@BurrOaks77's Qatar Soccer World Cup Futures

Sunday is the opening match of the World Cup! Let’s talk about some tournament futures I like, and things I would avoid.

One important piece of information I think is worth sharing right off the bat. Goals will be at a premium in this tournament. The Golden Boot winner typically has a total of six goals. That’s not a lot of goals. There are 3 group stage games and a possibility of 4 more if the top sorcerer is in the finals. Quick math tells us that’s less than 1 goal per game. Expect matches to be cagy. This is a difficult competition.

That said, I took Darwin Núñez for golden boot back in June at +5500 on Barstool. Uruguay should make a run and Darwin Núñez has a really strong chance to be their top scorer. I can easily see him scoring 6+ if they make it to the round of 8. Suarez is 35 and Cavani is 34. Darwin should be the guy who pushes this team forward. $10 to return $560 isn’t a bad idea.

Canada has a bunch of talent and is on the upswing. Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, and Tajon Buchanan just to name a few. That's a ton of offensive firepower. Croatia was a fun dark horse and I love Modric, but this team is getting old. Most of their players are over 25 and getting towards 30. They also struggle mightily to score goals. Belgium is the favorite, but they are a team with flaws. They can definitely be beaten. Group F will be extremely competitive and Canada should not be 4th in the power rankings. I can see this team making a little run if they make it to the round of 16.

The odds on Sane or Gnabry are too good to pass up in my opinion. Kai isn't at his best form heading to this World Cup. Sane has been dominant for Bayern and Ganabry is coming off his injury stint red hot. +550 to +650 depending on where you shop has a lot of value. DraftKings and FanDuel offer this market.

Pick: Sane

Lukaku underwent an MRI in Belgium this week. He is questionable at best for this world cup. Michy Batshuayi (aka Bats) is the next true striker for the national team. Bats plays for Fenerbahçe in the Turkish super league. He has contributed 5 goals for them in league play. He also contributed 3 goals in Nations League play this year. +400 on DraftKings is certainly worth a look. FanDuel is currently down for maintenance, so be sure to shop this number.

Ronaldo is playing in his last world cup. He will either explode or flop. I don’t see a lot of in between options for him. Leao has had a phenomenal season for AC Milan contributing goals and assists. At +900 on Draft Kings, I feel this is worth a sprinkle.

I don’t love chalk in this tournament and don’t see a ton of value in taking the likes of Brazil, France, England, ect. I think Germany is worth a sprinkle, Uruguay is a dark horse, and Canada can make some noise. I already have Canada to advance out of groups, and I would look to hedge them as they progress.

Teams I think will struggle and are overpriced

Spain: This team is a mess. Morata is not that dude and their roster is suspect at BEST.

Argentina: Outside of Messi this team is made of glass. Martinez is having a nice year at Inter, but is a very injury prone player. Di Maria is banged up and 34 years old. I don’t think this team has the legs to go the distance. France is dealing with injury and their midfield is shakey. England are notorious choke artists and Southgate is on the hot seat.

Best of luck! Can’t wait for the action to start Sunday. Oaks out!