At long last, the 2022 World Cup has finally arrived. The opportunity for fans to root on their native countries, players to be become immortalized in soccer lore, and coaches to make the right calls that lead their teams to victory is upon us.
When reviewing the list of World Cup hosts throughout the tournament’s history, a lot of the same countries tend to pop up. Mexico, Italy, France, Germany and others have been the site of the event on multiple occasions, but it seems like FIFA is starting to share the wealth with other nations.
This will be Qatar’s first time hosting the World Cup, as well as its first time even participating in the tournament. While these details can be a deterrent for bettors thinking about whether to have faith in their team, there will be a ton of value in betting the host nation.
Nevertheless, like anything else, it is always a good idea to have a plan before submitting your bet. Consider reading up on some general points on Bovada’s site and factor in some of the odds there to ensure that you make accurate predictions for this tournament.
With that being said, here are some points to consider while placing bets on the world cup tournaments:
Host Nation Advantage
Qatar will compete in Group A, and don’t exactly have to run through a gauntlet thanks to their draw. The Netherlands might be their toughest test, but Qatar might be able to remain competitive against Ecuador and Senegal with their home fans giving them a boost.
Hence, it’s crucial to keep in mind the host nation advantage, as the tournaments kicks off with Group A as the first to launch the action. Taking place from the 20th to the 29th of November, Group A encompasses contenders Senegal, the Netherlands, Ecuador, and Qatar and gives the Qataris a chance to come up to the top.
Accomplished Goalkeepers
Soccer fans would be hard pressed to come up with a champion at any point in history who did not have an accomplished goalie. Teams rarely sprint through the World Cup averaging three or four goals per contest, unless there is one lopsided result against a markedly inferior team that boosts the statistics.
Especially in the knockout stage, teams tend to play a little bit closer to the vest, as they do not want to be caught out of position to give up an uncontested goal. As a result, countries with superior goalies tend to do well in major tournaments.
This year, be sure to keep an eye on players like Manuel Neuer of Germany, Keylor Navas of Costa Rica, Thibaut Courtois of Belgium and Alisson on Brazil. They’ll be able to knock well-placed shots at the corner of the net, which keeps their team in the game and frustrates opposing strikers.
Club Trend Carryover
One of the great things about the World Cup is that players of similar nationalities essentially stop what they are doing wherever they are in the world in order to come together to bring glory to their country. Even though they may not have too much experience playing with one another, they band as one in hopes of achieving a common goal.
While there are a lot of variables that come into play when putting a hodgepodge of people together, one factor to consider is how players were performing heading into the World Cup. It’s possible that back on their club teams, an athlete may have had a light bulb go off in their head which has allowed them to perform at a higher level. This momentum may carry over into the World Cup as well.
In the Champions League final last May, Courtois had a fantastic performance for Real Madrid against Liverpool, saving shots left and right. He will likely come into this World Cup with a ton of confidence.
Robert Lewandowski is off to a scoring start with FC Barcelona this year, having scored 13 goals in 14 games. Think about his red-hot play when deciding how to wager on Poland in the World Cup.
In Goals We Trust
Even though the famous phrase of “defense wins championships” holds true in many sports including soccer, we have seen an increase in the amount of scoring in the world’s most beautiful game.
Statistically speaking, the last two World Cups have featured the two highest totals of goals scored in the history of the event. The record number of goals scored in any World Cup is 171, which was achieved in 2014 and in 1998. 2018’s World Cup ranks second, with 169.
This is an important trend to keep in mind when thinking about matches as a whole. If bettors don’t have conviction about a particular team or player, the smart money might be laid on the game matching or eclipsing the over/under figure set for goals scored.
