Since its first playoffs in 1930 on the Uruguayan soil, the FIFA World Cup has been held every four years, but for 1942 and 1946 as a result of the Second World War. Since the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup, it has become the world most widely watched sports championship on the planet, with it having a larger television audience than any other tournament. In the beginning, it all started with just 13 male teams from different countries coming together to compete. After a while, a number of teams added making it 16 which later changed to 24 and now, there are 32 teams competing for the prestigious trophy.
Before the 21st edition currently going on in Russia, this prestigious tournament was for it first time organized and played on an African (South Africa) soil in 2010. This 19th edition of the World Cup saw Spain emerging victorious for the first time in their history.
Brazil who hosted the 20thedition of the FIFA World Cup is the most successful country with 5 victories realized and the participation in all the editions ever organized. After winning the World Cup for the third time in 1970, Brazil was permitted to stay with the trophy permanently in accordance to the early conditions put in place which allowedteams to own the trophy permanently after winning it three times. In 2014, Germany won the last edition of the World Cup organized in Brazil making it it's 4th World Cup titles along with Italy. Other countries who have won this trophy include Argentina and Uruguay both having 2 titles, France, England, and Spain all winning this trophy once.
Therefore, who are the most favorite teams of the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup?
The 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup is ongoing in Russia and some of the World’s best players are defending the colors of their nation. Actually, it can be tough to predict a winner amongst the 32 participants, but when it concerns personnel abilities, some teams are certainly superior to others. However, the normal order of things at every major competition can always be distorted as the underdogs can turn things around and dominate. So far so good, there are just 8 teams left and each these teams are preparing to get into the quarterfinals. After taking a hit early in the competition and seeing their status as the number one favorites, Brazil is regarded the as best favorite to win the trophy in Russia.
Just as the five-time champions, France is also considered a favorite to win the tournament after winning their first and only gold medal in 1998. It isn’t a surprise to see France so highly rated since their team is made up of young and talented players such as AntoineGriezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, just to name a few. After defeating Argentina in the 16th finals, France will face Uruguay at the quarter-final.
Another highly rated team in this tournament is Belgium. They came into this competition with a ‘Golden Generation’, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carasco, Eden Hazard, amongst others. In 2014 World Cup, the Perennial dark Horses of Belgium were knocked out at the quarter-final and they left Euro 2016 at the same stage. But now, they have the ability to go beyond this level in Russia. This was shown in their tremendous comeback against Japanas they were 2 nil down in the 16th finals.
The highly rated contestants are usually understood, but at times in all major competitions, there are some dark horses that can change the whole scenario.