World Cup Favorites 2018: Germany Top Bet For FIFA Russia With Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France

Jul 14, 2014 09:00 PM EDT
Germany's Mario Goetze
Germany's Mario Goetze celebrates his goal against Argentina with teammates (L-R) Andre Schuerrle ,Thomas Mueller and Benedikt Hoewedes during extra time in their 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro July 13, 2014. "

The World Cup is now over and the page is turned to 2018 in Russia and the favorite for that tournament is the winner of this one, with Germany coming in as the top bet over Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France and the Netherlands, while the host nation has 20-1 odds and the United States is back at 50-1 despite their fantastic performance in Brazil.

Germany is coming back with a young team and an experienced team and now they are world champions after winning the World Cup over Argentina and this could be the start of a dynasty. Spain won the Euros as well and that will be a big test for this team and they will have all the favor coming into the Russian tournament. Lionel Messi will have four long years to think about this one and his team comes in as second on the list ahead of Spain, who won in 2010 in South Africa, while France has 10-1 odds after their very solid performance this year.

Down the list past the Netherlands has Italy, Belgium, Colombia, Russia and England, while Portugal, Chile and Uruguay are also on the lost. The United States has a long way to go and while they played well in this tournament, they will be looking to go farther next time around. Teams like Mexico, Switzerland, Ukraine, Croatia and Algeria also will be looking to make the tournament in Russia.

Miroslav Klose leaves the World Cup a hero and he will not be around next time, but the rest of the team should be basically intact along with some young players ready to step up and they could be the best for a while. Julian Draxler is still very young and Toni Kroos is just 28, while Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle will be in their early 30s for the next tournament if they make it back.

Check here for the opening World Cup favorites for the 2018 games.

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