World Cup Group A Predictions & Betting Picks
World Cup Group A Predictions & Odds to Win the Group
Group A sees the host nation Qatar facing some real quality teams in the shape of European heavyweights the Netherlands, last year’s African Cup of Nations winners Senegal and South American side Ecuador in what’s shaping up to be a really interesting group overall.
The Netherlands go in as the -200 favorites to win this group, with not much splitting Senegal and Ecuador in second place at +350 and +500 respectively.
Qatar are the book’s rank outsiders ahead of this one with odds of +1600 to finish at the top, but home nations have surprised before and Qatar will no doubt look to show that here. Still, our World Cup Group A predictions don’t think Qatar will manage much.
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Netherlands World Cup Preview – Netherlands Group A Chances
The Netherlands will get a major boost ahead of this World Cup tournament with the return of influential Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk who was missing from the Netherlands Euro 2020 (2021) campaign last year.
With former boss, Louis van Gaal back in charge of the national team as well after his departure in 2014, the Dutch look a lot more organized this year and have yet to lose a game under the shrewd 71-year-old’s reign since he took charge following Frank de Boer’s dismissal after a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign.
Senegal World Cup Preview & Prospects – Senegal Betting Pick To Advance
The Netherlands’ main rival in this group, at least according to the books, will be African champions Senega. The current African champs boast some real world-class talent in their ranks with Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly among others making up a potentially dangerous squad.
Senegal is particularly dangerous down the flanks where manager Aliou Cisse has given them room to operate in a solid 4-3-3 formation, with midfield stalwarts like Idrissa Gueye operating in the center for the Lions of Teranga.
Ecuador World Cup Overview – Can Ecuador Advance from Group A?
Third favorites Ecuador had some recent issues with defender Byron Castillo being potentially ineligible for this tournament after both Chile and Peru raised issues about Castillo’s birthplace in terms of his representing Ecuador at this World Cup.
Both nations would have been in line to replace Ecuador if they had of missed out, but FIFA rejected proposals from both nations last month to finally include the South American side officially.
Ecuador will hope that hasn’t created too much distraction ahead of this tournament as they look for only their second group stage qualification in their history.
Qatar – The Host With… Not So Much The Most…
Qatar is without question the minnows of Group A but they should nonetheless pose some challenges to the bigger teams in this group, with their 2021 Gold Cup run proving testament to that.
Spanish manager Felix Sanchez has this team playing a fluid, attacking brand of football which saw them net 12 goals over four games in the Gold Cup, and he’ll be hoping they can continue that run in this tournament as well.
However, Qatar has also shown some major vulnerabilities at the back in games as well and that could prove decisive here with so much attacking talent on display in this group.
World Cup Group A Predictions and Betting Picks
With the Netherlands looking too sharp right now to finish anywhere outside of the top spot in this group, and Qatar being too vulnerable defensively to finish outside of the bottom, this group likely all comes down to who qualifies alongside the Netherlands in second position.
While Senegal might have the edge over Ecuador in terms of overall roster talent and star power in their squad, Ecuador’s opening game against Qatar gives them the advantage to start this group as Senegal faces a much trickier opening game against the Netherlands. This schedule figures into our World Cup Group A predictions.
Despite Senegal’s success on the African continent, their route to the World Cup has been far easier than Ecuador’s, and it’s often led them to get by in spots without being at their absolute best, namely with Aliou Cisse not having players like Sadio Mane play in optimum positions on the pitch.
Ecuador, meanwhile, has been much more battle-tested in the run-up to this tournament, and in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo have one of the English Premier League’s brightest stars right now. The 20-year-old midfielder will no doubt play a major part in any success Ecuador will likely enjoy over the course of this tournament.
World Cup Group A Predictions: Best Betting Pick – Advancing from the Group Prop Bet
A bright start here for the South American side could see them gather momentum in the tournament and just from a purely odds play alone, we like the Netherlands/Ecuador straight forecast at +300 a lot better than the Netherlands/Senegal price at just +188.
The Group A Ultimate Pick – The Two Teams to Advance Are…
Take the Netherlands/Ecuador straight forecast prop in Group A at +300 for this year’s World Cup tournament in Qatar.
More World Cup Groups 2022 Predictions:
Find daily World Cup soccer betting picks from WagerTalk as the World Cup begins, daily league predictions and free picks for matches from the major soccer leagues around the world, as well as a predictions for all the other World Cup groups:
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