The 2018 World Cup features 32 teams vying for the same trophy. The world's biggest sporting event kicks off Thursday at 11:00 a.m. ET, when host Russia takes on Saudi Arabia. Brazil is favored to win its sixth World Cup title at 7-2, followed closely by Germany at 4-1 and Spain at 6-1. Before a team can etch its name in history, they will first need to escape the Group Stage. In addition to picking an overall winner, bettors can wager on the results of all eight 2018 World Cup groups. For example, Spain is a -240 favorite to win Group B, meaning it would take a $240 bet on the Spaniards to win their group to return $100.
Before you make your picks on which teams top their respective groups at the 2018 World Cup, you need to see what European soccer expert David Sumpter has to say.
Sumpter is an applied mathematician who wrote "Soccermatics," the book that shows how math works inside the game. Together with experienced analysts, Professor Sumpter developed the powerful Soccerbot model.
The Soccerbot reads current odds and all team performance data, calculates key metrics and predicts upcoming matches. In the 2½ seasons since it was born, the Soccerbot is up 1,800 percent on bookmakers' closing odds. That's right -- 1,800 percent.
Now, the Soccerbot has computed each country's true probability of winning its group at the World Cup 2018.
We can tell you Brazil has the highest probability to advance out of Group E despite losing defender Dani Alves to a knee injury. The 35-year-old, who has made 107 appearances for the Brazilian National Team, was injured while playing for PSG in the Coupe de France final.
Another team the model is all over to win its group: Spain, which has a 62.8 percent chance of topping Group B.
The 2010 World Cup champions, who are making their 15th World Cup appearance, hope the influx of young talent and veteran leadership will be the right formula to hoist the trophy for the second time in Spain's history. Spain's quest for the 2018 World Cup title begins against 2016 European champions Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Spain is led by Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammate, Sergio Ramos, the country's second-most capped player. Ramos was a vital part of the Spanish teams that won two European championships and a World Cup title between 2008 and 2012. Portugal (28.6 percent) has the second best chance to win Group B and is certainly capable, but ultimately the star power of Spain will be too much to overcome, the model predicts.
Sumpter's model also says two countries with World Cup outright odds of longer than 25-1 will advance past the group stage. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big.
So who wins each group at the 2018 World Cup? And which massive long shots have the best chance to shock the world and advance to the Round of 16? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see who David Sumpter is picking to win each group at the 2018 World Cup, all from a European soccer expert who created a model that's returned an 1800 percent profit on bookmakers' closing odds.
Group A
Uruguay -110
Russia +160
Egypt +500
Saudi Arabia +4000
Group B
Spain -220
Portugal +220
Morocco +1600
Iran +4000
Group C
France -425
Denmark +550
Peru +1000
Australia +2000
Group D
Argentina -200
Croatia +250
Nigeria +1200
Iceland +1200
Group E
Brazil -450
Switzerland +700
Serbia +800
Costa Rica +2000
Group F
Germany -325
Mexico +500
Sweden +700
South Korea +2000
Group G
Belgium -140
England +120
Tunisia +2200
Panama +4000
Group H
Columbia +120
Poland +180
Senegal +500
Japan +700
The World Cup is a beautiful time. It's like March Madness, only it happens once every four years and the entire globe is watching. With that in mind, it's time to start making your picks for who's going to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy on July 15.
Will it be defending powerhouse Germany? The Lionel Messi-led Argentina? Ronaldo's Portugal? Or someone completely different? Pretty much anything can happen, so we have to find out, but you can make your picks for bragging rights later now!
The World Cup bracket is uniquely difficult to predict, because you need the group stage to play out before the bracket is set. And the beauty of it is that you get to pencil in your group stage picks ahead of time. It's a different, fun challenge.
And if you're wondering where the United States is on the bracket, they aren't on it. We've got you covered to catch up with that. Or maybe you haven't followed enough to know what'll happen in pools. You can see our picks here if you'd like a little cheat sheet.
So who makes a deep run at the 2018 World Cup? And which nation lifts the trophy? Visit SportsLine now to get the complete optimal bracket for the World Cup, and see which favorites fail to advance past the quarterfinals, all from the model that's returned an 1800 percent profit on bookmakers' closing odds.
So whether you're in betting pools (it's legal now!) or just looking for bragging rights, you can find the bracket below and print it out to make your picks.
Click here or on the image to enlarge.
