Category: Football

We’re just a few months away until the World Cup gets underway in Qatar, and we are set for a footballing extravaganza. Over the tournament, we will find out a lot about who could win it and expectation levels will naturally soar.

While some teams will come into sharp focus, there is also an emphasis placed upon individual displays. The race to win the Golden Boot will be fiercely contested, and there are a plethora of strong candidates.

We have given you the lowdown on five of the top runners and riders who we think could walk off with the prize.

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

For some reason, it hasn’t quite clicked for Lionel Messi at the World Cup. Despite his glittering club record, it hasn’t quite transpired on the club stage.

This could well be Messi’s swansong and he would love to surpass his side’s efforts at the 2014 World Cup where he struck four times en route to the final, and he was awarded the Golden Ball by virtue of being the best player of the tournament.

If this is to be Messi’s last World Cup, he would undoubtedly like to go out with a bang and lift the most treasured prize in international football.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

The metronomic Cristiano Ronaldo is single-minded in his pursuit of success, and he will still be hoping to break a hatful of records before he hangs up his boot.

Ronaldo has netted a staggering 117 times, and in 2020, he became the first European to clock up a century of goals. Ronaldo has scored an extraordinary rate of knots and he will be desperate to make his mark.

With Ronaldo, nothing is impossible and if he can come flying out of the blocks, he will be in contention.

Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Falling into the category just behind Ronaldo and Messi, Robert Lewandowski is one of the most prolific strikers in the game, and earlier in the summer, he completed a move to Barcelona.

Of course, Poland’s chances of having a deep run at the World Cup will rest with Lewandowski, but we all know that he only needs a sniff as he can punish teams.

Harry Kane (England)

The current holder of the Golden Boot, Harry Kane was ruthless four years ago in plundering six goals as England reached the semi-finals before they suffered at the hands of Croatia. Kane has become the complete striker and he has shown at Tottenham that he can pick up deeper positions and create assists.

Kane is a fan’s favourite and when it comes to the Golden Boot, he will attract serious interest from some of the biggest bookmakers in the world. Many of the top operators in Australia, for example, will have shared their FIFA World Cup predictions, and this includes Unibet who has already posted odds for the Golden Boot section. Currently, Kane is priced as the joint favourite at 8/1 with Unibet to clinch the accolade.

Kylian Mbappe (France)

While Kylian Mbappe may have had a rather unforgettable European Championships with France, he is still one of the hottest properties in the game and he has plenty of pace to burn.

Mbappe will be looking to form a telepathic relationship with Karim Benzema, and if he’s given a sighter in front of goal, he’s hardly one to turn it down. While he’s not talked up as much as Ronaldo and Messi, Mbappe will still be a dangerman.

 

In April, Arsenal’s Leah Williamson was announced as the next captain of the England national team. She had worn the armband before, but now it was made official. To the surprise of many, Williamson was little more than a squad player under Phil Neville, but Sarina Wiegman set her stall out early, emphasising Williamson’s importance to the team as she inherited the armband from Steph Houghton.

Arsenal managing to convince Williamson to extend her contract was seen as just as important for their future as extending superstar striker Vivianne Miedema’s, so well regarded is the new England skipper. Aside from being an uncompromising defender, Williamson’s ability on the ball is second to none, and her willingness to look for progressive passes, or carry the ball into midfield, makes her an exceptionally important player for both club and country.

A versatile footballer, Williamson was a midfielder earlier in her career and, since starting regularly under Wiegman, she has often found herself featuring in the middle of the park for England. While there’s no doubting that her presence in the side greatly increases England’s football betting odds, the question on everyone’s lips is whether she should feature in the centre of defence, or in midfield.

Chelsea’s Millie Bright and Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood have been the defensive partnership that Wiegman has opted for most often. The pair are in their late 20s, and are experienced internationals. Millie Bright’s distribution has improved over time, lessening the loss of Williamson from the defence, while Greenwood’s transformation in recent years from left-back to centre-back has gone as well as could be hoped, with the Man City defender looking a natural fit.

The strong partnership of Bright and Greenwood suggests that playing Williamson in midfield is the right approach, it’s been difficult for England to find the right balance in midfield. Wiegman tends to operate with a pair that play relatively deep, with a more attacking midfielder further forward.

The most natural partner for Williamson looks to be Kiera Walsh. At 25, the Man City midfielder is the same age as Williamson, and they know each other well after coming through England youth squads together. The duo look to be Wiegman’s default choice, although there are concerns in some quarters that the partnership is a little too defensive, with England essentially lining up with two more defensively-minded midfielders.

While Walsh offers a threat going forward, England are finding it difficult to find a truly dynamic midfield partnership, often settling for a stable base that doesn’t offer too much in attack, with a reliance on the likes of Ella Toone further forward to link play and support the attack.

Jill Scott is England’s most natural option to offer the midfield more dynamism but, now 35 years old, she’s likely too old to be considered as a key player in the middle of the park. In truth, if England had a natural partnership in midfield, as they do at the back, then Williamson would find it harder to break into the midfield, and Wiegman would likely look at breaking up her defensive pairing.

But, with no real combination standing out, it makes sense for Wiegman to put Williamson in the centre of the park, and build around one of her key players in midfield. The pairing of Williamson and Walsh should make England difficult to play through, and the duo’s work rate means they’re able to shield the defence effectively. Perhaps the area of the pitch where England look weakest, Wiegman’s decision to play Williamson further forward could be crucial in making sure that England are able to control the midfield.

