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Outsiders That Could Win the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Betting on an outsider, regardless of the sport, can bring the punter substantial gains if the wager turns out to be an inspired one. However, when you place a bet on an outsider to win a competition, you know that it is a risky wager and that you might need a lot of luck to pull it off.

Next year's World Cup is a good place for risky bets; the pressure is so high on the teams that upsets can happen quite frequently. Betting on an outsider to win the tournament is a long shot, though, but knowing which outsider to pick might make the wager a bit less risky. Let's have a look at the best outsiders at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Belgium - 12/1

Belgium is regarded as one of the most exciting teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the amount of world-class talent in their squad is simply amazing. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil they were quite impressive in the group stage, won three matches out of three, but then got stopped by Argentina in the quarter-finals. Their performance at the 2016 European Championships was quite disappointing, they did reach the quarter-finals again but got hammered 3-1 by Wales. However, they breezed through their World Cup qualification group, winning nine matches out of ten and scoring 43 goals in the process.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is the team leader, but the whole squad is filled with top-notch players that are under contract at some of the most prominent clubs in Europe. Last but not least, head coach Roberto Martinez is an experienced and intelligent manager that has proven his worth in the Premier League. Belgium's best performance at the World Cup was back in 1986 when they finished fourth.

England - 16/1

The Three Lions have not won the World Cup since 1966 and only managed to reach the semi-finals once, in 1990. Their performance at the 2014 World Cup was largely disappointing. They finished at the bottom of the table in Group D behind Costa Rica, Uruguay and Italy. Then, at Euro 2016, England suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the first knockout round. New manager Gareth Southgate has added more youth and energy to the team in the World Cup qualifying campaign, but in most matches, England had failed to impress even when they won.

They did finish at the top of their qualification group with eight wins out of ten matches and no defeats, but scoring just 18 goals in 10 matches is not good enough. However, England has conceded just three goals in their ten qualifying matches, and usually, it's a strong defense that allows you to win silverware. Tottenham striker Harry Kane has emerged as the leader of the squad, he scored 13 goals for club and country in September and if he delivers at the World Cup then England have a good chance of winning it.

Portugal - 20/1

The reigning European Champions can beat any team in the world on any given day, but they can also succumb to surprising defeats. After winning the 2016 European Championship in France, Portugal had to wrestle with Switzerland in the World Cup qualification group and the battle went on until the last match. The Portuguese won that decisive game 2-0 in October to secure their place at the World Cup, but they will need to do better if they want to go far in the final tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo is the leader of the team; the Real Madrid superstar has the whole weight of the club upon his shoulders.

However, head coach Fernando Santos can also rely on other world-class players like Manchester City's Bernardo Silva. Portugal's best performance at the FIFA World Cup was all the way back in 1966 when they finished third.

Croatia - 25/1

Croatia didn't have the best of qualifying campaigns finishing second in Group I behind surprising Iceland and had to go through a play-off tie to get to the World Cup. They did managed to shine in the play-off eventually, beating Greece 4-1 in the first leg and defending that advantage with a goalless draw in the second. They failed to qualify from the group stage at the 2014 World Cup and then at Euro 2016 they lost in the first knockout round to Portugal. However, they finished third at the 1998 World Cup and the current generation of players seems quite close to the one that pulled off that performance ten years ago.

Their pair of central midfielders can't get any better: Luka Modric from Real Madrid and Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona. Those two dictate the tempo and create the team's attacking plays, any opponent will have to work very hard to close down this extremely dangerous duo.

Poland - 40/1

Poland has secured third place at the FIFA World Cup on two occasions, in 1974 and 1982, and now they seem to have found a generation of players that can push for glory. They failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, but they were quite impressive at Euro 2016, where they gave eventual winners Portugal more than a run for their money.

The two teams clashed in the quarter-finals and Portugal only managed to prevail after a penalty shoot-out. They dominated their World Cup qualification group but did concede quite a few goals, 14 in 10 matches. Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is the leader of the team, he has scored 51 goals in 91 appearances for his country and is a forward that can invent goals out of nothing. He is the only superstar on the team, but the other members of the squad are solid players that can pose problems to any opponent.

Another couple of outsiders that are worth mentioning: Russia, because they are the host nation and also because they have a strong group of players, and Uruguay because they have a world-class striker in Luis Suarez. Or, if you want to go for a long shot, you could pick Iceland at 200-to-1, they surprised everybody at Euro 2016 and continued to impress in the World Cup qualifying campaign, plus they have absolutely nothing to lose.