The Russia World Cup 2018 is just hours away and the excitement is palpable. The teams are arriving, England have posed for their send-off picture and the first whistle is only days away.
Here's our guide on how to watch every second of the action. From this Thursday, we will be in for a feast of pretty much non-stop football.
Last December's draw put England in Group G with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama and the good news is that all three of the games have been scheduled at sociable times. You can hear the sighs of relief from office bosses all around the country.
The full World Cup 2018 fixture schedule is included below, with timings, venues and TV channels included.
All times BST. Local times are BST +2 apart from games played in Kaliningrad (+1), Samara (+3) and Ekaterinburg (+4).
Group stages
Thursday 14 June
Russia vs Saudi Arabia (Group A) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 4pm - ITV
Friday 15 June
Egypt vs Uruguay (Group A) - Ekaterinburg - 1pm - BBC
Morocco vs Iran (Group B) - St Petersburg - 4pm - ITV
Portugal vs Spain (Group B) - Sochi - 7pm - BBC
Saturday 16 June
France vs Australia (Group C) - Kazan - 11am - BBC
Media playback is not supported on this device Watch the BBC World Cup titles
2018 Fifa World Cup Venue: Russia Dates: 14 June-15 July Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.
The 2018 Fifa World Cup gets under way on Thursday when hosts Russia face Saudi Arabia following an opening ceremony at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Football's showpiece event features 32 teams, including holders Germany, competing in 64 games over 32 days.
The 21st edition will be played out in 12 stadiums, across 11 cities, spread over 1,800 miles.
England, winners in 1966, are the only team from the home nations to qualify and start against Tunisia on 18 June.
Media playback is not supported on this device Watch: BBC's World Cup 2018 trailer
Germany, who defeated Argentina in the 2014 final, are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since 1962, while Brazil seek a record-extending sixth world title.
The month-long tournament is expected to attract one and a half million fans to Russia and an estimated global television audience of over three billion viewers.
There are eight groups, each containing four teams, with the top two advancing to the last 16. The final takes place at the 81,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium on 15 July (16:00 BST).
Who will win the World Cup?
World Cup holders Germany, five-time winners Brazil, Euro 2016 winners Portugal, 2014 runners-up Argentina, Belgium, Poland and 1998 winners France are among the eight seeded teams.
Hosts Russia are also seeded, even though they are the tournament's lowest-placed team - 70th - in Fifa's world rankings.
England, who have won only one of their past eight World Cup matches, are unseeded, as are 2010 champions Spain.
Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup moments: Glory for Gotze
Germany have reached at least the semi-finals in each of the past four editions of the competition and, after being the only team to progress through European qualifying with a 100% record, are expected to be in the shake-up again. They are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
"Germany will be hunted like never before," said head coach Joachim Low. "Only us, as world champions, have anything to lose."
Brazil are the only nation to have appeared at every single World Cup but they have not won the tournament since 2002, while you have to go back to 1958 to the last time they won it on European soil.
Yet the Brazilians will fancy their chances, particularly as Neymar, who cost a world record £200m when he moved from Barcelona to Paris St-Germain in August 2017, has returned to action after a broken foot.
Media playback is not supported on this device Relive all the goals from World Cup 2014
Spain feature several Champions League winners from Real Madrid in their squad as they look to recapture the magic that saw them crowned world champions eight years ago and European champions in 2008 and 2012.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping for a first World Cup winners' medal after helping Portugal win Euro 2016, while Lionel Messi is hoping to win a first major trophy with Argentina.
France boast a young, exciting squad which includes 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe as well as a number of familiar Premier League names including Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud.
How are England expected to perform?
Media playback is not supported on this device England looking forward to getting on with it - Southgate
The closest England have come to repeating their feat of 1966 is a semi-final appearance at Italia 90.
With an average age of 26 years and 18 days, the Three Lions have the third-youngest squad in Russia.
Only three of Gareth Southgate's 23 players are aged 30 or over - defenders Gary Cahill and Ashley Young, both 32, and 31-year-old forward Jamie Vardy - while defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is the youngest at 19.
Cahill, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones are the only survivors from the squad that finished bottom of their group at the 2014 World Cup under Roy Hodgson.
After their opening game in Volgograd (16:00 BST), England face World Cup debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before rounding off their Group G campaign in Kaliningrad against Belgium four days later (19:00 BST).
While England comfortably qualified for Russia - and enjoyed friendly victories over Nigeria and Costa Rica in recent weeks - former Three Lions captain Alan Shearer does not believe they will win the tournament.
