The World Cup organizing team announced that 1.8 million tickets for the tournament in Qatar have been already sold. The largest number of tickets went to Qatari residents, who could get their match passes at a special discount.

World Cup trophy
The FIFA World Cup trophy is the most important prize in football. (Image: si.com)

The USA and Canada are among the top 10 countries for ticket sales, FIFA confirmed. “Aside from the host nation, the top-10 countries for ticket sales based on country of residence in the latest sales period include emerging and established football hotbeds such as Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE, and the USA.”

The next phase of ticket sales will kick off on July 5. In total, FIFA expects to sell over 3 million tickets for the World Cup at the end of the year, with more than 1.2 million yet to be made available. The World Cup in Qatar begins on Nov. 21 and finishes on Dec. 18.

Brazil is favorite to win the World Cup

The South-American giants sit at +500 to lift the trophy on Dec. 18, closely followed at +550 by France. England is third-favorite at +650, while Spain sits fourth at +750. Messi’s Argentina is only fifth, at +800, with Germany behind at +900. Belgium follows at +1100 and Portugal is next at +1200.

The USMNT is now at +1000 to lift the most important trophy in world football. Gregg Berhalter’s men will be part of Group B in Qatar, alongside England, Wales, and Iran. At -300, England is the big favorite to top the group, followed by Wales at +550 and USA at +600. Iran is the outsider of the pack, at +1100. When it comes to the chances of reaching the knock-out stages, translated as finishing inside the first two in the group, the USMNT stands at +110, just like Wales. Iran is at +240, while England is at -2000 to go through.