Besides exhibiting the greatest players in the world, the World Cup always features an abundance of intriguing new talent. It’s not just players with hefty price tags, as we’re accustomed to seeing among the ranks of PSG, Manchester City, or Real Madrid. The contest gives a platform to guys like Alireza Beiranvand, the Iranian goalie who denied the mighty Ronaldo back in 2018 with an unbelievable penalty save.

As we’re in the midst of 2022, we’ve got another FIFA World Cup to look forward to. Let’s explore a few individuals that, according to our predictions, have the ability to excel in this year’s tournament.

Almoez Ali – Qatar

Almoez Ali, who is only 25 years old, is one of the most prolific players on the Qatari squad. He was born in Sudan and captains the Qatar Stars League team Al-Duhail, for which he plays as a forward. Ali has already earned 74 senior national team appearances for Qatar, scoring 34 goals in the process. The three-time Qatari Stars League champion finished as the AFC Cup’s top scorer in 2019 with nine goals. In 2021, Qatar was invited to participate as a guest in North America’s main competition, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which Almoez Ali once again dominated by winning the Golden Boot and being drafted among the final Best XI.

Could he be the guy that terrorizes Louis van Gaal’s defense in Qatar?

Joško Gvardiol – Croatia

As a 20-year-old, Joko Gvardiol is poised for an unstoppable rise. A defensive player of his age should be proud of his impressive record of over 100 senior club outings at the heart of the defense.

At the conclusion of his tenure at Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol became a regular for Croatia, and since then, he’s gone on to play for RB Leipzig, a superior European team.

Gvardiol’s excellent play in possession and agility have made him a standout in a back three formation, where he is favored as the left-sided center-back. We expect him to play a prominent role for Croatia, who have been tipped for a second-place finish in their group by some of the best World Cup betting sites.

Ritsu Doan – Japan

Ritsu Doan, who initially rose to prominence with Gamba Osaka in his native Japan, pleased FC Groningen enough on a season-long loan that the club exercised its €1.70m option to retain him on a permanent three-year deal in 2019. In 2020, Dutch giants PSV came knocking and took the Japanese star to Eindhoven for €7.50m – almost €6m more than what FC Groningen had paid just a year prior.

Qatar 2022 should be a fantastic stage for Ritsu to show his capabilities. Another thing favoring the 20-year-old striker is that Yuto Nagatomo, Eiji Kawashima, and Junya Ito are all reaching the conclusion of their international careers, making him one of the leading names in Japan’s next era of footballers.

Guillermo Ochoa – Mexico

Such a piece wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Guillermo Ochoa, dubbed by The Guardian as “the World Cup’s new internet darling” back in 2014. The Guadalajara-born goalkeeper, now aged 36, expects this to be his last stint at a World Cup stage, mainly due to the rise of another Mexican Ochoa who seems to be on his way to kick start his career in Europe.

Guillermo Ochoa, the veteran goalkeeper, is currently the captain of Club América in his native Mexico. He has made over 652 professional appearances, proudly representing clubs such as AC Ajaccio, Standard Liège, and Málaga CF, among others. When it comes to the national team, Ochoa played 129 times for Mexico, winning no less than four CONCACAF Gold Cup titles along the way.

Ochoa just had an outstanding season with Club América, appearing 37 times and recording 17 clean sheets. Being on such a positive form, we anticipate the Mexican goalkeeper to repeat the heroics he displayed against Brazil in 2014 for one final time in Qatar.

In the next few weeks, we will find out the last few teams who have booked their place at this year’s World Cup.

This year’s tournament looks to be a cracking renewal with many top sides looking to bring that famous trophy home. Here, we break down the top betting odds ahead of what is sure to be a fantastic tournament.

Betting odds ahead of the 2022 World Cup

The online bookmakers have all installed Brazil as the early favourites for the tournament, and it’s easy to see why. Brazil are a team loaded with attacking talent which will be spearheaded by Neymar. Still only 30, Neymar has announced that this will be his last ever World Cup and he will want to go out with a bang.

The Brazilians have been placed in a group alongside Cameroon, Serbia and Switzerland and despite there being some tough games it should be a group that Brazil eases through.

There are one or two defensive frailties that many of the top international sides will believe they can exploit, but if Brazil bring their ‘A game’ they could be really tough to beat.

Next in the betting come England. There have been many false dawns over English teams in the past but this England side reached the semifinals of the World Cup back in 2018 and only lost on penalties in the finals of Euro 2020.

Hoping they can go one better this time around, England will be hoping that star striker Harry Kane will be able to add a second successive Golden Boot to the one he won back in 2018. It looks like England have been handed a dream draw with Gareth Southgate’s men facing off against Iran, the USA and one of the Ukraine, Scotland or Wales. A mouthwatering clash against France could await in the quarterfinals but make no mistake about it, England have a real chance to end almost sixty years of hurt.

France are only the third favourites to reclaim their trophy and win a third World Cup overall. They could be the value bet of the tournament. A team loaded with talent, Kylian Mpabbe will be hoping that he can make the World Cup his stage and cement himself as the world’s best player.

With stars such as Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante you write France off at your peril. Drawn in a group with Denmark, Tunisia and a team yet to be decided, France will be tested, but should have more than enough to qualify out of their group.

The team that might represent the best odds are Germany. The Germans are a deadly tournament team and currently can be backed at around 11/1. New boss Hansi Flick has flooded the team with a perfect blend of talented youth alongside some grizzled veterans. Germany has a team full of stars and will turn up to Qatar fully believing they can win yet another World Cup title.