World Cup 2022 Group D Teams, Odds, Preview & Best Bet
The 2022 FIFA World Cup field is just about set, with 29 out of the 32 teams finalized and dispersed into groups. There are several play-in matches to finalize the field, including Australia taking on United Arab Emirates for the final spot to represent the Asian Football Confederation. The winner will take on Peru for the final spot in Group D. The 2018 World Cup winners, France, are set as easy favorites to win Group D, while the oddsmakers see Denmark as the second team that will likely go through.
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France (-270 to Win Group D | +600 to Win World Cup)
The French side are coming off of a great run in 2018, where they ultimately won the World Cup and added another star to their international kits. This time around, they qualified with ease, going 5-3-0 in their European qualifying group and posting a +15 in goal differential. This will be France's 16th appearance in the World Cup, and they've won the tournament twice (1998, 2018). Didier Deschamps has been managing the national team since 2012, and he's accumulated a record of 83-25-18 over 126 matches.
France's roster carries as many household names as you will find amongst teams competing this year. They're headlined by an attacking quintet of Kylian Mbappé (54 caps), Karim Benzema (94 caps), Olivier Giroud (112 caps), Antoine Griezmann (104 caps), and Kingsley Coman (37 caps). Paul Pogba (91 caps) and N’Golo Kanté (52 caps) round out the midfield, while Hugo Lloris will likely handle the goalkeeping responsibilities this year (137 caps). This year, the expectations will be to repeat as champions, but that hasn't been done since Brazil accomplished it back in 1962. With the way the roster is structured and the team chemistry that France possesses, this is a team capable of the feat.
Australia/UAE or Peru (+2500/+2500/+1200 to Win Group D | +50000/+100000/+25000 to Win World Cup)
One of the play-in matches that has yet to be settled is Australia vs. United Arab Emirates. This game will take place in Qatar on June 7th. The winner of that matchup squares off against Peru in the intercontinental playoff on June 13th. Whoever comes out victorious will take the final spot in Group D.
Most of Australia's experience comes on the backend of the pitch, where the duo of Trent Sainsbury (60 caps, 4 goals) and Aziz Behich (49 caps, 2 goals) will fortify the defensive positions. Mathew Ryan will captain the team as the goalkeeper, and he has 71 international appearances with Australia.
As for UAE, they're in a similar situation as Australia in that they don't boast much experience on the attacking end. However, they have five players in the midfield with at least 20 international caps and four defenders with at least 20 appearances on the international stage. Walid Abbas, a defenseman who plays his club soccer with Shabab Al Ahli in Dubai, will captain the team. He has seven goals over 106 international caps.
The winner of Australia vs. United Arab Emirates will take on Peru. Peru boasts a very experienced roster entering the intercontinental playoff match. Pedro Gallese is set to be the captain and starting goalkeeper for the national side, while Christian Cueva shores up the midfield as the leading scorer for Peru, with 15 goals over 90 international caps.
Denmark (+300 to Win Group D | +2500 to Win World Cup)
The Denmark national side had an impressive qualifying round in the European qualifier, going 9-0-1 in their group and outsourcing opponents 30-3. That earned Denmark their sixth trip to the World Cup and second straight appearance. They made it to the Round of 16 in 2018, with their best finish at the World Cup being a quarter-finals run in 1998. Kasper Hjulmand has been managing Denmark since July of 2020, and he has a 19-2-7 record over 28 matches.
Starting up front with the Denmark roster, we'll see Yussuf Poulsen and Martin Braithwaite leading the charge. Poulsen plays his club ball with RB Leipzig and has 11 goals and 66 international caps. As for Braithwaite, he's with Barcelona on the club level and has 10 goals in 56 international matches. Simon Kjær will captain the team and anchor the defense in this upcoming World Cup. The 33-year-old defenseman has 119 international caps, just 10 shy of the Denmark record.
Tunisia (+2000 to Win Group D | +25000 to Win World Cup)
Tunisia punched their ticket to their sixth World Cup and will be one of five teams to represent Africa in the upcoming tournament. They won their group featuring Zambia, Mauritania, and Equatorial Guinea before beating Mali in a 1-0 home-and-away aggregate to advance to the World Cup. Jalel Kadri is 1-1-0 in during his tenure as manager for Tunisia.
Youssef Msakni will captain Tunisia in the World Cup this year, as he's the most experienced player on the roster. Msakni has 83 caps under his belt on the international stage, and he's netted 15 goals. Wahbi Khazri, who plays his club soccer at Saint-Étienne in Ligue 1, will join Msakni up front, and he's scored 24 times in 69 international matches. Bechir Ben Saïd handled the goalkeeping responsibilities in both legs of the aggregate against Mali, and he was only forced to make one save over the 180+ minutes of action. The keeper has seven international caps with Tunisia.
Best Bet of Group D: Denmark to Advance (-225 via DraftKings)
As for the group stage, there aren't too many futures bets that are appealing here - mainly due to the juice we'll have to lay. France is -1400 to qualify for the Round of 16, while Denmark is -225. However, with the limited choices, I think Denmark at -225 to go through to the knockout stage is the best bet here. Kasper Hjulmand has the national side playing really well at this point, as they posted a +27 goal differential over 10 matches in the European qualifying round. The team is in great form, and they have World Cup experience from 2018, where they made a run to the Round of 16. I like for them to avoid any slip-ups in the group and punch their ticket to the knockout round.
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