World Cup Betting: Odds & Strategies
While the Super Bowl might be the biggest event of the year in American sports, the World Cup is the premier sporting event on Earth. A month-long celebration of soccer, the World Cup puts some of the best footballing nations against one another with one team emerging as immortals on the other side. Because of the intensity of each match, World Cup betting is particularly enjoyable, as bettors can live and die with every moment on the pitch the same way that players and fans from each country do. In this guide to World Cup betting odds, find out how to bet on the World Cup and the best strategies to wagering on the World Cup to turn the next tournament into your best tournament.
- The most watched sporting event in the world
- Ability to wager on single games or full tournament
- Several markets related to team performance available
When is the World Cup?
The World Cup is an event that takes place every four years. It takes place in the summer months, with the tournament usually going from June into July. This coincides with the time off in most of the major club soccer league structures, with each league like the Premier League and La Liga being out of competition by the time that the World Cup is staged. Because of its position on the soccer calendar relative to a league like the Premier League and the fact that it is one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of sports, the World Cup is one of the most heavily bet on sporting events imaginable.
How does World Cup betting work?
World Cup football betting is easy, as bettors can follow a simple process in order to get their wagers in. First, bettors have to go to the bookmaker of their choosing and select the soccer or World Cup section to get their wagers in. From there, bettors are tasked with choosing the betting markets that they want to be a part of when wagering on the World Cup. These can go anywhere from common match winner bets to elaborate wagers, which we will get into later in this guide. From there, bettors can select their stake amount that they want to put into each bet, and they can finalize their wagers after seeing the odds and potential payout.
In terms of how each sports betting market works, that can vary depending on the market that is chosen. Some types of wagers require bettors to simply pick which team is going to win a match while others require bettors to understand and predict the outcomes of complex markets that include so much more than which team will simply come out on top in each match.
Types of World Cup bets that can be made
There are a lot of different wagers that can be placed on the World Cup, as bettors can cover just about everything in the event from start to finish. No matter how elaborate a bettor wants to get with their World Cup wagering, there is likely a market that will meet their needs. Here is a list of the different betting markets that bettors can most commonly take on when they bet on the World Cup.
- Moneyline odds
- Spread bets
- Totals
- Futures bets
- Prop bets
- Live odds
Moneyline bets in World Cup games work the same as they do in other soccer games, where bettors can choose between each of the teams competing in each match as well as the draw. If the match ends in a draw, bettors who took a side to win would see their wager end in a loss. Spread wagers see a number of goals added to or subtracted from one side as a handicap is applied to the final score of the match to determine who has won against the spread. And totals ask bettors to figure out whether the amount of goals scored in a game will finish above or below the total set by the bookmaker ahead of a game.
Futures bets are usually centered around which team will win the World Cup. However, there are many other futures wagers that bettors can take on during the course of the tournament. Notable examples of this include offerings on which player will have the most goals scored in the tournament and which teams will win each group. The possibilities are virtually endless here, as futures bets allow for bettors to think long-term to varying degrees from the start of the tournament on.
Prop bets are a compelling way to get involved with the tournament. These types of bets cover some of the more exotic betting markets, as wagers on everything from game statistics to complicated markets like the amount of times that a team will be described as a dark horse are all under the prop betting umbrella. And live football odds allow bettors to take on match winner odds and other live markets during each match. This opens up the opportunity to be a winner even after kickoff, as live odds have become one of the most popular options in football betting.
Things to remember when betting on the World Cup
When betting on the World Cup, it is important to remember that team chemistry is one of the most important things in the realm of soccer betting. That means that teams that have been together longer are at an advantage over teams that are still learning to play as a cohesive unit. Typically, the European teams that keep their talent consistent on a year to year basis are the ones that benefit the most from this fact.
It is also worth remembering that perception and reality may be two different things when betting on the World Cup. While there are teams that have historically had success in the tournament, those teams may not be at their best heading into a specific tournament. Understanding that fact and being able to separate past performances from the way that a team is going to play this time around is vital.
World Cup betting strategies
It is possible that the most valuable World Cup betting strategy is to play the futures market on which team will win the tournament. To do this in a strategic and successful way, bettors should identify the short list of teams that they think can win the World Cup. Based on the odds for those teams, a bettor might be able to get those teams for a price that would lock in a profit regardless of what happened during the matches as long as a surprise team didn’t emerge to win the title.
Another smart World Cup betting strategy is one where bettors analyze each matchup in-depth to determine where their money is best served. A team that likes to attack centrally might not be as effective if they are playing a team that features two of the best center backs in the sport. Figuring out where those advantages and disadvantages exist and what they could do in terms of generating profit are details that sharp bettors should be able to take advantage of.
Finally, understanding how teams are constructed could help with totals betting later in the tournament. There are teams that prioritize defending over attacking, and teams that do the opposite. Knowing where each team stands on that spectrum can be a lucrative strategy, as bettors might be capable of exploiting their knowledge of team composition to generate wins on the totals market. Of course, each time this handicapping is done should be on a case by case basis, as painting with a broad brush over the course of an entire tournament could be less effective.
World Cup history
The first World Cup took place in 1930, as the event was held in Uruguay for its debut. Uruguay won the first tournament, defeating Argentina in the final before there were common World Cup final odds. There have only been eight countries to win the World Cup during the history of the tournament, with all of the winners of the event coming from Europe and South America to this point in the history of the event. The World Cup has been held in five different continents during the history of the event, with Europe, South America, Asia, North America, and Africa all hosting the event in different editions.
Find your perfect place to bet on the World Cup
With the World Cup being featured at so many different sportsbooks, it may be hard to figure out which site you should use to wager on the premier soccer event on the planet. In order to decide which site is best for you, use our sportsbook comparison tool. This tool allows you to see how different sportsbooks stack up in the criteria that you care about most, letting you decide which sites are right for you and which you shouldn’t put as high on your list. So don’t spend the World Cup betting on a site that isn’t the right one for you. Use our comparison tool to find the right sportsbook and get your bonus today.
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