World Cup predictions: Who comes out of every group in Qatar

The 2022 World Cup is officially a month away, with the hosts Qatar kicking off this historic tournament on Nov. 20 when they face Ecuador in a match that, let’s face it, isn’t exactly your ideal headline opener. In the end, however, it still represents the start of a four-year wait of the world’s most popular sporting event.

So, who exactly is expected to come out of their group in this year’s edition? Let’s take a look:

1st place: Netherlands

2nd place: Ecuador

The Netherlands simply have too much talent on all ends to not win their group. Starting with their defense led by the physical Virgil Van Dijk, to their midfield now led by Frenkie de Jong since Georginio Wijnaldum will miss the tournament due to a tibia fracture he suffered a couple months ago, all the way to Memphis Depay leading this potent offense. Not to mention, they breezed through their World Cup qualifying group, scoring 33 goals in 10 matches, and only losing one. They should come out atop this group with little to no issue.

Ecuador should battle it out with Senegal for second. I think it will be close, but the South American squad’s talent, along with their characteristic grit, will ultimately be too much for the Africans. Both countries have very speedy and technical players on the ball.

Expect Bayern’s Sadio Mané to make it interesting for Senegal on the flanks as the worldwide elite talent he is, but to come out of CONMEBOL means a lot, competing with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and those bad boys. It’s not the same as running away with a group involving Togo, Congo, and Namibia. Their confederation opponents’ talent levels are just a galaxy of difference and I expect Enner Valencia, Michael Estrada, and these other talented dudes to pull away in the end.

In terms of Qatar, it’s their first World Cup appearance and it wouldn’t surprise me if they lost all three matches.

1st place: England

2nd place: Wales

Where to start with England? They’re so loaded with talent everywhere; Pickford and Ramsdale in goal; Alexander-Arnold, Walker, and Stones on defense; Rice, Foden, and Mount in the middle; Kane, Sterling, and Saka up front. Don’t forget their depth off the bench. Just crazy how talented and multi-dimensional they are. They can attack both on the wings, through the center, long-distance shots, they defend exceptionally well (only 3 goals allowed in 10 matches in the qualifiers), and have elite keepers. Not to mention, their sustained level of play, reaching the semifinals in the 2018 World Cup, as well as losing the final in the 2020 Euro to Italy just last summer. There should be no contest for top honors in Group B. They’re not only candidates to win the group, but the whole shebang.

In terms of who takes second, let me just say right off the bat that despite beating out Korea Republic in their qualifiers group for 1st, Iran have no shot at making it through the group stage. Apart from Taremi and Azmoun, they don’t have enough players who compete on big enough teams/stages to make an impact against their group rivals.

It’ll really come down to Wales and USA, with Wales having a slight edge. Despite not owning the most intimidating defense, Ben Davies and company have a very tough offensive unit with guys like Gareth Bale, Kieffer Moore, and let’s not forget Aaron Ramsey. Meanwhile, USA are making their return to the World Cup after failing to qualify for the 2018 edition. True, manager Gregg Berhalter has done a great job rebuilding this American side and has elite talent in players like Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic. However, they finished third in the CONCACAF qualifier, on top of Costa Rica only on goal-difference. One less point and they would’ve headed to the inter-confederation play-offs to fight for a spot. I’m just not sold on the US yet and feel they have yet to prove their worth on a big stage.

1st place: Argentina

2nd place: Poland

One word here: Messi. Want more words? Lautaro, Di María, Julián Álvarez, Lo Celso, Otamendi. More? They’re the world No. 3 ranking. These bad boys are legit contenders to win it all, with insane amounts of quality on every part of the pitch. Not to mention, they went undefeated in their 17 qualifiers matches and drew 0-0 in their only match against arguably the hottest team in the world right now, Brazil. They also defeated Brazil in the Copa América final last summer. One of the grittiest and hardest teams to play in the world, Argentina will win this group, no doubt.

Mexico still don’t know if their best player (Raúl Jiménez) will be available, as his groin/hip injury continues to linger. That along with the fact they’ve been unable to replace their aging core of players with sufficient quality, leading to them going winless in their four matches against Canada and USA, the other top teams in the CONCACAF qualifiers, leaves many doubts in the Mexican camp. On the other hand, Poland have too much talent up top in Lewandowski alone, not to mention Zielinski, Milik, and co. They have too much speed that Mexico can’t keep up with. Poland should claim second place easily, but keep in mind Mexico have moved on from the group stage in each of their last eight World Cup appearances.

Saudi Arabia simply don’t have the talent to compete with the others in their group, although a win against Mexico can’t be ruled out.

1st place: France

2nd place: Denmark

Europe is just too strong a confederation to ignore. France: another serious title contender and current World Cup champs. Their 2018 cup victory was the second time they’ve won it (1998). Their group rivals just don’t pose much of a threat, and with players like Varane, Saliba, Kanté, Coman, Griezmann, Mbappé, and recent Ballon d’Or winner Benzema, it’s just too one-sided. They’re too fast on the wings, are too talented down the middle, and too experienced as a team to not win their group and possibly the cup. Did I mention they’re huge favorites to repeat?

Denmark are no scrubs themselves as they cruised in their qualifier group with 30 goals scored to only three conceded. They only lost one match. Their roster may not be as elite as France’s, but not far behind. By the way, Denmark and France were also paired together in the last World Cup, with both making it out of the group stage. Led by Höjbjerg and Eriksen, they shouldn’t have too many issues with Australia and Tunisia. Fun fact: Denmark defeated France twice this year (June and September) in the UEFA Nations League.

