World Gaming Magazine

30 WGM #59 2018/06 wgm8.com 各地绵延数千公里的比赛场馆，对球员而言无疑是巨大挑 战。本届世界杯的情况将大相径庭：俄罗斯的夏季较为温 和，且比赛城市全数位于该国西部的欧洲部分。 参赛球队尽管愈趋多元化，但本届世界杯的赛制却 二十年如一日，沿用1998法国世界杯决赛圈订立的赛制。 主办国及另外31支球队被分成八个小组，每组四队各进行 三场比赛，决定首两名出线资格。在分组赛中脱颖而出的 16支球队，将以上下线淘汰赛形式决定两支决赛球队，最 后于7月15日在莫斯科进行王者之战。 世界杯不仅是全球规模最大的体育盛事，亦是全球规 模最大的博彩项目，远超美式足球职业联赛及美国职业篮 球联赛。世界各地博彩运营商的全年业绩，往往取决于其 在世界杯期间的受注额度和收益。自上届世界杯以来，俄 罗斯已实行体育博彩合法化，这将有助于新近获得准照的 博彩运营商在本届世界杯中大展拳脚。 投注者大多熟悉世界杯决赛圈的各种投注选择，如常 见的比赛赛果、小组排名（胜出或出线），乃至整体投注 市场选项等。金靴奖得主（即进球最多的球员）谁属，在 外国市场则是最受欢迎的投注选项之一。 截至本文完稿之时，本届世界杯冠军的大热门为巴西 Brazil 2014 qualified for this year’s finals. In a stunning turn of events, four-time champions Italy failed to qualify for the first time since 1958 while the Netherlands, United States, Cameroon, Ghana and Chile also fell short. Iceland and Panama will be making their World Cup debut in Russia while Egypt, Morocco, Peru and Senegal return after long absences from the finals. Brazil 2014 was characterized by mostly hot and oppressive conditions and venues spread across thousands of kilometers. Neither will be an issue in Russia, where the weather should be mostly mild, while the host cities are all situated in the European part of the country. The line-up for the 2018 World Cup finals may be incredibly diverse but the tournament format remains the same as used over the past two decades (since France 1998). The 31 qualifiers plus host nation Russia were drawn into eight groups of four. Each team plays three group games with the top two qualifying for the knockout stage. Those 16 play down to a final two, who’ll face off in Moscow on 15 July 2018. 2 017-18年度欧洲冠军联赛决赛于5月26日在乌克兰基 辅上演后，全世界的目光将聚焦于6月14日在俄罗斯 莫斯科揭幕的2018世界杯决赛圈。国际足联世界杯 乃全球规模最大的体育盛事：32支来自世界各地的球队将 在为期一个月的赛事中，竞逐国际足球界的最高荣誉。 在过往半个多世纪中，国际足联挑选主办国的决策过 程往往为人诟病，这次更不例外，针对俄罗斯在申办过程 中行贿的指控无日无之。自苏联解体后，俄罗斯足球问题 丛生，包括禁药丑闻、国家当局被指控煽动足球流氓、种 族主义和反同性恋等等。 对投注者而言，2018世界杯决赛圈可是严峻的挑战。 由于每四年仅举办一次且比赛数目有限，世界杯的往绩数 据极为有限，难以进行长期分析。环顾四年前竞逐2014巴 西世界杯的32支球队，其中只有20支球队晋身本届世界杯 决赛圈。荷兰、美国、喀麦隆、加纳和智利等球队均未能 晋级。但最令人咋舌的，莫过于四届冠军意大利自1958年 以来首次名落孙山。 与此同时，冰岛和巴拿马却首次亮相决赛圈，而埃 及、摩洛哥、秘鲁和塞内加尔等球队亦阔别多年后首度回 归。回想2014世界杯决赛圈，巴西的热带气候及散布全国 F rom the moment the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League victor was decided in Kiev on 26 May, the focus of the football universe shifted to Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals, which kick-off on 14 June in Moscow. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet – 32 nations from across the globe battling in a month-long tournament once every four years for the ultimate title in international football. The decision to award the 2018 finals to Russia was, like so many of these decisions over the past half-century, fraught with controversy due to allegations of corruption during the bidding process. Domestic football in Russia has also had its share of controversies since the break-up of the Soviet Union with doping scandals and accusations of state-sanctioned hooliganism to go with numerous incidents of racism and homophobia. Russia 2018 also looms as a tough challenge for punters. World Cup finals tournaments generate an incredibly small sample of data so long-term analysis is virtually useless. Just 20 of the 32 nations that contested 世界杯特刊 World Cup Special