Current skipper Harry Kane is more upbeat.
"It's impossible not to dream about lifting the World Cup. I believe we can win it - anyone can," said the Tottenham forward.
Media playback is not supported on this device 'It's not an excuse that we're young' - England captain Kane
One thing England will have to address if they want to go far is their poor record at the knockout stage in major competitions.
They have not won a knockout match at a tournament since defeating Ecuador in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup.
"Yes, we have a great record when it comes to qualifying, but since the 2010 World Cup our record at finals has been poor," added Shearer, who played alongside Southgate at the 1998 World Cup.
"That's why we should concentrate on getting out of our group first before we worry too much about who we could face in the next round, because doing that has been difficult enough in the past."
Who are the new boys?
Panama and Iceland will be competing at their first World Cup, which is held every four years.
With a population of approximately 335,000 people, Iceland are the smallest nation ever to qualify.
They will hope to repeat their exploits of two years ago, when they lit up Euro 2016 by reaching the quarter-finals in their first appearance at a major tournament, humiliating England en route.
Iceland's first game in Russia is against 2014 runners-up Argentina on 16 June.
A national holiday was declared in Panama after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
The Central American country, 55th in Fifa's world rankings, boast an experienced coach in Hernan Dario Gomez, who was in charge of his native Colombia at the 1998 World Cup and Ecuador at the 2002 edition.
Media playback is not supported on this device The streets of Panama City were filled with people celebrating
There are several teams back on the world stage after lengthy absences.
Peru return to the finals for the first time since 1982, while north African nations Egypt and Morocco are back for the first time in 28 and 20 years respectively.
However, there are some notable absentees.
Four-time winners Italy, South American champions Chile and African champions Cameroon all failed to qualify.
The Netherlands, runners-up in 2010, also missed out while the United States are absent for the first time since 1986.
Referees to get VAR help
Video assistant referees (VAR) will be making a debut at the World Cup.
The technology will be used to help officials avoid making potentially match-deciding mistakes when it comes to such important issues as awarding goals, penalties or red cards.
VAR has been trialled in some domestic English cup games this season, and has been used in Germany and Italy.
"We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
"It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."
VAR was first used at the Club World Cup in December 2016, and trialled in the 2017 Confederations Cup.
Media playback is not supported on this device VAR - The story so far...
Fan safety and security
Russia is hoping to put on a tournament to remember after beating England - as well as joint bids by Spain and Portugal, and the Netherlands and Belgium - to stage the tournament for the first time.
While about 10,000 England fans are expected to travel to Russia, a number are likely to stay away because of political tensions between the two countries and safety issues.
There were violent clashes when Russian fans charged England supporters in the stadium when the two countries played each other in Marseille at Euro 2016. Trouble was also reported in the city's streets between England, Russia and France fans.
"One thing supporters need to do when they go is be a good guest, behave themselves," said Mark Roberts, Britain's lead officer for football policing.=
Deputy Chief Constable Roberts warned acts of disorder will carry "severe" sentences in Russia although Alexei Smertin, the anti-discrimination chief of Russia 2018, played down concerns and said the atmosphere around World Cup venues will be friendly.
"It definitely won't be stressful and we let everyone feel comfortable and safe in our country," said the former Chelsea midfielder, capped 55 times by Russia.
How to follow the World Cup on the BBC
The BBC is the only destination for coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on television, radio and online.
We will have 33 matches televised live while BBC Radio 5 live will provide live commentary of all the games.
England's first two World Cup matches will be shown exclusively live on the BBC, starting with the game against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June, and then the match versus Panama on Sunday, 24 June.
Meanwhile, fans will be able to watch the tournament in Ultra HD and virtual reality as BBC Sport trials cutting-edge technology.
Users will be transported to a fully immersive stadium experience, through headsets, as if they are sitting in their own hospitality box.
All 33 matches broadcast by the BBC will be available for free on BBC Sport's VR 2018 World Cup app, and the 29 matches on BBC One will also be available in Ultra HD.
Fans will be able to watch every match broadcast by the BBC from the corporation's virtual reality sofa
Ultra HD TV can be accessed through a high-speed internet connection and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The HD stream will be available from the BBC iPlayer home screen as soon as programme coverage begins but the number of users granted access will be limited to "tens of thousands of people".
Click here for a comprehensive guide on how to follow the World Cup across the BBC
