With hosts Qatar getting things underway against Ecuador in just a few days, our football experts have been busy combing through the eight World Cup groups to determine the 16 teams who will secure safe passage to the knockout stages.
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Our Sportslens group stage tips will analyse the prospects of each side, selecting who we think to be the most likely group winners as well as which teams will escape the group as runners-up.
You will find the latest odds from Virgin Bet attached for our table-toppers, runners-up, as well as a straight forecast price where you can back both of our predictions for each group as a single bet.
Make it to the end of the article, and you will find our monster group stage accumulator which combines all 16 of our predicted teams. With a total odds of 1356/1, a £10 stake would land you with an eye-watering £13,576.
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World Cup Group Stage Tips
Group A
- Netherlands to Win the Group @ 4/11 with Virgin Bet
- Ecuador to Qualify @ 1/1 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 9/4 with Virgin Bet
Group A, which features hosts Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, will be the first to get underway on the 20th November.
Starting with the group runners-up, this was an incredibly tough call to make between Senegal and our eventual pick, Ecuador. Although the African champions are the strongest offering from their continent, they will be missing their best player and talisman Sadio Mane.
We think Ecuador present much better value at evens – they managed to finish South American qualifying in fourth having scored the same amount of goals as Argentina, and familiar faces in Pervis Estupinan, Jeremy Sarmiento and Moises Caicedo are all players capable of dragging their nation through the group.
Netherlands meanwhile should, by and large, have little trouble escaping Group A – they are unbeaten in 15 games since crashing out early at last year’s Euro, and a resurgent side headed up by Louis Van Gaal are certainly in the conversation to reach the latter stages.
Group B
- England to Win the Group @ 4/11 with Virgin Bet
- USA to Qualify @ 19/20 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 7/4 with Virgin Bet
Despite England’s torrid form in the recent international break which saw them relegated from their Nations League group, they have otherwise been imperious since Gareth Southgate took over at the helm.
A semi-final appearance in 2018, a final in last year’s Euro…you see where we’re going with this. Although a tall order against perhaps the strongest cohort of World Cup frontrunners ever, England have more than enough talent to first of all escape this group and potentially mount a claim to the trophy.
Stepping up our hard work ahead of the @FIFAWorldCup! 👊 pic.twitter.com/4kEC3e4KHY
— England (@England) November 18, 2022
As for the runners-up, it is a toss-up between the USA and Wales, and we are tipping the former to narrowly edge qualification. This is an incredibly exciting time to be an American ‘soccer’ fan; the current squad boasts so much potential as a strong international side in the coming years, with notable young players such as Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams and Brendan Aaronson.
Group C
- Argentina to Win the Group @ 2/5 with Virgin Bet
- Mexico to Qualify @ 17/20 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 9/4 with Virgin Bet
You’d be hard pushed to find anyone who disagrees with our Group C winners. Argentina have not succumbed to defeat since July 2019, and a memorable Copa America final win over World Cup favourites Brazil has set the tone nicely in what will almost certainly be Lionel Messi’s final major tournament with La Albiceleste.
As for our runners-up, we have chosen Mexico over Poland, but only just. We just can’t ignore the former’s records at World Cup finals; they are one of two teams along with Brazil who have escaped the group in every tournament since 1990.
Group D
- France to Win the Group @ 4/9 with Virgin Bet
- Denmark to Qualify @ 4/11 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 19/20 with Virgin Bet
Although France enter the tournament as reigning champions and favourites among the European teams across football betting sites, this group may well be a lot tighter than most might expect.
We think they will just edge top-spot however given the abundance of world class talent they have at their disposal. It would be a hugely underwhelming start for Les Bleus fans if they were to finish runners-up, but it will certainly be interesting to see how their vastly inexperienced midfield cope with what, for the majority, will be their first World Cup.
Denmark meanwhile are potential dark horses heading into the tournament. They narrowly lost out to England in a marathon extra-time defeat during last year’s Euro semi-finals, and have since gone on to beat France twice in the Nations League.
