2022 World Cup group stage analysis and predictions
Every four years, the World Cup proves once again that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, routinely drawing hundreds of millions of viewers. The group stage will kick off Nov. 21 with the final scheduled for Dec. 18 in the host country of Qatar. For the 32 teams that qualified, the group stage matchups are set, and we can predict winners and losers for this tournament’s group stage. Here are a few predictions of mine.
Host Qatar is automatically placed in Group A alongside recent African Cup of Nations winners Senegal and the Netherlands, who surprisingly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Ecuador rounds out the four-team group and could prove troublesome to keep down, but the Netherlands and Senegal are predicted to move on in first and second place without much trouble.
After barely falling short at last year’s Euro’s, England is expected to rocket to the top of Group B. The Lion’s young squad and massive amounts of motivation will likely make them clear winners, although their success in the subsequent knockout rounds is much less certain. The United States will most likely take second place after qualifying for the World Cup with almost no tournament experience. The young USA team shouldn’t have trouble with longshots Iran and either Ukraine, Scotland, or Wales depending on the outcome of the winner of the European continental playoff.
More so than in past years, Argentina may have a serious shot at winning this year’s World Cup. They’re on the longest current unbeaten streak in international soccer and have put together a support system that takes some of the load off of superstar Lionel Messi. Argentina will top Group C with Poland, powered by one Robert Lewandowski, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the game right now. Mexico will be looking to qualify for the knockout round, but competition from serious contenders like Poland and Argentina will, bar any surprises, prove too much for El Tri, and Saudi Arabia will prove to be no match for the other three members of their group.
No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, but France will have their shot as they top Group D. The champions are in good form after cruising through their qualifying matches and will advance with Denmark taking second place over Tunisia and either Peru, Australia, or the United Arab Emirates. The long-awaited return of Denmark’s playmaker Christian Erikson after his on-field heart attack in the opening game of the 2020 Euro’s will prove satisfying for fans and for Denmark as they are expected to advance to the knockout stage.
Spanish coach Luis Enrique and young talent like Gavi and Pedri have rejuvenated La Roja and placed Spain in a position to make a bid for the title. Spain will likely squeeze by perennial heavyweights Germany to take first place in Group E, and Germany will easily beat out Japan and either Costa Rica or New Zealand for the second spot in the knockout round.
With quality players like Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, Belgium will likely take the top spot in Group F. 2018 finalist Croatia will battle for the second qualifying spot with Canada, a team competing in their first World Cup since 1986. Canada may prove to be surprisingly tough competition, as they topped their qualifying group and may squeeze past Croatia in an exciting return to the world stage. Underdogs Morocco will have a disappointing group stage with such stiff competition.
Currently ranked the top national team in the world, Brazil will undoubtedly take the top spot in Group G. The three remaining teams will have roughly equal shots at moving on with Brazil, as Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon all have the talent to make it to the knockout round. With attacking talent like Dusan Vlahovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Serbia is the top pick to take second place in what will be an intensely competitive and entertaining group stage.
The first place in Group H will go to either Uruguay or Portugal, with Luis Suarez’s Uruguay likely coming out on top. Christiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal to a spot in the knockout stages in what could be his last World Cup, and Group H members Ghana and South Korea will be hard-pressed to find any way into the knockout stages or beyond.
Group stage games won’t start until Nov., and it’ll be hard to predict finalists this far away, but Brazil and Argentina seem primed to face off in the finals in a repeat of last year’s Copa América where Argentina beat out Brazil 1-0. This tournament might prove different, and I predict Brazil will beat Argentina 2-1.
