Let’s discuss the World Cup 2022 Guide to Each Group. The FIFA World Cup 2022 is a year away, but around Christmas 2022, we will be treated to one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting tournaments in recent history.
Ready for Qatar? Your first thought may be that all you will be able to watch is the opening game on your TV, but you will be wrong.
The 2022 World Cup is set to be the most widely watched event in history, thanks to the advent of Ultra HD TV and the move to bring all games to you, wherever you are in the world. This is the first time you will be able to watch every game from a device in Ultra HD quality – but you do not want to do that, do you?
You want to know who is playing in each group – and where you are off to in the tournament. This blog post will give you everything you need to know about the groups before you know it.
GROUP A: Qatar | Ecuador | Senegal | Netherlands
For the host country Qatar, the World Cup will be a series of firsts, as they will be making their first appearance in the tournament’s opening game against Ecuador.
The current Asian Cup champions are in a group with a decent shot of advancing to the next round. However, a deep run into the tournament’s latter rounds is out of reach.
That would be quite a feat, as it would mean that they would not become the second hosts to be ousted in the first round, following South Africa in 2010.
The Netherlands is back after losing out in 2018 and are favorites to win their group. They have finished as runners-up in the World Cup more times (3 times) than any other country without ever taking home the trophy.
But if not, the battle for second place will most certainly include gunfire. Despite having the youngest average starting XI (25 years, 334 days) in the South American group, Ecuador will be a fascinating watch after recording their highest-ever goals total (27) during an eye-catching qualifying campaign.
Winners of the African Cup of Nations Only Senegal have qualified as African champions in the 21st century, and they will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nigeria’s 2014 World Cup squad and advance out of their group.
Group A Preview: FIFA World Cup Group A Preview Qatar 2022
GROUP B: England | Iran | United States | Wales
The three “weaker” teams in Group B think the atmosphere of familiarity will work to their advantage. This might be more difficult for England than some of their supporters anticipate.
While Gareth Southgate’s record of advancing the three Lions to the semifinals or better in each of his two significant tournaments as the manager is second only to Sir Alf Ramsey’s. The team’s recent performances have been widely criticized, and their relegation from the Nations League has left them looking vulnerable.
This upcoming winter, England captain Harry Kane will be looking to make history in two ways: first, by becoming the first player to finish as the top scorer (or joint top scorer) at two different World Cup tournaments, and second, by surpassing Wayne Rooney’s scoring record for the men’s national team.
The United States of America will be seen as England’s primary enemy. Though Gregg Berhalter’s team is youthful and full of promise, they may have underachieved in qualifying. They finished third.
Wales will compete in just their second World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Therefore the team’s lack of experience at the tournament’s highest level may lead to a similarly bold approach as seen at Euro 2016.
Wales had England as a group opponent and ended up winning the group and advancing to the semifinals. Following a 1-0 victory against Ukraine in the European Play-Offs, Rob Page’s squad earned a berth in the tournament.
However, few people believe Iran will leave the alliance. Despite making it to the World Cup on five separate occasions, they have never advanced beyond the first round. Only Scotland (eight appearances until 2022) has a worse record.
Group B Preview: FIFA World Cup Group B Preview Qatar 2022
GROUP C: Argentina | Saudi Arabia | Mexico | Poland
Winning Copa America in 2021 may not have made this Argentina team the best talented ever, but it did bring the team closer together than they had in years.
That broke a streak of notable tournament titles dating back 28 years, as Lionel Scaloni found the sweet spot between maximizing team effort and Lionel Messi’s potential.
Messi has scored six times in World Cup play, but they have all come in the group stages. He will not have another opportunity to score in the elimination round until the final event in Qatar.
However, Messi is not the only threat to the defense on this squad. Poland’s total of 32 goals in qualifying was fourth best in Europe behind England (39), Germany (36), and the Netherlands (33). Robert Lewandowski had a role in 13 goals throughout qualification, including a penalty in their 2-0 playoff triumph against Sweden.
Polish fans could anticipate a tight Group C fight with Mexico, who have never failed to advance to the knockout stages in their previous eight World Cup appearances.
However, Saudi Arabia has only won three of their last 16 World Cup games, so few will be holding their breath for them to pull off a massive upset.
Group C Preview: FIFA World Cup Group C Preview Qatar 2022
GROUP D: France | Australia | Denmark | Tunisia
Some may wonder whether France can repeat as World Cup champions as Brazil did in 1962, while others may view the event with a different goal.
That is because the last three and four reigning champions have all been knocked out in the group stages. Although the French national team has been in three World Cup finals since 1998, their last World Cup as holders ended with them finishing dead last in their group.
Back then, Denmark had a 2-0 victory against France and was considered the team to beat in Qatar. They qualified for Euro 2020 last year and made it to the semifinals with nine wins and no losses.
For the sixth time in six events, Kasper Hjulmand’s squad will hope to go to the knockout round. In contrast, Tunisia has never advanced beyond the group stage in six preliminary qualifying competitions.
