How does the World Cup work?
The World Cup is played once every four years, with 32 teams from across the world competing in the World Cup finals once they come through their respective continent’s qualification process. In 2026, the World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams for the first time, but in the current format the 32 teams are separated into eight groups of four teams, with each team playing each other once in the group stages. The top two teams from each group then progress to the knockout stages, while the bottom two teams are eliminated from the competition.
The final 16 teams will then attempt to navigate their way through the Round of 16, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals of the competition, all of which are one-off straight elimination games. If one of these games ends in a draw over 90 minutes, the game will then go to extra time and, if needed, a penalty shootout will take place. The two teams that manage to overcome the three knockout rounds will then contest the World Cup Final under the same rules as the previous round, with the winner then crowned as World Champions for the next four years.
Why use Paddy Power for World Cup betting?
Paddy Power is one of the top bookmakers out there when it comes to football betting and this is only enhanced during the World Cup, which takes centre stage for one month during summer every four years. With that in mind, it is important to make sure that you have a Paddy Power account and you can sign up to the bookmaker here. During the World Cup, players can also get access to a number of different promotions from Paddy Power which will be enticing for both new and existing customers to take advantage of.
In terms of the odds on offer, Paddy Power gives their players some of the best on the market. During such a busy and competitive time for gambling such as the World Cup, it’s important to know you are getting the absolute maximum for your money when placing and winning your bets and Paddy Power give you that peace of mind in abundance. They will have a huge number of markets on offer allowing you to get really creative when looking to gamble on the likes of France, Brazil and England.
What World Cup bets do Paddy Power offer?
Given the huge interest there is on the World Cup and placing bets on the competition, it’s no surprise that Paddy Power gives their customers a huge selection of markets to bet on the World Cup in. We have put the types of bet on offer into three different categories, including which specific bets you can place within them.
Game Betting
There are games on virtually every day during the month that the World Cup is on, with there sometimes being up to four matches on for punters to watch during the golden weeks for football fans. With this being the case, there are many opportunities to win big every day when betting with Paddy Power on the World Cup.
The most popular single game markets that are available are match result, both teams to score, over/under goals, correct score, goalscorer markets, handicap betting, corners and cards. Many Paddy Power customers will look to use these bets in unison to make multiple selections such as a double, treble or four-fold on a day where multiple games are on during the World Cup.
In-Play Betting
Watching the World Cup live may tempt Paddy Power players into having a bet whilst the game is on, with there being a number of in-play markets that Paddy Power allow you to gamble on. It only adds to the additional excitement of watching the World Cup and Paddy Power are constantly updating the odds of their in-play markets to reflect how the specific matches are progressing. Betting in-play can give you a slight advantage as it factors in match events that you are unaware of pre-games such as goals, cards and intangible factors such as momentum and emotion.
Outright Betting
Think you know the overall winner of the World Cup before a ball has been kicked in anger? Well, Paddy Power will allow you to back your favoured team long before the tournament has started. Added to this is a number of other potential outright bets, one of which is deciding who will win the lucrative World Cup Golden Boot by finishing as the tournament’s top goalscorer. As well as this, players can bet on who they believe will win each of the eight groups, who will reach the final and who will be eliminated at the group stage.
