Bet on FIFA World Cup sporting event 2022🏆

History of the FIFA World Cup

Even though there were international soccer tournaments before, it was not until 1930 that the inaugural FIFA World Cup tournament was played in Uruguay. It was contested by 13 teams from North America, Europe, and South America. The first two matches were played simultaneously on 13 July 1930. One match that pitted France against Mexico ended 4-1 in favor of France, while the other match between the US and Belgium ended 3-0 in favor of the United States. In the finals, the host, Uruguay, carried the day, beating Argentina 4–2.

During the early years of the championship, war and intercontinental travel greatly hindered the tournament's success. For example, few South American teams had the will to travel to Europe for the 1934 tournament, while some countries boycotted the 1938 World Cup. Then came the second World War, which led to the cancellation of the 1942 and 1946 tournaments.

Luckily, after the end of the war, FIFA ironed out several issues, and the 1950 World Cup became a success. It was the first tournament to include British teams, which had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920.

Most successful teams in the World Cup

Brazil remains the most successful team in this tournament, having won it a record 5 times, and is the only team that has participated in all the World Cup tournaments. Italy and Germany follow it with 4 titles apiece.

The current champion is France, who clinched their second title in the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament hosted in Russia. The team walked away with the coveted trophy, USD35 million in prize money, and the rights to brag with the FIFA Champions Badge until the next World Cup.

FIFA World Cup format

The road to the World Cup starts with qualifications held in the 6 FIFA confederations - Africa, North and Central America and Caribbean, Asia, South America, Oceania, and Europe. Each confederation oversees the qualifications, while FIFA decides the number of spots each confederation gets based on the strength of the teams in the confederations. Qualifications start as early as 3 years before the event and spread over 2 years. Qualification formats vary depending on the confederation. As it stands, the host country gets automatic qualification.

The FIFA World Cup formats have changed over the years. Currently, the tournament attracts the 32 teams that qualify and pits them in adrenaline-filled action for an entire month. There are two main stages: the group stage and the knockout stage.

Group stages

In the group stages, there are 8 groups, each with 4 teams that battle it out in a round-robin championship where each team plays the other 3 teams in the group. A team gets 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. After the 3 matches are played, the number 1 and 2 teams advance to the knockout stage.

Knockout stages

The FIFA World Cup knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament where teams face off in one-off matches. The knockout stage starts with the round of 16 before advancing to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally culminating in the finals. For the record, teams that lost in the semi-finals battle it out for third place on the eve of the finals.

About soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport globally, attracting a following of over 4 billion fans. The latest statistics show there are over 250 million soccer players in over 200 countries. However, it's hard to trace the history of soccer as it cropped up independently in different cultures where there were games similar to modern soccer—these games involved kicking an object resembling the modern ball.

Why is the FIFA World Cup popular?

The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly one of the biggest sports events attracting huge attendances and viewership. For example, the 2018 World Cup finals between France and Croatia had an average live audience of 517 million viewers, with peaks of up to 1.1 billion viewers during the match. The tournament also dominates online sport betting sites. So, why is the FIFA World Cup popular among punters?

Bettors like betting on sport tournaments, especially the most prestigious competitions, such as the World Cup. With soccer being the most popular sport worldwide, it's common knowledge that bettors will be busy betting on the World Cup now that when the tournament is on, the focus of the entire sports betting world is on this competition. The World Cup is held at a time when the top-flight soccer and sport leagues, for example, the Barclays Premier League, are not running, so bettors only have the World Cup as the main competitive soccer competition to bet on.

The competitiveness of the event, the talent, and of course, the passion that punters have for their favorite teams is the biggest reason the FIFA World Cup is popular among sports betting enthusiasts.

How to bet on the FIFA World Cup

Betting on the World Cup is not rocket science. Anyone who knows how to bet on regular soccer matches and tournaments can get in the game. This is as long as they understand the soccer betting world, especially the different betting options, otherwise known as betting markets, and importantly, the odds.

FIFA betting tips

First thing is to find a reliable bookmaker that will have World Cup betting markets. Of course, the best bookmaker is one that is licensed and has vast betting markets with high odds. When selecting the best sportsbook, it's also essential to assess the deposit and withdrawal methods available and, importantly, soccer betting bonuses.

The next important thing is understanding which teams are participating and their strengths. Punters should not just bet blindly; they should analyze the current form of the team they want to bet on, the individual players, and the head-to-head statistics where necessary. Checking out World Cup predictions from expert punters can go a long way for those who are not so keen on soccer.

That's it, folks, a FIFA World Cup betting guide. The next World Cup will kick off from 21 November to 18 December 2022 and will be held in Qatar, so stay tuned!