Group E
- Germany to Win the Group @ 23/20 with Virgin Bet
- Spain to Qualify @ 2/15 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 29/20 with Virgin Bet
Spain and Germany will be expected to escape Group E, which also features Japan and Costa Rica.
Although they have won just once in their previous seven, we are tipping Germany to snatch top spot ahead of Spain.
Hansi Flick will insist this relatively young squad play his dynamic yet pragmatic style of football, and we are expecting Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala to play a central role at this tournament – the 19-year-old is already in double figures for both goals and assists this season.
Spain meanwhile are not to be underestimated despite taking one of the youngest squads in the tournament. Luis Enrique’s expansive, full-throttle style will be fulled by a Barcelona-centric squad, and we have even gone as far as tipping Euro Young Player of the Tournament Pedri to claim the Golden Ball.
Group F
- Belgium to Win the Group @ 8/15 with Virgin Bet
- Croatia to Qualify @ 1/2 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 8/5 with Virgin Bet
While it remains an unlikely prospect that Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ will deliver silverware, they head to Qatar as another dark horse and they have more than enough firepower to top this group.
They finished third in Russia four years ago and this is perhaps an even better side than the one we saw in 2018.
Canada and Morocco will fancy their chances of claiming a surprise ticket to the knockout stages, and the former could certainly present value with household names such as Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David expected to light up the tournament.
However, Croatia’s tournament experience, which saw them reach the final in 2018, is hard to ignore and we are expecting Luka Modric and co to escape Group F.
Group G
- Brazil to Win the Group @ 1/3 with Virgin Bet
- Switzerland to Qualify @ 1/1 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 8/5 with Virgin Bet
Long-time World Cup betting favourites Brazil have not been beaten since their Copa America final defeat to Argentina last year, and they have the most talented and evenly balanced squad of any of the 32 teams heading to Qatar.
Tite has lost just five games throughout his six-year tenure as manager, and Seleção should be reaching the latter stages given the abundance of talent they possess.
Brazil's ready for the World Cup 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/a5cruCHQfO
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 15, 2022
Serbia and Switzerland will battle it out for the runners-up spot, and although the former have a stacked line-up of attacking threats, we are siding with the latter given their tournament experience.
The Swiss were mightily unlucky not to reach the semi-finals of the Euros last years having crashed out on penalties, and they have claimed some huge scalps in recent months including Spain and Portugal.
Group H
- Portugal to Win the Group @ 7/10 with Virgin Bet
- Uruguay to Qualify @ 4/9 with Virgin Bet
- Straight Forecast @ 8/5 with Virgin Bet
Uruguay have an eclectic mix of experience and youth that could make them very dangerous in Qatar.
Veteran such as Diego Godín, Luis Suárez, and Edinson Cavani have seen it all on the international stage, but emerging talents such as Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde and United’s Facundo Pellistri could really make a name for themselves.
Despite this, Portugal are potential World Cup-winning candidates and their 26-man squad is bursting at the seams with talent across the board.
Despite a disruptive saga surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo snatching most of the headlines, the 2016 European champions can reach the latter stages with or without their leading goalscorer.
Group Stage Accumulator
As promised, should you be on the same wavelength and like the look of our group stage predictions, you can back all 16 of the winner and runner-up tips as a combined accumulator.
Clocking in at a massive 1356/1, a £10 stake could leave you with a sizeable return of £13,576.
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Bet £10 Get £20 Free Bet
*New members. Offer not available 15/04/23 £10 min deposit & bet on sportsbook, placed & settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable £10 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from acceptance (ex. E/Ws & Multiples), stakes not returned. Rules & Exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. T&Cs apply, 18+
*New members. Offer not available 15/04/23 £10 min deposit & bet on sportsbook, placed & settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable £10 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from acceptance (ex. E/Ws & Multiples), stakes not returned. Rules & Exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. T&Cs apply, 18+ |
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