With less than 200 days to go before the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, we now know the 32 countries that will be chasing world supremacy. The reality here, though, is that only a handful of those nations will have a legitimate shot at winning it all. We will have a better idea of how things may play out, at least in the group stages, on Friday, December 1, as that is when the draw for those groups takes place. In the meantime, let’s dive into an early 2018 World Cup betting preview to check who’s favorite according to the latest soccer lines.
The Russians have been placed in Pot A because they are the hosts, but the reality is that they are by far the weakest of the 8 nations in that pot. They looked pretty awful at the Confederation’s Cup earlier this year and could be looking at an early exit if they do not get a favorable draw.
Early 2018 World Cup Betting Preview
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— #WorldCupDraw 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) 30 de noviembre de 2017
Tournament details
- Host country: Russia
- Dates: 14 June – 15 July
- Teams: 32 (from 5 confederations)
- Venues: 12 (11 host cities)
Qualified Teams
- Russia
- Iran
- South Korea
- Japan
- Saudi Arabia
- Tunisia
- Nigeria
- Morocco
- Senegal
- Egypt
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Argentina
- Colombia
- France
- Portugal
- Germany
- Serbia
- Poland
- England
- Spain
- Belgium
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Croatia
The Draw
It’s worth taking a moment to talk about how the draw is performed, as this will give you a better idea of how the finished groups might look. The 32 teams are split into 4 different pots, which are based on world rankings. Pot A is where the winner of the 2018 World Cup is most likely to come from, although Pot B could also deliver a winner. Pots C and D are the lesser nations, the majority of whom will, barring a surprise or two, not make it beyond the group stage. Given how the pots are set up, you might get groups that look like the following:- Brazil
- Mexico
- Denmark
- Japan
- Germany
- England
- Sweden
- Nigeria

The Pots
Pot 1
- Russia
- Germany
- Brazil
- Portugal
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Poland
- France
Pot 2
- Spain
- Peru
- Switzerland
- England
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Uruguay
- Croatia
Pot 3
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Costa Rica
- Sweden
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Senegal
- Iran
Pot 4
- Serbia
- Nigeria
- Australia
- Japan
- Morocco
- Panama
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia