After Thrilling UEFA EURO 2020, Qatar 2022 World Cup is On Clock

This content was produced in partnership with Gambler.Media.

If you are someone who makes money betting on soccer (and those numbers are growing very quickly in America), this summer may have been a very profitable one for you.

At the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament, Italy took home the trophy in penalties over England in a thrilling final. The Italians were priced as high as 11-1 in May (England and France were the two favorites), but took advantage of some injuries and rode some luck to win its second EURO crown.

At the CONCACAF Nations League, the USA beat Mexico 3-2 in stunning fashion, with Cristian Pulisic, fresh off a UEFA Champions League title with Chelsea, scoring a 114th-minute penalty to exorcise a few demons for the American side. Mexico was the favorite before the tournament, and you could have gotten some decent winnings backing the Americans.

Of course, the domestic leagues will take the center stage very soon, but off in the distance, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is looming.

The tournament (which will be the first to be played in November and December) will kick off on November 21. The qualifying has already started for some confederations, while others will begin in late August/early September.

While we do not yet know the 32 teams that will contest the cup, the sportsbooks have already posted odds to win the tournament, and it is a who’s who of teams at the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings.

Brazil is the current favorite at odds of +500 with British bookies, just ahead of reigning World Cup champions France (odds of +600). Now, the French team just imploded at the EURO 2020 tournament (as they are wont to do), but make no mistake about it: this is the most talented team in the world.

The only team that might be close to them in talent is England, which is the third choice at odds of +800. But the Three Lions might never achieve the heights they could under Gareth Southgate, who is always more worried about matching the other team than putting out his strongest side and making teams adjust to England.

Spain (+900), Germany (+1000), Belgium (+1100), and Italy (+1100) are all in the mix as well.

But how about the USA? If you scroll down far enough on the futures odds, you will see the Americans at +8000, behind washed-up teams such as Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, and Croatia. Is this a lack of respect for this young team, or maybe a lack of respect for Gregg Berhalter, who has always (up until the Nations League Final) found a way to pull defeat from the jaws of victory?

This USA team is probably set up to play its best as the host of the 2026 World Cup and is probably a few years (and maybe an Arsene Wenger) away from competing at the highest levels of international soccer. But it is improving, just not enough to back at +8000 to win.

I will back France at +500 and England at +600.

If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.