football | Thursday, November 17, 2022 2:33 PM (Revised at: Thursday, November 17, 2022 3:17 PM)

Create more chances? Keep more possession? What do fans want to see from their World Cup team?

Jack Wright

2022 World Cup bet365 Fan Nation Survey: What do World Cup fans Want from their teams?

Sunday November 20th sees the start of one of the most eagerly awaited sporting events for fans and bettors alike. Turning the next four weeks into a football fan’s utopia. The 2022 World Cup sees 32 national teams partake in a total of 64 games. The most talented players on Earth face off to earn the right to take their place in the showpiece final on December 18th.

As always, supporters will travel across the globe and make their voices heard – for better or worse. But what do the fans of those nations expect from their teams? What, if anything, would they like to see changed?

The bet365 Fan Nation Survey aims to find out. It’s a global survey of supporters from participating countries to get an insight into this year’s competition. A perception of the upcoming games reveals the hopes, fears and dreams of those asked.

What do England fans want from Gareth Southgate?

Starting with the English, let’s look at what the respondents in the bet365 Fan Nation Survey have to say.

Can England finally end 56 years of trophyless hurt after making the semis and then final of the last two major international tournaments? Not too many have that confidence.

It is interesting to note that 15% of those surveyed have seen enough of manager Gareth Southgate. The feel-good factor from previous campaigns may seem a distant memory for Southgate with the pressure firmly on.

His side has performed poorly all year and finished bottom of their Nations League group. A 4-0 humbling at home to Hungary in June left him in no doubt the tide was turning against him.

Possibly a victim of his own success, not only is Southgate expected to deliver results but a better brand of football too. With 44% of England fans yearning for a more positive way of playing. The conservative style of play is accepted when it produces wins but when that stops, so does the tolerance.

Better service was also called for with 41% thinking more chances need to be created for the likes of Harry Kane. The remit appears to be to utilise all of the Three Lions’ most exciting crop of talent. Play them in an expansive system whilst delivering a first major men’s tournament success since 1966. Good luck, Gareth.

Most Interesting/General Findings

Fans of the Netherlands and Argentina appear the most content. With 54.90% and 52.66% respectively telling the bet365 Fan Nation Survey there is nothing in particular that they would like to change. It’s possibly more of a surprise to see that the next entry on this list is the supporters of Australia. Seemingly at peace with being the fifth least likely side to be crowned world champions according to the odds.

Brazil are favourites to lift their sixth World Cup yet it is interesting to note no fanbase has more desire to change their squad. This may be a result of the incredible depth at manager Tite’s disposal. Arguably the Selecao could field two sides in this tournament and win it with either.

Despite Hansi Flick leading them, it is Germany’s fans that cited changing the starting XI more than any other. 14.17% of fans believe that Joachim Low’s assistant in the winning team of 2014 should make changes ahead of the opening fixture with Japan.

It is hard to argue with a manager who won just about everything during his time with Bayern. But as always with a change of long term manager, a shift of both personnel and tactics could lead to fan favourites being omitted. While also responsibilities have been shared well around the team without obvious heroes.

Do Spain Really need to Keep more Possession?

Spanish teams have long since been synonymous with possession-based football. Luis Enrique’s teams have carried that metaphoric ball forward, dominating possession in recent matches. Yet over a quarter of the fans asked by bet365 said they would like to see more of the ball.

Is that even possible? In qualification for this tournament, Spain topped their group by four points ahead of Sweden. A performance built on having the ball on average 76% of the time. Their 6637 attempted passes were more than double that of their nearest rivals who attempted 3298. An incredible accuracy of 91.4% led to La Roja having more shots per game (13.9) than all their group rivals and scoring more goals (15).

Similar stats were recorded in the recent 2022-23 Nations League. La Roja boasted more of the ball and more attempts on goal than their opponents in each of their six games. Enrique’s possession-driven approach is getting results reaching the last four of each of the last three tournaments they have competed in.

As touched on above, the main call from England fans is for their team to be more interesting. But having accumulated 39 goals in 10 World Cup Qualifiers is that fair? No side scored more or had a better goals-per-game average. The Three Lions now have an established way of playing, especially in tournaments. Something that comes from six years of continuity and nobody can claim it hasn’t been successful.

Organisation, pragmatism and efficiency are the key words. Grinding their way to progress in the latter stages of competitions over blowing teams away. After years of being caught out by a team playing “tournament football”, Southgate has his team drilled to do so themselves now.

Bringing the World Cup back through customs at Birmingham airport just before Christmas will make fans forget about the style in which it was achieved. Return empty handed however and those voices asking for change will likely get their wish granted.

Finally, when the fans were asked what they would like to see from their respective nations, most went for attacking traits. However, Netherlands supporters were the only ones to have a higher percentage wanting to see their team concede fewer goals (39.13%) than a more positive way of playing (28.26%).

Those Dutch supporters may get their wish once the action gets underway in Qatar. Louis van Gaal is in charge, having his last shot at World Cup glory before handing over the reins to Ronald Koeman in January. Van Gaal also led his nation at the 2014 tournament. A campaign ending in defeat to Argentina on penalties in the semi-finals but ultimately a 3rd-placed finish.

The veteran manager opted for a more defensive approach in Brazil which we may see replicated here. Especially as he saw his side only conceded four goals in seven matches. This approach will certainly be helped by a host of exceptional defensive talent.

Elite European clubs including Ajax, Bayern, Inter, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all represented within the Netherlands’ defensive ranks. The one area of concern is who starts in goal. The three keepers selected have a combined eight caps between them with Remko Pasveer likely to get the nod for the opener against Senegal.

If the 39-year-old is the answer to that particular conundrum then the aforementioned 39.13% of fans could well get their wishes granted.

For the best World Cup Offers and player specials, visit the bet365 World Cup 2022 offers page.

The bet365 Fan Nation Survey has been powered by survey data collected from Censuswide.