The World Cup started on Thursday, 11th June, and will be the biggest and most spectacular event in the history of football. The three hosts – the USA, Mexico and Canada – welcome a record breaking 48 national teams.
These teams are divided into 12 groups of four. A total of 104 matches will be played between June 11 and July 19, with the final game on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Unfortunatley the Slovenian national team did not secure a place at the tournament. Only two neighboring countries, Austria and Croatia were successful, white Italy and Hungary also failed to qualify, which is a big disappointment, especally for Italy. To advance to the second round, Austria will play in Group J together with Algeria, Jordan and Argentina – the current world champions. Croatia, aiming high as always, is placed in Group L together with Panama, Ghana and group favorites England.
Statistical analysis and bookmakers place these six teams among the main favorites: Spain in the first place, followed by France, England, Argentina, Portugal and Brazil. According to current betting calculations, a 1 Euro bet on Spain to win would bring between 4 and 5 Euros in profit, while such bet on Austria would yield around 150 Euros in earnings. Experts estimate that the tournament will „generate“ 80 billion dollars in gross economic activity, predominantly for the USA.