The group stage of the World Cup Qualifiers from Europe are all over with 10 nations booking their spots at next year’s tournament.
But things are not done and dusted just yet as there are three more spots from UEFA to fill for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Among those going into the World Cup qualification playoffs are Scotland and Wales and both have been seeded for next year’s play off draw.
We take a look at the latest World Cup betting landscape with the picture being a little clearer from the European front.
2022 World Cup Winner Odds
Brazil 11/2
France 6/1
England 7/1
Spain 8/1
Germany 10/1
Argentina 10/1
Belgium 11/1
Itay 12/1
Netherlands 16/1
Portugal 16/1
28/1 bar
* (odds recorded at 23:03 GMT on November 16th, 2021 at Bet365)
Who has qualified for the 2022 World Cup?
The Group Winners of all ten UEFA qualification groups automatically go to the World Cup. There were some big surprises along the way.
Reigning European Champions Italy missed out on the top spot in their group, with Switzerland beating them to the punch.
Serbia wrestled the top spot away from Portugal in a dramatic conclusion to their qualification campaign.
Germany qualified for the 2022 World Cup with the best record, dropping just two points in their ten qualification matches.
Die Mannschaft were closely followed by an impressive Denmark who failed to land a 100% record with a loss against Scotland in their final match.
England went undefeated throughout their qualification campaign winning 8 of 10 matches.
Harry Kane was the joint top goalscorer in UEFA qualification with a dozen goals (Memphis Depay, Netherlands).
England are a 7/1 quote in World Cup betting to lift the title next winter* (odds recorded at 23:03 GMT on November 16th, 2021 at Bet365).
The only one of the ten direct qualifiers from UEFA who weren’t at the 2018 World Cup are the Netherlands.
UEFA Nations qualified for the 2022 World Cup
Serbia*
Spain
Switzerland*
France*
Belgium*
Denmark
Netherland
Croatia
England*
Denotes an unbeaten qualification record
The World Cup Play-Offs UEFA
The fixtures for the World Cup playoffs are not until March 2022. There are twelve teams involved in the World Cup playoffs, with just three remaining spots at stake.
The runners up in each of the Group Stage Qualification sections are all through to the playoffs.
The six of those with the best records are named as the seeds for the draw.
Making up the unseeded numbers are Austria and the Czech Republic as they are the best two Nations League group winners who didn’t finish in the top-two in their World Cup Qualification campaign.
Some major nations are vying for a place in the World Cup Finals through the UEFA playoffs.
That includes European champions Italy, along with Portugal and Russia. British interest lies in Wales and Scotland.
The draw for the World Cup play offs is on November 26th, 2021.
Play Offs Seeded Teams
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Italy
- Russia
- Sweden
- Wales
Non-Seeded Teams
- Turkey
- Poland
- North Macedonia
- Ukraine
- Austria
- Czech Republic
Italy
The Italians were undefeated in their qualification campaign, posting a W4 D4 record. But they couldn’t close out the deal.
The Azzurri failed to win either of their final two matches. They could only manage a draw with the Swiss at home, with Jorginho missing a late penalty.
That proved to be highly costly as Italy then could only manage a 0-0 draw away at Northern Ireland in their final match.
That allowed Switzerland to power their way to the top spot as they thrashed Bulgaria in their final group match.
Italy are 12/1 to win the 2022 World Cup in World Cup betting* (odds recorded at 23:03 GMT on November 16th, 2021 at Bet365)
Portugal
All Portugal had to do was hang to a draw in their final match against Serbia in qualification. With home advantage, it looked as if they were going to get there.
But Serbia, who threw the kitchen sink at Portugal in Lisbon, got their big reward when Aleksandar Mitrovic popped up with a 90th-minute winner of the visitors.
That leaves Portugal with having to now go through the tough route to the World Cup.
Scotland
Scotland had some early troubles in their affiliation campaign. With just one victory from their first four matches (W1 D2 L1), they had an early mountain to climb.
An uninspiring 1-0 home win over Moldova in their fifth match got the Scots on their way as they powered their way to a six-match winning streak.
Four of those six wins came by a one-goal margin only, but Scotland finished with a big flourish, beating group winners Denmark 2-0 in Glasgow and denying the Danes a 100% qualification record.
Scotland are aiming to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Wales
The Welsh are looking to make their first World Cup since 1958. They confirmed a seeded place in the draw with a fantastic draw against Belgium in their final qualification match.
They had already booked a qualification spot in the playoffs before kick-off in that one. However, that point just gave them enough to get the final seeding place for the playoff draw.
Wales closed out qualification with a W4 D3 L1 record. Their only loss was on a trip to Belgium against the top-ranked team in the world.
With back to back appearances in the European Championships, Wales are looking to kick on and take their place at the World Cup.
Russia
Russia’s qualification campaign went down to the wire. They went into a winner-takes-all match against Croatia to close out the group.
Russia had only needed to draw that match in Split to take the top spot. They were only ten minutes away from pulling that off and going straight to the 2022 World Cup. But Coriata needed an 81st-minute penalty to win and top the section.
Sweden
Sweden were competitive in Group B but still finished four points behind group winners Spain. Sweden traded blows well with the Spaniards with a W1 L1 record against them.
But it was just costly slips on the road that ruined their chances. Sweden’s challenge was really undone with default in Greece and a shock one in Georgia.
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Current 2022 World Cup Betting Favourites
Brazil, who have booked a qualification place at next year’s Finals, are the current 11/2 favourites in World Cup betting* (odds recorded at 23:03 GMT on November 16th, 2021 at Bet365).
The Selecao booked their spot early with some ease, posting a W11 D1 record in the first dozen of eighteen qualification matches in South America.
Brazil have not won the World Cup since lifting it for the fifth time in 2002.
Since then, the South Americans have been past the quarter-finals one in their last four attempts.
