It’s time for the 2022 World Cup! For the first time ever, the World Cup will kick off in the era of legal U.S. sports betting. Here’s everything you need to know to bet on the 2022 World Cup, including odds, bet types, and the best World cup promos from the top sportsbooks. Not in a legal state? Get in on the action via World Cup DFS and props. More details below!
Consider this page your first stop for all things World Cup betting and DFS. It will be regularly updated as our sportsbook and DFS partners announce their World Cup promos and bonuses.
Top Fantasy Soccer Promos
World Cup 2022 Odds
A look at the World cup futures listed on DraftKings reveals some interesting insights about which teams are likely to compete for the title. Odds updated on 11/21.
- Brazil +333
- Argentina +550
- England +700
- France +800
- Spain +900
- Germany +1000
- Netherlands +1100
- Portugal +1400
- Belgium +1800
- Denmark +2800
Top Teams
Brazil and Argentina at 1 and 2 is not a surprise, with Neymar and Messi leading their respective teams into the tournament. Messi may be older now (he is 35), but he is still the best soccer player in history, so it is reasonable that any team he captains will be in the Championship conversation. Will this be the year? Possibly. They did make it to the final game in 2014, coming up just short against Germany. But in 2018, they didn’t even get to the Quarterfinals. It’s hard to say what will happen with this year’s squad, but few would be surprised if Messi leads his team back to the Final in 2022.
At 30, Neymar is younger than his PSG teammate Messi, but he is just as much of a generational talent. However, in the 2018 World Cup, the Selecao, as they are known, failed to advance past the Quarterfinals. Will this year be different? Bettors seem to think so. It’s hard to argue against Brazil making a deep run in this year’s tournament.
More Top Teams
After the two South American giants, we see the traditional European powers listed in their usual pecking order. As long as France has Mbappe, they will compete for a title and are rightly listed as a top team. England might be a little overvalued due to so many fans betting on them, but they did make it to the Semifinals in 2018 and are still stacked with talent.
Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands will also likely do well, though winning it all would be somewhat surprising. The Belgium Golden Generation of soccer superstars appears to be fading, but with De Bruyne at midfield they may have one more deep run in them. Portugal and Denmark round out the top 10 as dark horse picks.
Everyone Else
After Denmark, the odds drop off significantly. No team outside of the top 10 has better odds than 50/1 to win the title. It’s worth mentioning that the United States team currently sits at 130/1 to win it all. There are many better wagering options if you want to bet on the USMNT. We will discuss a few of them shortly.
More on World Cup 2022
As you may be aware, the World Cup is being played in winter for the first time ever. This is due to Qatar being the host country, the first time a middle-eastern country (a very hot region) has hosted the largest sporting event in the world. The average high temperature in Qatar in June, the traditional month of the World Cup, is a face-melting 105 degrees. In November, the average temperature is a relatively pleasant 85 degrees.
Back in 2010, awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a controversial decision, to put it mildly. When they later announced that it would be held in November/December instead of the regular June/July timeframe due to the extreme summer temperatures in Qatar, many people came close to losing their temper. The ensuing 12 years did little to calm anyone down, particularly with the continued questionable human rights record of the very strict Qatari government. But it’s November 2022, and the World Cup is here, so let’s get ready for the action!
World Cup Groups
This is the last World Cup with the 32-team format. In 2026, there will be 48 teams, which will result in a confusing, joyful mess of soccer madness. This year the tournament is its normal, orderly self, with 8 groups of 4 teams competing for 16 spots in the Knockout Round. Each team plays the other three teams in their group, and the top two teams in each group move on to the next round. As a reminder, each team gets 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Goal differential is the first tiebreaker, so the scores matter as much as the results.
Here are all the World Cup teams, listed by odds to win the group. All odds updated on 11/21 and are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings.
Group A
- Netherlands -280
- Senegal +450
- Ecuador +500
- Qatar +100
Group B
- England -400
- USA +550
- Wales +650
- Iran +10000
Group C
- Argentina -250
- Mexico +450
- Poland +500
- Saudi Arabia +1800
Group D
- France -185
- Denmark +225
- Australia +1400
- Tunisia +1700
Group E
- Spain -110
- Germany +110
- Japan +1100
- Costa Rica +4000
Group F
- Belgium -175
- Croatia +225
- Morocco +8900
- Canada +1100
Group G
- Brazil -275
- Serbia +500
- Switzerland +500
- Cameroon +1800
Group H
- Portugal -145
- Uruguay +200
- Ghana +900
- South Korea +900
Popular World Cup Bet Types
Checking single-game odds for the upcoming World Cup matches reveals a bewildering list of bets that are unfamiliar for those used to betting on football, basketball, and baseball. Let’s go over four of the biggest bet types for soccer wagering.
3-way Wagering
If you just want to bet on the game itself the same way you bet on hockey or baseball Moneyline pick, you can do that. Except that a Draw is also an option. 3-way bets are common in hockey, but other than that they are hardly ever listed. For NFL games, you can’t even bet on whether a game will end up in a tie. Of course, ties are very common in soccer, but if you don’t like the idea of a tie, you can find a different price on a Draw No Bet market, in which case your wager is refunded if the game ends in a tie.
Asian Lines
Spread betting is available in soccer, and it is very popular in Asia. So popular, in fact, that spread lines are also known as Asian Lines or Asian Handicap. There is no tie in a spread bet. If Ecuador is listed as -0.5, that means that they have to win by 1 or more for the bet to win. If there is a tie or Qatar wins, anyone who bet on Ecuador loses the bet. Think of it as the soccer equivalent of the run line or puck line in baseball and hockey.