In fact, behind only Saudi Arabia (69%) and Australia (63%), the fourth team in Group D, they have the third-highest World Cup losing percentage at 60%.
Group D Preview: FIFA World Cup Group D Preview 2022
GROUP E: Spain | Costa Rica | Germany | Japan
Germany’s elimination from the 2018 World Cup in Russia was the first time since 1950 (when they did not compete) that they did not advance beyond the first round. That was a huge black mark on an otherwise flawless record, as they had gone to the World Cup semifinals in every tournament they had entered this century.
Die Mannschaft responded well in qualifying, winning nine of 10 matches to become the first team to seal their spot at the championships after hosts Qatar.
Spain, though, believes it can give Germany a good fight. The 2018 campaign for La Roja was not much smoother than the German one, with Julen Lopetegui being fired on the eve of the event.
But now they have a coach in Luis Enrique, who has restored the kind of football we have come to expect from them. During European qualifying, they held the ball for 76% of the time on average and allowed just 38 efforts on goal.
Japan has the best chance of challenging the European powerhouses, but it would be a major upset if they advanced beyond the group stage in consecutive World Cups.
Also, there will not be much impetus to change anything in Costa Rica. Despite their 2014 upset, they enter this World Cup with a dismal record of 0–6. As a result of their victory against New Zealand in the inter-confederation playoffs, Los Ticos qualified for the tournament.
Group E Preview: FIFA World Cup Group E Preview 2022
GROUP F: Belgium | Canada | Morocco | Croatia
The ‘Golden Generation of Belgian soccer players has done an excellent job of elevating the national team to danger in previous World Cups, as Belgium has been one of just three teams to get to the quarterfinals in each of the last two tournaments.
Their top players, though, seem to be on the decrease. Their chances rest primarily on the shoulders of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, the latter of whom has scored 11 goals in major tournaments since 2014, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 13. This season, the Inter striker has battled physical issues, though.
Croatia, runners-up the last time, will enter this tournament expecting to compete for the title despite their past inconsistent performance in World Cups. They have not advanced beyond the first round in any of their last five attempts, and only twice have they even made it out of their group (twice).
Canada is just as erratic in that regard. Since this is Canada’s first World Cup appearance since 1986, it is hard to say how they will respond.
Still, they were impressive in winning the third stage of CONCACAF qualifying, when they outscored their opponents 23-7 while allowing just seven goals.
Only once before had the Atlas nation of Morocco appeared at two consecutive World Cups. Two of their four goals against four years ago came after the 90th minute, so if they want to advance out of the group for the first time since 1986, they will have to stop giving up goals late in games.
Group F Preview: FIFA World Cup Group F Preview 2022
GROUP G: Brazil | Serbia | Switzerland | Cameroon
The odds-on favorites and most successful team in World Cup history have maintained their streak of appearances, although it has been a while since they last won it (2002).
If they do not win in Qatar, their title drought will have reached 24 years by 2026, tied for the longest since their first championship in 1958.
Their 15-game win streak in World Cup group play bodes well for them to go to the round of 16, and Switzerland, who have advanced to the knockout round in the previous four tournaments, will be confident of joining them. Only France and Belgium in Europe can equal that. Switzerland finished first in their qualifying group, knocking Roberto Mancini’s Italy team into the playoffs, where North Macedonia stunned them.
On the other hand, Serbia has lost more World Cup games (7 of 9) than any other European team since 2006. Since becoming an independent nation, they have not advanced out of their group in any of their three World Cup appearances.
The recent history of Cameroon is not much better. They are two defeats short of matching Mexico’s description for most consecutive World Cup losses as they go to Qatar (nine).
The Indomitable Lions are eager to show that they have improved significantly since their previous participation in 2014.
Group G Preview: FIFA World Cup Group G Preview 2022
GROUP H: Portugal | Ghana | Uruguay | South Korea
Portugal’s record of three victories in their last 14 World Cup games is far from outstanding, especially considering the quality they consistently generate.
By game time, Fernando Santos hopes Cristiano Ronaldo has regained his form. Ronaldo, like Lionel Messi, has never scored in the World Cup’s knockout rounds; he will want to join Matthew Upson as the only player to do so.
Just like if Ronaldo scores in his fifth World Cup, he will be the only player to accomplish it.
Nonetheless, if Portugal puts in too much effort to assist Ronaldo cross items off his bucket list, they will be surrounded by three teams who may take advantage of the situation.
While Uruguay has won six of their last eight games at the World Cup and advanced out of their group in five previous seven visits, Ghana has given many teams trouble in previous tournaments. There has not been a meeting between the two teams since Luis Suarez’s notorious handball in 2010.
South Korea has a dismal World Cup record when they are not co-hosts (they have won just three of their last 27 such games), but their stunning 2-0 triumph over Germany in 2014 sent them home.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our blog post about the groups in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is no secret that football is a great sport. It has also been shown that it is a sport that can bring people together wildly if you can cheer your team on from your living room or local pub!
We hope the guide we presented today can help you get more from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, both on and off. Please get in touch with us with any questions and follow us here. Thank you for reading. We hope to hear from you soon!
