When it comes to nations with a World Cup pedigree, they really don’t get any grander than Brazil. That’s not just because the Samba Stars have won the tournament on five occasions but also because whenever they take part in a major competition (and they’ve never failed to qualify for the World Cup), you know that they’ll make an impact both on and off the field of play.
Brazil top the World Cup 2022 betting odds, and with good reason, and coach Tite will be looking to extinguish the memory of recent, relatively poor displays at the tournament and have a squad more than capable of going all the way.
Squad Analysis
Brazil’s World Cup squad is frankly full to the brim with talent, so much so that a number of truly world-class performers, like Liverpool’s in-form forward Roberto Firmino, missed out on a seat on the plane to Qatar.
You can expect PSG superstar Neymar to grab plenty of column inches, but there is a lot more to the Brazilian attack than the former Barcelona man. Tite has an embarrassment of riches in the final third.
Arsenal duo Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, who have helped propel the North London side to the top of the Premier League, are joined by Barcelona wide-man Raphina, Tottenham’s Richarlison, Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, as well as Man United’s Antony and Flemngo star Pedro. In other words, they are covered in this area.
You could argue that their defence is a little long in the tooth. Thiago Silva and Dani Alves may have a combined total of 233 national team caps, but their ages also add up to a number close to 80, and that may be a problem.
This issue is, to a lesser extent, also a feature of their midfield where Man United’s Casemiro and Liverpool’s Fabinho and Flamengo veteran Everton feature alongside Premier League trio Fred, Lucas Paqueta and Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes.
In goal, two more Premier League stars will feature, Alisson and Edersons; for fans of the English top tier, there’s plenty to pay attention to here.
Brazil swept through qualification with ridiculous ease. Winning 14 and drawing three of their 17 matches, conceding just five goals in the process. Tite has certainly drilled A Seleção into shape, and they should fare well.
Their last loss came in the Copa America final in July 2021 to arch-rivals Argentina, and prior to that, it was nearly another two years since they lost before that, again to their hated South American nemesis.
Prediction
Since winning the World Cup in 2002, Brazil has had an up and down time, but they are now probably as best placed since that success to lift the trophy once again. In 2018 they buckled to Belgium in the quarter-finals, and in 2014, lest we forget, they were humiliated by Germany 7-1 in the semi-finals in their home country, so Tite will hope for a real reaction from his side.
We’d back them to get to at least the semi-finals in 2022, and they are a solid bet to clinch their sixth World Cup crown.
Best Bets
In terms of long-shot bets, we quite like the 28/1 offered by BoyleSports on Gabriel Martinelli finishing as top-scorer because the Gunners star is in the form of his life and his odds make such a bet more enticing than backing the likes of Neymar or Richarlison for the same crown.
Brazil’s opening group, which sees them face Switzerland, Cameroon and Serbia, is a little challenging, but Tite’s side could still score a decent amount of goals, and that makes a bet from Grosvenor Sports of 13/2 to finish as the top scorers of the group stage fairly tempting.
Mr Play offers a nice bet for those who are not entirely convinced that Brazil will smoothly negotiate a way out of Group G; they offer 9/1 on them finishing the group with five points, which is entirely plausible.
