Brazil kick off against Croatia in Sao Paolo on Thursday, 12 June 2023 at 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT), but the pundits and bookies are already keen to know who will lift the trophy on 13 July in Rio de Janeiro.
We’re no different, and so we’ve done a bit of research on the various odds being offered by different online sportsbooks. Our scientific survey (in the office) has shown that Brazil are the favorites to win, but don’t take our word for it. Here are the bookies’ odds on who will win the 2014 FIFA World Cup. We’ve chosen two of our current favorite sportsbooks: established betting exchange Betfair, and Nordic newcomer SuperLenny.
We’ve broken it down bit by bit, with a couple of comments on the teams you should keep an eye on. While the top 11 are probably the most likely to be in with a chance of winning, it is the World Cup, so don’t exclude anybody! And while you’re reading this, you can try out one of the great football-themed slots that have been released recently to get into the swing of things!
The Big Boys
| Betfair | Â | SuperLenny | Â |
| Brazil | 4/1 | Brazil | 3/1 |
| Argentina | 5/1 | Argentina | 4/1 |
| Spain | 6/1 | Germany | 6/1 |
| Germany | 15/2 | Spain | 25/4 |
| Belgium | 23/1 | Belgium | 20/1 |
| France | 26/1 | France | 22/1 |
| Italy | 26/1 | Italy | 25/1 |
| Portugal | 26/1 | Uruguay | 28/1 |
| England | 29/1 | England | 28/1 |
| Uruguay | 29/1 | Portugal | 28/1 |
| Netherlands | 34/1 | Netherlands | 33/1 |
There are no big surprises in the top teams, except perhaps with Belgium being one of the teams in with a real chance of winning. Having built up a formidable team over the last few years, Belgium topped Group A in the European qualification rounds, beating out the likes of Scotland, Croatia, and Serbia, decent teams all of them. Definitely one team to watch, then.
Brazil of course have the home advantage, and with football having long ago achieved the status of a religion in South America’s biggest country, only a madman would be betting against Brazil not getting through to at least the quarter-finals. Being the hosts, Brazil are almost assured of a place in the knock-out stages, as the only host nation not to progress beyond the group stages thus far has been South Africa in the 2010 edition of the World Cup. They’re also in a good position psychologically, since they won the Confederations Cup held in Brazil last year as a dry run for the World Cup.
Other than Belgium and Brazil, the Spanish team are also likely to perform very well. Having won two consecutive European Championships under their belt as well as the 2010 World Cup, Spain are always a dangerous team to play against. On top of their national success, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were also the winners and runners-up respectively of this year’s Champions League. Don’t write them off yet!
Middle of the Pack
| Betfair | Â | SuperLenny | Â |
| Colombia | 41/1 | Colombia | 39/1 |
| Chile | 51/1 | Chile | 39/1 |
| Russia | 101/1 | Switzerland | 99/1 |
| Croatia | 126/1 | Russia | 99/1 |
| Switzerland | 126/1 | Cote d’Ivoire | 129/1 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 151/1 | Mexico | 149/1 |
| Mexico | 151/1 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 149/1 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 201/1 | Ecuador | 149/1 |
| Ecuador | 201/1 | Japan | 149/1 |
| Japan | 201/1 | Croatia | 159/1 |
| USA | 251/1 | Ghana | 249/1 |
Perhaps the big surprise here is the lack of African teams being given a chance of lifting the cup. Cote d’Ivoire, the continent’s football powerhouse, are currently ranked 21st in the world and 1st amongst African teams. Their captain, Didier Drogba, is getting on in years, but his performance in the Turkish league showed that the old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve (to mix metaphors a bit!).
Japan should also prove to be good entertainment as the most successful team in Asia. The Samurai Blue have qualified for the last 5 World Cups, and made it through to the Round of 16 in South Africa 4 years ago. So, while they probably won’t threaten the big teams, they should be worth watching.
The “Minnows”
| Betfair | SuperLenny | ||
| Ghana | 301/1 | USA | 249/1 |
| Greece | 301/1 | Nigeria | 249/1 |
| Nigeria | 301/1 | Greece | 299/1 |
| South Korea | 351/1 | South Korea | 359/1 |
| Cameroon | 751/1 | Cameroon | 719/1 |
| Algeria | 1501/1 | Australia | 999/1 |
| Australia | 1501/1 | Iran | 999/1 |
| Iran | 1501/1 | Honduras | 999/1 |
| Honduras | 2001/1 | Costa Rica | 999/1 |
| Costa Rica | 2501/1 | Algeria | 999/1 |
Finally, the teams least likely to cause a major upset hold no surprises or disappointments, except for the African teams. The Nigerian Super Eagles have had a bit of a slump since their African Cup of Nations victory last year. Cameroon, the heroes of the 1990 World Cup, when African football was finally taken seriously for the first time, are also languishing in the doldrums, having struggled against Moldova in a recent friendly to win 1-0 at home.
However, they did hold Germany to a 2-2 draw at Borussia-Park, so don’t write them off just yet. After all, underdogs Ghana, who are also not given much of a hope by Betfair this year, managed to get all the way through to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by a rampant Uruguayan team after a penalty shootout in 2010, so expect some surprises from the African teams.
Kick Off!
So there you have it. Smart money isn’t really on Costa Rica walking away as world champions, but then again, Greece won the EUFA Euro Cup in 2004, so stranger things have happened.
When you’ve had enough of the drama or disappointment of the World Cup, or you’d just like to get back to some old-fashioned slots gaming, you can always try out the newest football-themed slots, including Microgaming’s Football Star, where you can earn up to 105,000 coins!
Whoever your preferred team, we hope that the odds will be in your favor. And remember to keep an eye on our site for more updates as the tournament progresses. We’re sure it’ll be a good one!