Written By: Natasha Turkington
Natasha Turkington was born and bred in Manchester, and is considered one of the soccer’s most prolific and knowledgeable fans. Follow her on Twitter at @natashaturk.
The wait is finally over for international soccer fans and World Cup fever is here. The burning question on everybody’s lips is….who is going to win global bragging rights in 2022?
Bovada has a cool and lucrative way to prove your expert soccer knowledge (and beat your buddies) by predicting who is going to lift THE most important trophy in world soccer. But wait, there’s more. You could also win a whopping $50k in the process.
All you need to do is select the winner and runner up for each group stage then the winner of the last 16 places, quarter-finals, semi-final and ultimately the World Cup winner. You earn 3 points for each correct prediction (1 point for runner-up group stage). If are able to score the maximum of 77 points, you could win the grand prize.
I had so much fun playing the World Cup Predictor because it really did get me thinking… Will there be some shock group upsets? England are favorites to win Group B stage, however after a recent run of underwhelming games, can USA dig deep and beat them to it?
Could Senegal be the dark horses of the 2022 World Cup following their recent Africa Cup of Nations win earlier this year? Senegal is no stranger to World Cup knockout stages, impressively making it all the way to the quarter-finals in 2002 (their debut year, btw).
Last 16
After much consideration, my predictions lead to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal being knocked out of the last 16 by Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Imagine the headlines if that one comes true! These two legends are likely nearing the end of stellar careers and this should surely be their last World Cup appearance as players. It remains to be seen if one can deliver a World Cup knock-out punch to their frenemy as an early retirement present.
Quarter & Semi Finals
For the quarter-finals, I have Argentina, Brazil, England and Belgium. Maybe it is (very) wishful thinking that Belgium’s Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne will finish second place to England’s Harry Kane and Jack Grealish, as I have the semi-final set up as Brazil versus England.
Final
Brazil are odds on favourite to win the overall competition and it is hard to argue against this given the exceptional, world class squad they have – Neymar, Raphinha, Richarlison, Antony, Gabriel Jesus, Thiago and Casemiro to name just a few. Given the strength of their squad, I have gone with Brazil to beat Argentina for the trophy.
Sign up to Bovada today!
Join me in the Bovada World Cup party by sending in your predictions and start dreaming of how you will spend your $50k. The rules of the game are easy; click here, make your picks and enter your email address. I’ll be bragging about my picks on social media if I’m right, so let me know how you are getting along with your picks. Everyone loves a little international soccer social banter, after all.
