It's been 60 years since a country repeated as World Cup champions, which is what France will be attempting to do at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which gets underway on Sunday. Only Italy (1934-38) and Brazil (1958-62) have won consecutive World Cups, but the French National Team is one of the favorites to hoist the 2022 World Cup trophy. Led by four-time Ligue 1 scoring champion, Kylian Mbappe, as well as veterans Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema, France is the third-favorite according to Caesars Sportsbook. The French squad is at +650 (risk $100 to win $650), which trails only Brazil (+375) and Argentina (+500).
The USMNT is making its return at the 2022 FIFA World Cup after missing out on the 2018 edition. Team USA is a +10000 longshot in the latest World Cup 2022 odds, which is tied for 14th amongst all nations. Before locking in any 2022 FIFA World Cup picks, you need to see what SportsLine's soccer insider Brandt Sutton has to say.
Sutton, a former collegiate soccer player, has been SportsLine's top soccer editor for more than five years. He has followed soccer closely for much longer and factors in managerial tactics, projected lineups and past performances to make the most-informed decisions possible, keeping his finger on the pulse of the game all over the globe.
Sutton also has been on a roll with his best bets, going 148-112-1 over his last 261 soccer picks this year, returning more than $2,300 for $100 bettors.
Now, Sutton has analyzed the 2022 World Cup bracket from every angle and revealed his top picks, predictions and knockout bracket. You can head to SportsLine now to see Sutton's 2022 FIFA World Cup picks.
Top FIFA World Cup 2022 predictions
Sutton is fading France, even though the defending champions are among the favorites at 13-2. France undoubtedly has one of the best rosters in the world, but they've been struggling to get results. In fact, Les Bleus have won just one of their last six games heading into the World Cup, which includes two defeats against Denmark.
France and Denmark will square off in the group stage at the World Cup, and if France fails to win Group D, they could find themselves playing Argentina in the Round of 16. In addition to their recent form, the World Cup hasn't seen a nation win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1958-62, which doesn't bode well for France's chances in Qatar.
"France will feature one of the deadliest attacks at the 2022 World Cup, with Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann spearheading the front line. However, I expect the defending champions to struggle without Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante in the middle of the pitch," Sutton told SportsLine. "In addition, four of the last five defending World Cup champions have been eliminated in the group stage at the following tournament."
Another surprise: Sutton expects Belgium to make a deep run in the 2022 World Cup bracket, even though they're +1600 longshots in the 2022 World Cup odds. The Belgians have advanced one stage further in each of their last three World Cup appearances. After failing to progress out of the group stage in 1998, they then reached the Round of 16 (2002), then the quarterfinals (2014) and then the semifinals in 2018.
The only stage left is the finals and Belgium has everything needed to reach that. They are the No. 2 team in FIFA rankings and bring the most experienced squad into Qatar as they have a tournament-high of eight players with at least 90 caps.
With the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, offense shouldn't be a problem for the Belgians, who are just as talented in the defensive third. Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Glove for being the best goalkeeper at the 2018 WC, and coach Roberto Martinez pairs young defensive talent with stalwarts like Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. Belgium is going undervalued at their current odds, so they're a team to jump on with 2022 World Cup bets. See Sutton's other 2022 World Cup picks at SportsLine.
How to make 2022 World Cup picks
Sutton has locked in his best bets to win the 2022 World Cup, along with his top futures plays and his full knockout bracket prediction. He's revealed how far the USMNT, Brazil and Spain will advance in Qatar. He's also high on a dark horse team that "has a shot at being this year's Croatia, who surprisingly made the World Cup final in 2018." You can only see them here.
So who will win the World Cup 2022? And which longshot could stun the soccer world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see Brandt Sutton's best bets for the 2022 World Cup, all from the proven expert who is more than $2,300 on his soccer picks in 2022, and find out.
2022 FIFA World Cup odds
Brazil +400
Argentina +550
France +650
England +750
Spain +750
Germany +1000
Netherlands +1400
Portugal +1400
Belgium +1600
Denmark +3000
Croatia +5000
Uruguay +5000
Serbia +7000
Mexico +10000
USA +10000
Poland +10000
Senegal +10000
Switzerland +10000
Wales +12500
Ghana +15000
Canada +15000
Ecuador +15000
Morocco +20000
Cameroon +25000
Japan +25000
South Korea +25000
Tunisia +30000
Qatar +30000
Australia +40000
Costa Rica +50000
Iran +50000
Saudi Arabia +50000
2022 World Cup groups
Group A
Qatar
Ecuador
Senegal
Netherlands
Group B
England
Iran
USA
Wales
Group C
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Poland
Group D
France
Australia
Denmark
Tunisia
Group E
Spain
Costa Rica
Germany
Japan
Group F
Belgium
Canada
Morocco
Croatia
Group G
Brazil
Serbia
Switzerland
Cameroon
Group H
Portugal
Ghana
Uruguay
Korea Republic
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