Countries Whose Fans Have the Most Bets in This Year’s World Cup

Countries Whose Fans Have the Most Bets in 2022’s World Cup

The World Cup is undeniably an exciting affair and generates quite a bit of a buzz, partially since it comes around every four years and partially because it is perhaps one of the biggest tournaments in the world at such an international level. Everyone loves to feel a bit of national joy rooting for their own country to see how far they can make it into the tournament, and of course with that, sports betting is also an activity that gains more traction and popularity within the sporting community around this time.

This year, a whopping 32 nations qualified for the World Cup being hosted in Qatar, and this will increase in size for the 2026 World Cup, which is due to be hosted across three countries, including Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Naturally, there are countries that are fan favorites. They may be a country defending their previously acquired title, or a newcomer joining the ranks and surprising everyone. To see this year’s fan favorites and which team is proving to be popular amongst spectators, keep reading below!

Which Teams Qualified for the World Cup?

Whilst the World Cup itself is certainly the main attraction and makes up the matches that people really want to see, perhaps not very commonly known, the selection process to qualify for the world cup happens a few months prior to determine which countries will actually be taking part in the tournament.

Countries have to earn a ‘ticket’ which is gained through regional matches and their outcome determines whether or not a specific country is through to play in the world cup or not. The qualifying teams are then sorted into groups from A to H, and each group features four countries and is ranked based on the best teams.

For instance, ‘Pot’ 1 as it is commonly known, consists of the top eight teams, Pot 2 is made up of the next best eight teams, and so on. The reason behind this is to ensure there is a balance across the teams where the matches are played fairly, but at the same time, competitively at a proportionate level. In accordance with the tradition of FIFA, the host country is given a spot in Pot 1, as has been done in the past.

Which Teams Are The Most Popular?

For sports fans who do want to place bets on their favorite teams, even if their own national team has been knocked out, it’s worth looking at which teams have been considered to be some of the most popular, not only in the 2022 World Cup but in history as well.

Thanks to the advancements in technology as well as stored data, an impressive 150 years’ worth of data are able to be analyzed for predictions to be made. Of course, anything can happen in the World Cup, especially in the final rounds of the tournament, but such advanced tech and data can certainly help us to look at trends and make carefully calculated predictions.

FIFA has helped make this process easier by giving ranking points to each qualifying team with a specific formula and here’s what it looked like ahead of the World Cup:

1.   Brazil

Brazil was unsurprisingly at the very top of the list, despite not having won the World Cup since 2002. Even without this, the team was one of the top-ranked groups, which perhaps made it all the more devastating when they were knocked out by Croatia blocking their route into the quarter-finals. Individuals such as Neymar and Paqueta may have something to do with the team’s popularity, and their celebration dances have made their way to TikTok as well.

2.   Belgium

Unlike Brazil, we might not be wrong to be surprised to see Belgium in second place for the FIFA rankings. Quite an unsuspecting team to make the list, Belgium has slowly but surely made its way up the ranks and has been performing consistently, even if they have not secured any firm wins. However, this consistency has come in handy for them and they managed to play all the way until Morocco beat them 2 – 0.

3.   Argentina

Another unsurprising contender, this year’s tournament is especially sentimental for Argentian fans, as it will be the last world cup with Lionel Messi, who is still one of the top 10 players according to the FIFA 23 Player Ratings list. Especially after their last win at Copa America, it would be a dream come true to do the same in Qatar. Beating the Netherlands has secured that chance for them, and there is a lot of pressure as well as anticipation surrounding them.