World Cup Favourites 2018: Contenders and Updated Group Odds for Top Squads

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is almost upon us, and the best players from around the globe will soon be gearing up to face off in football's biggest competition.

Although the likes of Italy and the Netherlands will be absent this year, there will nevertheless be a familiar crop of teams vying for glory, from Spain, Germany and France to Brazil and Argentina.

The likes of Belgium, England and European champions Portugal will also be hoping to make an impact in the knockout phase of the tournament, but to do so they will first need to successfully navigate their groups.

Read on for a closer look at some of the teams hoping to contend for the trophy, but first, here are the latest odds for topping the group stage, courtesy of OddsShark:

Group A

• Uruguay, Evens
• Russia, 5-4
• Egypt, 11-2
• Saudi Arabia, 33-1

Group B

• Spain, 1-2
• Portugal, 37-20
• Morocco, 16-1
• Iran, 25-1

Group C

• France, 29-100
• Denmark, 9-2
• Peru, 9-1
• Australia, 18-1

Group D

• Argentina, 14-25
• Croatia, 9-4
• Nigeria, 10-1
• Iceland, 12-1

Group E

• Brazil, 1-4
• Switzerland, 6-1
• Serbia, 8-1
• Costa Rica, 18-1

Group F

• Germany, 8-25
• Mexico, 5-1
• Sweden, 6-1
• South Korea, 20-1

Group G

• Belgium, 4-5
• England, 6-5
• Tunisia, 16-1
• Panama, 25-1

Group H

• Colombia, 6-5
• Poland, 7-4
• Senegal, 5-1
• Japan, 7-1

France

For strength in depth, few can match France's stacked squad.

While they're not completely top-heavy like Argentina, there's no denying Les Bleus have a fearsome array of options going forward.

Similarly, while they have a great deal of talent to work with, including the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, it's also true that they'll be putting their hopes squarely on Antoine Griezmann's shoulders.

The striker had a superb season with Atletico Madrid, per OptaJoe:

He also offered a reminder of his penchant for scoring in knockout games in this year's UEFA Europa League:

The opposition at the World Cup will be of a higher calibre, but he also scored five of his six goals for France at Euro 2016 in the knockout phase, so he has form for doing it on the international stage.

With a group containing Denmark, Peru and Australia, Les Bleus should be more than capable of securing top spot. From there, they can realistically aim for a semi-final berth or better.

Belgium

Belgium may lack the pedigree of those tipped to win the tournament ahead of them, but they have emerged as dark-horse contenders in recent years thanks to their talented generation of players.

However, they have exited at the quarter-final stage of the last two international tournaments, at the hands of Argentina in the 2014 World Cup and Wales in Euro 2016.

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Manager Roberto Martinez says there is a great deal of expectation on his side, but he thinks the squad are equipped to handle it.

He told Shoot's Daniel Church:

"We want to enjoy the expectations of the nation, these players have the experience now to cope with the role that has been given to them.

"There are nations that go to the World Cup, who have won it already, and they have the mental approach of winning the World Cup, so it will be a challenge for us.

"I think the term 'Golden Generation' is used by the media and on the outside of our squad, and we have to deal with that pressure and expectation."

With Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and a swathe of other top players available to the Red Devils, it's little surprise they have to deal with lofty expectations.

England will provide the main opposition for top spot in Group G. Winning the World Cup will be an enormous ask even of a squad so talented, but at the least, they should escape the group and reach the quarter-finals.