A set of 64 matches ended, with Lionel Messi finally lifting the trophy that eluded him for a long time. It was a Messi romantic moment after Argentina found the net for the 4th time in the penalty shootout. Mbappe went home with everyone’s respect for scoring a hat trick. Sure, France stands second, but the fact that there was a fight to defend the title for the second time led by Mbappe has been inscribed in history.
A record level of 172 goals was scored, with 38% placing their bets on France to lift the trophy again. The majority wanted to see Messi hold the cup, and they have been duly rewarded with the moment and the return on their bets.
From now on, many punters engaging in football betting will have a serious look at teams coming from regions other than South America and Europe. Asia and Africa gave a tough fight, evident from Morocco’s presence in the final four. Plus, defeating Portugal was difficult by not letting them score a single goal.
Morocco’s initial pricing was 400/1, which was then changed to 60/1. The 2-1 loss against Croatia for the third spot was expected, but so was the loss of Japan when it faced Germany in the pool stage. Instead, Japan maintained a 2-1 tally for another upset. Japan experienced the tournament with pricing of 11/1.
In other words, underdogs will not go unnoticed in the tournament to come. There was an increase of 105% in Player Occurrence bets as compared to Euro 2020.
Croatia goes back to the third position after losing 3-0 to Messi-led Argentina in the Semi-Final. All the actions that have been taken in the tournament signal that there could be a serious shift from the tradition of backing the teams that are favorites to win. While a list will still be drafted to place known teams at the top, punters will have to take a look if they are willing to risk their bets again.
Bets on underdogs grew up 35% as compared to 19% in the last year’s men’s Euro. Not to forget, Brazil was one of the favorites to lift the cup until it lost 4-2 to Croatia in the penalty round after equalizing a single goal. The Netherlands looked strong in the Quarter-Finals as well as it was able to match the double netted by Argentina. Penalties ultimately went in favor of Argentina, with the side leading with a margin of a single goal.
England, for one, looked to go strong; however, Les Blues had other plans of restricting the English attack to a single goal in response to a double scored by them. With the FIFA World Cup 2022 summarized, the next edition is expected to see some more action by every team that qualifies.
