The World is a Ball: Bookmakers point to Brazil as favorite to win the World Cup

Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar, said he considers Brazil and France the favorites to win the Fifa Cup in the Qatar World Cup, which starts in less than a month, on November 20th.

And, according to the predictions of bookmakers, the Brazilians, five times world champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), and the French, owners of two titles (1998 and 2018), are even the most likely to succeed in the Middle East.

Tite’s team, according to the situation at the moment, is the one that gives less return to the bettor who puts his trust in him.

At Betfair, one of the best-known bookmakers in the world, for every real wagered, if Neymar and company triumph, the bettor has a return of five – he gets back what he pledged and another four. That is, 5 to 1.

Other British houses offer equal condition (bet365 and Sportingbet cases) or close – Betway pays 5.5 to 1.

The team of stars Benzema and Mbappé, champions of the Russian Cup in 2018, is also well-placed to triumph, and the bonus for those who put faith in it is 6.5 to 1 on Betfair and 7 to 1 on the others.

The reader can consider a good return, both from Brazil and France – as long as there is no comparison with other competitors.

As strong as the two, Germany pays 12 to 1 at Betway; Belgium, Brazil’s tormentor in the Russian Cup and vice-leader of the FIFA ranking, 15 to 1, and Croatia, current world vice-champion, 51 to 1, in three of the four houses consulted.

The biggest zebras are Costa Rica and Saudi Arabia. At Bet365, for every 1 bet, the reward, if one of these selections lifts, in an unlikely result, the cup on December 18 at Lusail stadium, is 751.

Have you thought? A bet of R$10 can mean receiving R$7,510. I already thought, and I prefer to use this R$ 10 to, for example, buy two liters of milk.

After Brazil and France, in the ranking of favoritism of bookmakers among the 32 countries participating in the World Cup, Argentina, England and Spain appear.

England, which will seek to return to the top of the men’s football world after 56 years – they won at home in 1966 –, have the player who has the best chance, according to quotes, to finish the tournament in Qatar as gunner.

The striker Harry Kane, from Tottenham, is the player who gives the least return: “only” 8 to 1, in three of the houses surveyed.

Nicknamed “Hurricane” (Hurricane), he was the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup with six goals.

Others well-regarded for the position of top scorer are Mbappé, Benzema, Messi, Neymar, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and the Belgian Lukaku.

Returning to the nations participating in the Cup, Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica follow as big underdogs the selections of Iran, Tunisia and Australia, plus the host, Qatar.

And an interesting aspect to be observed is the item “best player in the Cup”, to be elected by FIFA at the end of the competition.

One of the houses (Bet365) that offers this option in its list of betting lists, in the top 10 of the favorites, four Brazilians: Neymar, Vini Jr., Raphinha and Richarlison.

It is curious, since only Neymar has the title guaranteed in Tite’s team. The others face strong competition, which includes the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Pedro and Roberto Firmino.