World Cup Group B Predictions – Top Betting Picks from WagerTalk
World Cup Group B Predictions & Odds to Win the Group
Of all the tricky World Cup 2022 predictions, Group B might top the rest. World Cup Group B predictions are no easy task this year!
World Cup Group B has attracted a lot of interest internationally as it contains both England, who look for their first World Cup triumph since 1966, and the USA as they look to rebound after missing the tournament last time out with Gregg Berhalter’s young charges tipped to do well in this competition.
Wales and Iran make up the other two teams in this group in what is expected to be a tighter affair than most people anticipate.
England is the expected heavy favorites to win the group at -275, with both the USA and Wales tying for second at odds of +550. Iran come in as the outsiders to this group at odds of +1400 but shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand here as they took points off Portugal back in the 2018 World Cup.
New to soccer betting? Check out WagerTalk’s complete how to bet on soccer article, and our look at win to nil betting.
England World Cup Preview – Gotta Be a Lock to Advance, Right?
It’s no surprise to see the English installed as prohibitive favorites for this group after reaching the semifinals of World Cup 2018 and the final of last summer’s Euros as well. The Three Lions will hope to go one better this time around in Qatar by claiming their first World Cup triumph in 55 years.
The world’s fifth-best team according to FIFA, England boasts an incredibly talented starting 11, but if there is one drawback to this team it’s been in manager Gareth Southgate’s perceived tactics as they looked far too timid in attack in last year’s European final against Italy.
The English followed that up with just three goals scored from open play across their recent Nations League run as well, with many people calling for a change at the top after a series of poor results. The pressure on Southgate to deliver in this tournament will be immense.
USA World Cup Preview – Inconsistent, Badly Coached, But Could They Advance?
The world’s 14th-ranked side has enjoyed a similar trajectory to England in that they boast some real quality in their ranks, yet have failed to set the world alight during recent international matchups.
Losses to Panama and Costa Rica during their recent World Cup qualification run, plus a draw against El Salvador in the Nations League have raised some concerns about the experience level of the US men’s national side ahead of this tournament. But if they can click come November, they have the firepower to do some real damage to the other teams in this group.
With players such as Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Juventus’ Weston McKennie, Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna, and Leeds’ Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams, the USA have the talent level to cause every other team in this group problems offensively.
However, with a defense that also allowed an average of 1.0 goals per game away from home in World Cup qualification against teams arguably a lot weaker than what they’ll face here, the jury is still out on whether their defense is good enough to compete at this level.
Wales World Cup Preview
Wales is heading to its first World Cup finals since 1958 after beating Ukraine in the final UEFA World Cup playoff spot back in June, with jubilant scenes soon following in their home capital city of Cardiff.
But while it’s a historic return to the top table of international football for the Welsh, they are a team who have nevertheless played at a high level consistently over the last few years so this tournament berth shouldn’t faze them at all.
A semifinal placement in 2016’s Euro tournament was followed by a round of 16 placement at last summer’s Euro championship as well, and that has raised optimism ahead of what is likely to be influential star forward Gareth Bale’s last major tournament at the head of this Dragon’s side.
Iran World Cup Preview
Iran is no doubt the dark horse of Group B but could present some serious problems to the other teams in this group as they’ve already solidified themselves as one of the best teams in Asia over the last decade.
Iran scored a major result against Portugal back in 2018’s World Cup, holding the Portuguese to a 1-1 draw in Match Day 3. They also topped their World Cup qualification group as well and have lost just once in any meaningful game since the end of 2019, that coming against another World Cup level side in South Korea in Seoul earlier this year.
With Iran allowing just 0.5 goals per game on average on defense in qualifying, plus boasting players in attack such as Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, Bayer Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun, and Feyenoord’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh, they have the talent to spring a major surprise in this group.
World Cup Group B Predictions : England… Vulnerable but Good Enough
This is arguably one of the more interesting groups in the competition as England have shown some serious vulnerabilities, not just of late, but also in previous World Cup groups as well.
They had to scramble a late 91st-minute Harry Kane winner to see out Tunisia back in the 2018 World Cup. They finished bottom of their group in 2014 also and drew with Algeria and the USA back in 2010 as well, so laying a juicy -275 pricetag on them here to finish top is just a little too high for our liking.
That aside, however, just in terms of overall depth of their squad, England really is on an island all to themselves in this group. While the other teams in Group B have a handful of world-class players at best in their squads, England boasts an entire roster of them. So if Gareth Southgate can’t navigate his side to the summit of Group B in this tournament, then some serious questions need to be asked.
What About Iran? Wagertalk’s World Cup Group B Predictions Look at The Underdog
While Iran is definitely capable of producing at least one upset in this group, over the course of three games it’s unlikely they’ll have enough to qualify here, so it really comes down to November 21st’s pivotal game between USA and Wales to determine who likely finishes in the second spot in the group.
While Wales has been solid internationally of late, qualifying for both of the recent European tournaments and competing in Nations League A as well, they don’t look to be quite the same force they once were as Gareth Bale’s talents continue to wane with a recent winless run of six straight games in the Nations League testament to this.
World Cup Group B Predictions : Pick The Two Advancing Teams Prop
The USA, meanwhile, has the players to take advantage of that decline here and should have enough to qualify from this group, so we like them in the straight forecast alongside England [England/USA] at +188 to qualify from this group.
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:
Grab a Sportsbook Betting Bonus To Use For Our World Cup Group B Predictions
Sportsbook | Welcome Bonus | States Available | Get Your Bonus |
1. PointsBet | $2000 in Risk Free Bets | NJ, IN, IA, IL, CO, MI, VA, NY, KS, LA | Claim Now! |
2. Caesars | $1250 Risk Free Bet | NJ, WV, CO, IN, IA, MI, VA, TN, AZ, NY, LA, KS, PA | Claim Now! |
3. BetMGM | $1000 Risk Free Bet | NJ, PA, WV, IN, CO, TN, IA, MI, VA, DC, WY, MS, AZ, NY, LA, KS | Claim Now! |
4.DraftKings | $1000 Deposit Match | NJ, PA, WV, IN, CO, IL, IA, TN, MI, VA, WY, AZ, NY, LA, KS | Claim Now! |
5. FanDuel | $1000 Risk Free Bet | NJ, PA, WV, IN, CO, IA, IL, TN, MI, VA, AZ, NY, LA, ON, KS | Claim Now! |
6. BetRivers | $500 in Free Bets | PA, IN, CO, MI, IA, IL, VA, NY, NJ | Click State To Claim |
7. Unibet | $250 Risk Free Bet | NJ, PA, IN, IA, VA, AZ | Click State To Claim |
8. FoxBet | $50 Risk Free Bet | NJ, PA, CO, MI | Claim Now! |