1st place: Germany

2nd place: Spain

After failing to get out of the group stage in the 2018 World Cup and going out in the Round of 16 to the hands of England in the 2020 Euro, Germany are desperate to prove themselves. In their 10 qualifying matches, they won nine against only one loss, and outscored opponents 36-4. Their main issue now is that one of their best players in Leroy Sané was just diagnosed with torn muscle fiber in his left thigh with no time frame for his return. A huge blow for the Germans if he’s sidelined for the cup. They still have the necessary players and firepower to make up for it though in Gnabry, Werner, Hoffman (as long as his shoulder injury isn’t serious), and the veteran Müller. Hopefully Sané could return for the Round of 16 if he does miss the start of the cup.

Spain haven’t been the same since 2012. After winning the 2008 and 2012 Euros, along with the 2010 World Cup, the Spaniards have appeared to limp on ever since, never recapturing that same level of danger and intensity we saw under Aragonés and del Bosque. In the 2014 World Cup, they failed to even make it past the group stage, were ousted in the Round of 16 in both the 2016 Euro and 2018 World Cup, and finally broke through a bit, but still losing in the 2020 Euro semis. The bottom line is Morata, Sarabia, Rodri, and the veteran Busquets just haven’t been as good as their predecessors and have clearly struggled when put to the test. They’re more than good enough to easily finish 2nd place with no contest, but I unfortunately don’t see them doing much after.

Can’t see Costa Rica or Japan either giving the Europeans much trouble.

1st place: Belgium

2nd place: Croatia

This is a toughie. I have to give Belgium the top spot because of their quality on the ball. I wouldn’t go as far as to put them as top cup-contenders, but are definitely one of the most talented squads there. With the creative brilliance of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne in the middle, along with the threat of striker Lukaku, this well-rounded, experienced squad will look to bounce back and go further than their 2018 WC semifinal loss to eventual champs France.

Calling 2nd place in this group is extremely tough. I have to go with Croatia for a couple reasons; first, simply because they were runners-up in the 2018 World Cup, losing the final 4-2 to France; second, they have too much talent with veteran leaders Modric and Perisic, as well as long-distance threat Brozovic. But Canada are no scrubs either. Despite them making only their 2nd appearance all-time in a World cup, the speed on the flanks of guys like Alphonso Davies and Junior Hoilett, along with the scoring of Jonathan David and Cyle Larin, makes them a huge threat. They didn’t finish 1st overall in the CONCACAF qualifiers by accident. I expect the race for 2nd to be extremely tight. And while Morocco are no walk in the park either, I just can’t see them keeping up with their opponents.

1st place: Brazil

2nd place: Switzerland

This group belongs to Brazil hands down. The Scratch du Oro squad are the maximum competition winners with five World Cup titles, plus two other trips to the final. They are coming in as arguably the hottest team in the cup (and world), going undefeated in their 17 qualifying matches (14W, 3D) in a very tough CONMEBOL confederation, and losing just one match since the end of 2019 (Copa América final vs. Argentina). They are elite in every part of the pitch; keepers like Alisson and Ederson, defenders like Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, and Danilo, midfielders like Fabinho, Casemiro, and Fred, and attackers like Neymar, Antony, Vinicius, Firmino, and Gabriel Jesus. Impossible to keep up with their speed and quality on the ball, they’re just a juggernaut in every sense of the word, and despite coming up short in recent World Cups, never diminish their status as heavy favorites. They should run away with this group.

In terms of 2nd, I really like Serbia, especially up front with the emergence of elite players in Dusan Tadić and Dušan Vlahović. These two have become the face of this national team and will look to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. However, despite being evenly matched, Switzerland have the edge. Not only do they have more experienced players, higher quality, and depth in Xhaka, Shaqiri, and Seferovic, but are also more accomplished. They got through the group stage in the 2018 World Cup and to the quarterfinal in the 2020 Euro, while Serbia couldn’t get out of the group stage in the WC and haven’t even qualified for the last two Euro editions. Despite being speedy and talented, Cameroon are the odd man out here.

1st place: Uruguay

2nd place: Portugal

This group is the toughest in the entire cup. Despite no clear-cut favorite, I have to choose for the sake of this piece. I can tell you Korea Republic will not make it through the group stage, despite making a tough case with Tottenham’s Son. They couldn’t even top Iran in their qualifiers group.

In terms of the other three, however, it gets tricky. To the naked eye, one would immediately think Portugal have the easy win just because of Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, the aging forward isn’t the same CR7 we’ve known in previous years, despite still being effective. You also have so much talent in João Cancelo and Danilo Pereira at the back, Rúben Neves, Bruno Fernandes, and Bernardo Silva in the middle. An unfortunate situation is Diogo Jota’s, who just picked up a calf injury on Sunday, causing him to miss the WC. That is a massive blow to their chances and the main reason why I picked them to finish second, as I still feel they’re better than Ghana even with Jota out.

Uruguay will win this group because they have the talent and they’re gritty as heck. This is possibly the most physical, mentally tough team in the world. If veteran leader Diego Godín can recover fully from his knee injury, along with Lucas Torreira and Rodrigo Betancur in the middle, to go with their stellar attack of Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani, and youngster Darwin Núñez, this is a team nobody wants to face. They will get down in the mud and wrestle happily with you. They can score and play top-notch defense, a nightmare for anyone, no matter who you are. Also, let’s not forget Uruguay defeated Portugal 2-1 in the 2018 WC Round of 16.

And Ghana simply play odd man out. A couple good players in Thomas Partey and Jordan Ayew who both play in the Premier League, but ultimately not enough talent to go around to actually earn them a spot in the next round of the cup.