The upcomming football World Cup

Learn about the upcomming football World Cup

In four years' time, Qatar's Khalifa International Stadium will host a quarter-final of the World Cup, but this Tuesday had to settle for a big screen.

4,500 people filled the fan zone of the stadium, where the semi-final between Belgium and France of the 2018 World Cup Russia was shown, while the clock is ticking for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Atef, a 30-year-old local that supports Belgium, explains that he has enjoyed the tournament, whose final is played on Sunday.

"It's competitive, seeing a new team in the World Cup makes it more interesting," he says, although he admits that Russia's unexpected success has put more pressure on Qatar to repeat the feat with an equally successful tournament. "To be honest, yes, there is a lot of pressure. This will be the first World Cup in the Middle East. It's not just big for Qatar, it's big for the region.

The match attracts people from all over Doha, mostly men, but there were also many families and women present. Followers from Qatar, Kenya, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan stick to the screen, shouting and jumping at every scoring chance.

Soda and popcorn vendors move through the crowd and people still arrive about 30 minutes after the start.

The stadium has air conditioning and requires it, as the humidity of a Doha summer makes the temperature feel like it is above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) after nine o'clock at night.

Belgium are clearly the fans' favourites at the Khalifa Stadium, although some fans wear French replica shirts.

But the game also shows the appeal of the World Cup: an Indian fan, Pooja, admits she doesn't really like football, but is interested every four years when the World Cup arrives.

Nearby is Mohamed, a teacher from Qatar accompanied by his family, but who is also thinking about four years ahead. "I think we can do better than Russia, because before there were more sports in Doha," he says.

Qatar's World Cup bid has been hit by several controversies over accusations of corruption, human rights abuse and the problem of alcohol for fans when about 1.5 million fans are expected to travel to Doha in 2022.

Qatar, a conservative Muslim country, is not a 'dry state', but it maintains strict rules on the purchase of alcohol. Alcohol will be sold at the tournament, but the plan for now is to restrict it to certain areas.

Mohamed, however, is not upset. "There's no problem with that. If you want to drink, drink," ditch. But won't the locals be offended? "No, I don't think so," says Mohamed.

Extending the visa

Teenage boy Jassim from Bangladesh wears a Qatari outfit and says he can't wait to enjoy the games live in four years' time.

"I'm so excited that I'm going to the games in 2022," says the 15-year-old.

At the top of the stands is 29-year-old Kenyan security guard Alex, who encourages Belgium because a former national team player, Divock Origi, has roots in Kenya.

But his mind is both in 2022 and the semi-final. He has been in the Gulf for two years and one of the reasons he came to Qatar is the World Cup.

"It will be a privilege for me to watch the World Cup," he says enthusiastically. "If my visa expires, I'll have to find a way to extend it, so I'm here for 2022.

UEFA Nations League Football Betting

UEFA Nations League Football Betting

We're opening section! New competition for football lovers. This UEFA Nations League will give much more interest to matches between teams, reduce the number of friendly matches and will mean a new European title for the countries. Here, the team of experts from Casas de Apuestas Deportivas will analyze in detail this competition and its betting variants to get off to a good start in this UEFA Nations League. Are you going to miss it?

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League is finally here! New UEFA national team competition divided into categories and with a title in play for the years when we don't have a European or World Cup. Let the show go on! Fifty-five teams, four different categories (A, B, C and D) with four groups each, made up of teams from Europe according to their ranking (from the highest to the lowest). The objective is that teams of the same level face each other. It will be played in six different days: two in September, two in October and two in November. The first classified of the groups of each division pass to an own playoff (one playoff for group A, another for B, another for C and another for D). In June 2019 the first division playoff will be played to meet the first champion of the competition.

Once the traditional qualifying phase for the Euro has finished, the rest of the playoffs will be played. The champion teams of each group will go up in the division and the worst will go down. In this way, the best teams in Europe will be able to compete in the final phase of the UEFA Nations League, a new world-class event. And, for mid-ranked teams and smaller nations, the UEFA Nations League will provide an additional form of qualification for the finals of the UEFA European Championships. The nations with the lowest coefficient, the last 16 in the ranking, will be guaranteed one of the 24 places giving access to the UEFA EURO.

Fans more than anyone are aware that many friendlies are not competitive enough. They will now have the opportunity to watch their teams play more competitive matches, take part in a new competition and have a second chance to qualify for the big tournaments.

