While in any normal World Cup year, the tournament would be well and truly over by now, this time around, we still have a couple of months to wait. As the clock counts down to kick-off, we’re beginning to get a clearer idea of which teams are looking strong enough to challenge for the biggest prize in football.
England
Having waited more than half a century for more international success, many England fans in the World Cup would be willing to sacrifice domestic football for a year in exchange for “bringing football home”.
They may not have to make such big trade-offs though as their team is one of the favourites following a historic campaign in Euro 2020.
The Three Lions have, however, seen their odds drift slightly in recent months after a poor showing at a few friendly games. That said, it’s not always possible to draw many conclusions from these matches as they don’t receive the same treatment from managers and players.
Time will tell in the opening group stage games as to whether England can truly bring it home.
Brazil
It would feel strange to talk about World Cup contenders and not mention Brazil. The South American team has won the tournament more times than any other and it is looking, more or less, as strong as ever.
Of all the games it has played so far this year, Brazil has won, often by wide margins, all but one of its games. For example, against South Korea, the team finished 5-1 up, while games against Paraguay and Chile finished with 4-0 victories to the Brazilian side.
The only match that didn’t end in a win for them was the clash against Ecuador in late January. Instead, it finished in a draw after both sides had players sent off early on.
France
France is another team that is in with a good shout of the World Cup and is currently the bookies’ second favourite.
The European side has appeared in three finals, all within the last 25 years. On two occasions — 1998 and 2018 — the French won.
The team looked strong in Euro 2020 as well, though they were beaten by Switzerland in the Round of 16. They will, therefore, be out for revenge this time out in Qatar.
