also has a well-organized basis. The team that took a 7-1 humiliation from Germany in 2014 has put together a more solid organization this time. Neymar is expected to take part after recovering from a fractured metatarsal. Along with Jesus, Willian and Philippe Coutinho, he brings an elite attack, and the strength of Fernandinho, Casemiro, Miranda and Marquinhos will keep Brazil from suffering the sort of meltdown that doomed them against Die Mannschaft. There are not one but two solid goalkeepers, and Marcelo and Dani Alves bring both speed and tenacity on defense, so this could well be Brazil’s first World Cup win in Europe in 60 years. Germany features a coach in Joachim Loew and a roster so deep that they won the 2017 Confederations Cup with basically their bench taking the field. Their slogan is “Best Never Rest,” but there’s a reason why repeats in the World Cup are so rare — hunger is tempered by the complacency that comes after winning four years ago. The Germans also lack one transcendent playmaker in this group, which is the role that players like Miroslav Klose and Juergen Klinsmann performed during their years on the national team. Mario Gomez returns to the pitch, along with Sandro Wagner and Timo Werner. Will they be enough to hoist soccer’s most storied trophy? France is led by Didier Deschamps, who was the team’s captain in 1998, when Les Bleus rolled to a World Cup title on their home soil. Antoine Griezmann tallied six goals at Euro 2016, leading all scorers, and could do the same thing in Russia. N’Golo Kante brings terrific entergy in the infield, and Kylian Mbappe can cause chaos all over the field. Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane are a quite capable pair of center backs. Paul Pogba will appear for France despite having a hard time with Manchester United. All told, this is a team with a ton of talent but still seeking consistency, as they frittered away a 2-0 lead and ended up losing a friendly with Colombia. Spain enter the tournament with a terrific captain in Sergio Ramos, and they combine technical superiority with elite levels of experience. Diego Costa leads the attack, but the rest of the roster is solid as well, with Ramos, Isco, David Silva, Sergio Busquets, David De Gea, Gerard Pique, Thiago Alcantara, Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba. While some might point out that Spain is leaning a bit toward the elderly with their roster, there is still plenty of gasoline in that collective tank. Spain and Portugal are in the same group, which means that they will get challenged in the early going in ways that other groups will not experience, but that could help temper Spain for the knockout rounds. Argentina made it all the way to the final in 2014, losing to Germany, and coach Jorge Sampaoli joked that Messi will have a “revolver to his head” in this World Cup, as Argentinians expect him to deliver a Cup during his career, much like Diego Maradona did way back in 1986. Their class of forwards is deep — but they had a difficult time in qualification, needing a hat trick from Messi in their last match to make it to Russia. Sampaoli likes to push his fullbacks up, which can clog up the central defense. They took a 6-1 friendly defeat against Spain (although Messi was held out with an injury), which showed all sorts of problems. Of the five favorites, this is the shakiest crew.