Every even year there is a World or EURO champion, and now in odd years there will be a winner of the UEFA Nations League. Football is competition and now, as in club football, there will be a champion national team at the end of each season.

It is true that there will be fewer friendly matches and certainly fewer nonsensical friendly matches. However, there will still be room in the calendar for international friendlies, especially matches in preparation for the final stages of tournaments. UEFA is also keen that European teams should continue to have the opportunity to play against opponents from other confederations.

UEFA Nations League Betting and Quotas

We have up to 55 countries looking for this first UEFA Nations League title and a place in the next European Championship in 2020. Throughout the year we will be reporting on our timeline news of all special promotions, offers and special and improved quotas for this UEFA Nations League. Do not miss it, we, at Casas de Apuestas Deportivas, will help you earn money with your bets on this new competition.

We will analyze the matches, the programs and betting markets for this competition, the promotions of the bookies: from freebets without deposit to Superquotas Bwin or Megacuotas Pastón, that are part of the promos of improved quotas... All the information possible in your hand so that you win money! Don't miss it!

Copa America's best teams

Copa America's best teams

Discover the best teams of the 2019 America's Cup, their strengths and weaknesses.

The best teams of the 2019 Copa América

The America's Cup celebrates its 46th edition in 2019. It is the most important football event in South America and gathers every year the teams of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and some invited teams. This year's Copa América will be held in Brazil from 14 June to 7 July.

Argentina and Brazil are the top favourites in the Copa América betting on the final triumph, as happens at the beginning of each edition of the Copa América. However, this year it will be necessary to be very attentive to the evolution of Uruguay or Colombia, very compact teams and difficult to win that can sell very expensive defeat and face the main candidates for the title.

The Copa América will also feature some of the world's best footballers: all eyes will be on Leo Messi from Argentina, James, who will lead Colombia, or Luis Suarez, Uruguay's leading player. An event to enjoy for three weeks the best football on the planet despite the absence of Neymar, injured with Brazil.

Who will participate in the 2019 Copa América?

This tournament is traditionally played by the ten teams from South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), in addition to Mexico as a permanent guest country and another team that is invited in each edition to complete the 12 participants.

However, at first it was wanted to increase the number of participants in this edition to 16, although it was not possible in the end. In addition, Mexico renounced to participate because it had more interest in another tournament, so the organization decided to invite Catar and Japan, which will be the two teams that will complete the tournament along with the ten CONMEBOL.

America's Cup 2019 Favorites

Of the twelve contenders for the 2019 Copa América, two stand out from the rest: Brazil and Argentina. However, Colombia and Uruguay also have many options.

Brazil

The canarinha once again hosts a major tournament after the World Cup 2014 fiasco and the famous 1-7 in Germany. They have not lifted a title in 12 years since the Copa America 2007, and the fans demand trophies.

Strengths: The coach, Tite, has achieved a more solid team that is very difficult to win. He was also lucky in the draw and will face Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela in the first round.

Weaknesses: Neymar's injury in the friendly against Catar has left the Canarinha 'orphaned'. In addition, the need to win may generate anxiety in the hosts, as they are worthless for any result other than to become champions.

Argentina

They will be Brazil's biggest rivals and Messi will finally seek to lift a trophy with his country. It is the only blot on the career of a player superior to all his generation, but who has failed to extend his dominance to national team football.

Strengths: Having the best player in the world is enough for Argentina to aspire to everything, as in every championship. Scaloni has carried out a generational revolution and new players like Baetic Lo Celso or PSG midfielder Leandro Paredes can help Messi achieve his goal.

Weaknesses: Messidependence can affect a team that needs to secure a starting eleven as there are many positions that have no definite owner. If Scaloni is able to print his own style he can aspire to anything.

Colombia

After triumphing on Iran's bench, Carlos Queiroz faces a new stage as Colombia's top manager. He has a good group of players who have triumphed in European football and will try to achieve good results through the mastery of the ball.

Strengths: A solid team, very experienced and with great individuals above must be fearsome for their rivals. Ospina, Mina, James and Falcao form the backbone of a team in which Duván Zapata wants to confirm that he has become a world football great, as he has shown this season with Italian Atalanta.

Weaknesses: The defence is the big headache of the 'tricolor'. The few minutes that Mina has enjoyed this season have conditioned him and he lacks confidence. If Colombia concedes few chances to their rivals, it can be fearsome.