Who will win AFCON 2022? Betting favorites, group winners and futures odds

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/af/f/mohamed-salah-egypt-riyad-mahrez-algeria-choupo-moting-cameroon_bo5qkuytyvo11tuzx9pi8dc8w.jpeg?t=578962574&w=500&quality=80

The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations is acceptable to statesman January 9, astir six months aboriginal than initially planned, but the tourney is yet here.

Players person departed their nine teams to question to Africa for the competition, and volition statesman grooming with their respective nationalist teams up of the commencement of the tournament. After a brace of games connected opening day, the radical signifier volition spot 3 oregon 4 games played per matchday.

The apical 2 teams successful each of the six groups volition beforehand to the knockout stage, unneurotic with the 4 champion third-placed teams based connected points. The knockout signifier begins connected January 23 and it's a speedy turnaround for each consequent round, with the quarterfinals connected January 29, the semifinals connected February 2, and the title and third-place games on February 6.

MORE: All Premier League players astatine AFCON 2022

AFCON 2022 odds: Who volition triumph it all?

The tourney tract is wide open. Of the 24 teams that qualified to the tournament, 7 of them wrapped up qualification without a loss. And qualifying was tight, with 10 of the 11 qualification groups decided by a specified one- oregon two-point margin. Teams were battling for AFCON berths until the last day.

Algeria is the defending champion, led by Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez, who was astatine times unplayable successful the 2019 edition. They volition look stiff competition, however, from Egypt arsenic good arsenic Senegal , some led by Liverpool stars (Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane).

The Ivory Coast squad has a fig of recognizable names, and Morocco is captained by Wolves stalwart Romain Saiss. Nigeria romped successful qualifying, but it volition beryllium without its biggest prima successful Cameroon: Napoli guardant Victor Osimhen, who tested affirmative for COVID-19 and is inactive recovering from a superior facial injury.

Here are the apical 10 teams projected to triumph it each with likelihood courtesy of DraftKings and BetMGM:

BetMGM and DraftKings futures markets besides feature odds for teams to scope the final. They are essentially the trophy-winning likelihood chopped successful half:

AFCON 2022 Group Winners

Group victor likelihood are disposable via DraftKings and BetMGM, with the second sportsbook's odds showcased below. (The likelihood are lone related to winning the group, not advancing from the group.)  

In summation to being the flimsy favourite to triumph it all, Senegal is an overwhelming favourite to apical Group B (-550). Algeria, Egypt and Morocco person longer likelihood to triumph their respective radical fixed the prime of absorption they'll beryllium facing.

MORE: Top 10 January transportation targets

AFCON 2022 Top Scorer

There are plentifulness of household names among the star-studded squads successful Africa this January.

Nobody successful the tourney has much planetary goals than Liverpool's Mohamed Salah . Algeria's onslaught is loaded, with Man City's Riyad Mahrez joined by Baghdad Bounedjah , who had 4 goals successful qualifying and owns an unthinkable goalscoring grounds with Qatari nine Al-Sadd, bagging 128 goals successful 108 games.

MORE: Chelsea furious Mane not shown red

Ivory Coast besides has a fig of cardinal players successful beforehand of net, arsenic in-form Ajax antheral Sebastien Haller is joined successful the Elephants' onslaught by a brace of Premier League wingers successful Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha. Haller has 12 goals successful 17 Eredivisie games this season, but much impressively scored an unthinkable 10 times successful six Champions League radical matches arsenic Ajax compiled a cleanable grounds successful the radical stage.

These are the 18 players with the shortest likelihood to triumph the apical scorer grant astatine AFCON 2022, courtesy of BetMGM and DraftKings: