The global survey of 135 football-following market analysts worldwide agreed with the bookmakers that Brazil would triumph for the first time since 2002.
Brazilian talent was prominent in the poll results, with the likes of Neymar and Vinicius Jr, who have boasted brilliant starts to the club season, coupled with goalkeeping duo Alisson and Ederson shining as well. Forecasters in previous years also used quant models while others used simpler methods such as guesswork and superstition.
Almost 50% of responses came from Europe, followed by North America and Asia with around 15% each. South American predictions made up just above 10% and the rest were from Africa, Australia or New Zealand.
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