European qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup starts this week, and here we take a look at Gareth Southgate’s England side. We will be looking at the Three Lions’ group, their odds to qualify, and we also take a look at outright winner world cup betting.
What Group Are England In?
England have been placed in Group I along with Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra and San Marino.
Qualifying for the World Cup is far harder than it is for the European Championships. Only individual group winners are guaranteed a spot at Qatar in 2022, with the second placed teams going into play-off matches.
Of England’s opponents in Group I, Poland – with Robert Lewandowski leading the line – will be their biggest rivals for top spot.
Hungary (40 in FIFA Rankings) and Albania (Ranked 66) could be slightly tricky opponents. But Andorra and San Marino should offer the English little resistance.
Are England Favourites To Win Their Group?
The bookmakers certainly don’t envisage any problems for England qualifying from the group. They have Southgate’s team as 1/5 favourites to top the group.
Lewandowski’s Poland side are second favourites at 4/1.
As you can see from the fixtures (below), qualifying for the 2022 World Cup is being condensed into 8 months.
England’s final group match is on 15th November, just 12 months and a few days before the World Cup starts (21st November 2022).
The condensed fixture list also means that England will have two triple headers to contend with – as opposed to the usual double headers.
England World Cup 2022 Qualifying Fixtures
- England v San Marino - 25th March
- Albania v England - 28th March
- England v Poland - 31st March
- Hungary v England - 2nd September
- England v Andorra - 5th September
- Poland v England - 8th September
- Andorra v England - 9th October
- England v Hungary - 12th October
- England v Albania - 12th November
- San Marino v England - 15th November
England will be starting the qualifying campaign without influential players like Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish. That obviously won’t be a problem for the San Marino match.
But with back-to-back matches away at Albania, and at home to Poland immediately afterwards, England will certainly have to hit the ground running.
There will certainly be no room for complacency, and with the Poland match being at home, it is already a must win fixture.
Qatar 2022 World Cup - Outright Winner Betting
In outright winner betting for the World Cup, online bookmakers in Latvia and across Europe make England 15/2. Only France at 5/1, Brazil at 11/2, and Germany who are 7/1, are ahead of the Three Lions in the betting.
The French are the defending champions, having beaten Croatia 4-2 in the final back in 2018. And heading into the European qualifying section, it has to be said that they still look the team to beat.