World Cup Qatar 2022: Can Any Team (USA Included) Break The Hegemony Of Europe?

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So, you just finished watching the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament.

Maybe you had a chance to peruse the Copa America as well, which was running concurrently (in the evening).

There were many people that took Italy before the EURO 2020 began on the futures odds at +1100 (11-1) who went out to celebrate after the Azzurri beat England in penalties to lift its second European title. There were also others that partied that night, although not as heartily, after they took the Italian side at 6-1 once they saw how dominant the team was in their first group stage contest.

Now that the big international tournaments are finished for the summer, and we are still a couple weeks away from domestic leagues starting (the Premier League begins Friday, August 13), the focus of the soccer futures betting might shift to 2022, and the World Cup in Qatar.

The main question that everyone should have is, can anyone break this dominance of Europe on the biggest stage?

At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, France beat Croatia to win its second world title. But more so than that, Europe had all four semifinalists (England and Belgium as well), six of the eight quarterfinalists, and 11 of the 16 round of 16 teams.

In short, Europe is dominating the world football scene right now.

When you take a look at the current FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, six of the top seven teams are from Europe: only Brazil (three) is in that group. Thirteen of the top 18 are European as well.

When you look at the non-European teams in the top 20, most are aging (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Colombia from CONMEBOL) or have never done it on a big stage (Mexico and USA from CONCACAF).

Right now, nine of the top 11 odds to win the 2022 World Cup are European, based on Bet New York info: France (second choice, odds of +600), England (third, +800), Spain (fourth, +900), Germany fifth, +1000), Belgium (sixth, +1100), Italy (seventh, +1100, right where it was to win the EURO 2020), Portugal (ninth, +1400), Netherlands (10th, +1600), and Denmark (11th, +4000).

If you notice, I did not mention the top spot. That is taken by Brazil at odds of +500. If you are a fan of the Americans (who might be peaking when they host in 2026), you can get them at +8000 (17th best odds).

Would I back either of them to win this thing?

No. As I said, I think the USA is young and a few years away from competing at the top levels. As for Brazil, I do not think they can beat three or four European teams on the way to the title.

Right now, I would roll with France (odds of +600) and England (odds of +800), with an eye on Portugal (+1400).

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