Totals
Just like an over/under wager on your favorite sport, you can easily bet on how many goals will be scored in a World Cup match. Think the next game will be a scoreless draw? Bet under 0.5 goals. Think there will be just one goal? Under 1.5 goals is the wager for you. Just remember that the most common score in World Cup matches is 1-0, while 1-1 is the most common result for major European league matches. World Cup matches are rarely high-scoring affairs, so bet accordingly.
Player Prop Bets
We expect a full menu of player prop bets to be available once the teams are finalized and the action begins. This could include shots taken, goals scored, corner kicks, or any number of creative options. The prop bets will vary by sportsbook and match, with the US matches likely seeing a higher number of available markets.
How to Watch and Bet On the US National Team
The US team plays three matches as part of Group B. All three games kick off at 2 pm ET/11 am PT and can be seen on FOX. It’s worth mentioning that all World Cup matches, including the US games, will be televised on FOX in 4K. This is great news for everyone with a 4K TV who has waited patiently for more sports programming to make the shift to 4K.
- November 21 – USA vs. Wales
- November 25 – USA vs. England (The day after Thanksgiving. So exciting!)
- November 29 – USA vs. Iran
Let’s be honest for a minute. The chance that the US team will win the World Cup is infinitesimally small. The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6 as of this writing) have about the same chance of winning the 2023 Super Bowl. A bet on the US team to win it all is more of a fun dream than a good use of your bankroll. A better patriotic use of your hard-earned money is to wager on the individual US games. Here are 5 suggestions to get the most out of your bankroll while betting on the US team.
- Avoid Asian lines – Unless you’re an experienced soccer bettor, Asian lines are fairly confusing. If the World Cup is your first foray into soccer wagering, we suggest you stick to the Moneyline and total wagers, along with any other interesting prop bets you find.
- Take the US as a Moneyline winner – Why not? Chances are they will win one of their three matches, so throwing a few bucks on a winner isn’t a bad strategy. Plus it’s fun to have some skin in the game while watching your favorite team. And no one wants to root for a tie anyway.
- Go for the game prop bets – The options are almost endless. Total goals by US odd or even? Sure. US to win at least one half? Yup. US to win and both teams to score? Indeed. You get the idea. Each US game has hundreds of game-related prop bets. Find a few that you like and get in on the action.
- Predict the correct final score – The odds may be long (+500 and up), but it would be very exciting to accurately predict the final score of a US game. All the major sportsbooks have this popular option. Right now, for the US-Wales game, a 1-1 tie has the lowest odds at +500 on Barstool Sportsbook. The US winning 1-0 is second at +600.
- Pick the US to Win or Finish in the Top 2 in Group B – As mentioned above, the US is +550 to win the tough Group B, mostly because they would likely have to defeat England to win the group. But the US team is -120 to finish in the Top 2 in Group B. A tie with Wales and/or England and a win vs. Iran should be enough to get through to the next round. A top 2 finish is a fun bet that also has a good chance of winning.
World Cup Sportsbook Promotions
BetMGM World Cup Promotion
BetMGM is offering a solid new customer promotion for anyone who signs up for an account before and during the World Cup. New customers can get $200 in free bet credits after wagering just $10 on any World Cup game (or any other sporting event). Click here to take advantage of this great offer, and don’t forget to enter promo code LABSWC when prompted to qualify for the promotion.
World Cup Props & DFS
World Cup Pick em’ Games
PrizePicks – The leader in Over/Under pick ’em games has a simple World Cup game available for anyone who wants to play. Just pick whether a player will get over or under a certain metric, including shots on goal, tackles, cards, passes attempted, goals, goals allowed, goalie saves, and shots on target. Pick 2-5 selections and you’re on your way. The payouts increase the more you pick correctly.
Thrive Fantasy – Thrive has several World Cup pick ’em contests available. Similar to other over/under games, participants pick whether a player in an upcoming game will go over or under total assists, goals, and saves, depending on the player. The difference with Thrive is that the Over and Under are weighted, so an Over might be worth 140 points while an Under might be worth just 60 points. This is similar to different spreads being offered at a traditional sportsbook. The entries with the most points win the prize pool.
Underdog – Similar to the other Pick ’em sites, Underdog has player prop bets available for most World Cup games. All you have to is pick whether a player will go higher or lower than a certain metric, such as saves, shots attempted, tackles, passes, crosses, and more. Underdog has more detailed categories than the other DFS sites and offers payouts ranging from 3x for two correct picks to 20x for five correct picks.
We are hoping to see pick em’ games offered by top DFS sites like Monkey Knife Fight, Vivid Picks, Sleeper, and others. These pick em’ games could include player prop over/under bets like shots on goal, goals scored, saves, and whatever else they come up with.
World Cup DFS
FanDuel – The leader in DFS has single-game and full-day slate DFS contests available. For the single-game contests, participants pick any 5 players from one game while staying under a salary cap. The full-day contests do not use the games that kick off at 5 am ET for obvious sleep-related reasons. They use a traditional 7-player format for the three-game slates. FanDuel also offers tournaments, multipliers, head-to-head games, 3-100 player games, and 50/50s.
DraftKings – DraftKings has several World Cup DFS games to choose from. Here are the rules for its classic soccer DFS game that will be available throughout the World Cup. Similar to FanDuel, DraftKings does not use the 5 am ET games in their full-day slates. Here are the general rules for DraftKings World Cup DFS games:
- All the players are assigned a dollar value, similar to other DFS games. For DraftKings, the total budget to spend on players is $50,000, but that might be different at other DFS sites.
- That $50,000 budget must be spent on eight players: 2 forwards, 2 midfielders, 2 defenders, one utility player, and one goalkeeper.
- The scoring is based on several key metrics, including scoring, shots on goal, tackles won, fouls drawn, and more. For more information, check out this DraftKings guide to soccer DFS scoring
- After drafting a team, DFS players compete in contests against other players, just like any other DFS contest
