STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Qatar World Cup 2022

The FIFA World Cup will be played in winter for the first time ever and Argentina look to have a strong chance of lifting the trophy in Qatar and giving Lionel Messi the perfect end to his World Cup career.

Eliminated by the eventual winners France in Russia, Argentina have evolved since then and look to be a much more professional and well-rounded unit. They are unbeaten in 35 matches, which includes not only an impressive CONMEBOL Qualifying campaign and also their victory in last year’s Copa America, beating Brazil 1-0 at the Maracanã itself.

They were fully deserving of that victory, limiting Brazil to just two decent chances in a fine defensive performance, and that success should have Lionel Scaloni’s men heading into the tournament in high spirits; They also dominated Euro 2020 winners Italy in the Finalissima when goals from Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala gave them a 3-0 win.

Previous Argentina teams have been top heavy, with an overreliance on Messi especially, but Scalioni has found a much better balance and brings a side with depth, experience and youth to Qatar. Centre-back Cristian Romero is yet to lose a game with Argentina and his centre-back partner Nicolas Otamendi is flying high with Benfica, who are top of the Portuguese League and have also made the final 16 of the Champions League. Behind them, Goalkeeper Emi Martinez has kept 13 clean sheets and conceded just five goals in his 18 caps.

In midfield Leandro Paredes provides a solid anchor, whilst Papu Gómez and Rodrigo De Paul complement each other well in the midfield trio. All eyes are on Lionel Messi – enjoying a brilliant season for PSG with 12 goals and 14 assists in 18 appearances – but defences will be punished if either Angel di Maria or Lautaro Martinez gets too much space; Di Maria’s superb goal won the Copa America for the Albiceleste last year and Martinez scored seven goals in World Cup qualifying.

The betting suggests that Argentina will face a very hard route to the semi-finals – should all favourites win their games, they’d face Denmark, Holland, Brazil and France in the knockout stages – but their victory over Brazil proves they can face any opposition down and backers should have no fear regardless of who they face at what stage. At 11/2 they are shorter now than they were earlier in the year, but that price is very fair considering their form over the last 18 months.

One has to pay Brazil huge respect. They were unbeaten in CONMEBOL qualifying, winning 14 times and drawing three, and they have a well balanced unit of players all hitting their peak.

As we said in our team-by-team pinstickers’ guide, due to their prestigious history in this competition and the blend of youthful exuberance and talent and experience they possess, you have to give them a strong chance of going well and they are the current favourites with starsports.bet.

Neymar will, of course, be the main man again but Brazil have other players coming into this tournament in great form. Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal, who has had a superb start to the season, has earned himself a call-up as has Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United.

They are yet to really shine yet under Tite at a major tournament but, with the quality they possess coupled with some useful experience, Brazil are worth having on side at 4/1.

Of course, France – the reigning champions of the World Cup – need to be discussed as well with Les Bleus looking to build on a really disappointing EURO 2020 where they were knocked out in the last-16 by Switzerland.

In announcing the squad, Didier Deschamps made the interesting announcement that he would be switching shape to a 4-2-3-1 formation for this upcoming World Cup and away from the three-at-the-back system that they had used at EURO 2020.

The midfield will need re-jigging with Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante missing for Deschamps’ side, but that shouldn’t be an issue with the depth that they possess in that area of the field. In Aurelien Tchouameni and Youssouf Fofana, they have two top young midfield players that should be able to slot into that double-pivot in the centre of the park without much fuss.

They also have two of the best forwards in world football in Kylian Mbappe and recent Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema, but does Deschamps know how to get the best out of them? And will they fit into this new system? That could well be the deciding factor, but they are good enough to expect and demand a significant improvement on their performance at the Euros.

2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup
20th November – 18th December
Qatar
Opening Game: Qatar v Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 4pm)
Final: 18th December, Lusail Iconic Stadium

Past Winners:

2018: France
2014: Germany
2010: Spain
2006: Italy
2002: Brazil
1998: France

England came bitterly close to finally ending their many years of hurt at EURO 2020, but fell at the final hurdle against Italy at Wembley Stadium, and will be aiming to go one better and finally end their trophy drought in Qatar.

Again, as outlined in our detailed pinstickers’ guide, optimism perhaps isn’t as high on England heading into this tournament with more criticism than ever before being piled onto manager Gareth Southgate following a disastrous Nations League campaign.

Defeats to Hungary and Italy resulted in booes and jeers directed towards the manager from Three Lions supporters, which is hardly an ideal way to prepare for a tournament. There’s also a worry about player form and injuries too. Key defensive mainstay Harry Maguire has barely played for Manchester United – who have looked improved in his absence – this season, Manchester City pair Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are just returning from long term injuries, and the squad is shorn of Chelsea pair Reece James and Ben Chilwell as wing-backs after both needed surgery.

Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling have struggled to arrest Chelsea’s recent slump and Jordan Henderson has been part of a Liverpool side which has underperformed badly this season.

However, there is no denying that they bolster some incredibly talented players in their ranks – particularly in the attacking areas – with many of them rising starts that will be looking to firmly put themselves on the map on a global stage at this winter’s World Cup.

Players such as Jude Bellingham, who has already established himself in the Borussia Dortmund midfield, will be hoping this is his moment to announce himself as an England international and showcase his wide array of attributes that put him among the best young midfielders on the planet, and Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford’s recent form should provide encouragement – whilst Callum Wilson’s goalscoring form for Newcastle – where Kiran Trippier is enjoying a brilliant season – gives Southgate another option upfront. There’s also the potential that James Maddison brings after his purple batch for Leicester.

However, all things considered – England’s best opportunity to win an international men’s tournament may have passed and they’re opposable in the outright market.

Spain are 17/2 with starsports.bet to win the World Cup in Qatar after Luis Enrique’s side were unlucky in defeat in the semi-final of EURO 2020. Can they go all the way in Qatar and lift their second World Cup?

Spain have been placed in a group with Germany, which isn’t the easiest group they could have been handed, but they shouldn’t find it an issue to progress to the knockout stages of the competition. They will, however, need to improve their recent record at the World Cup having won just one match in each of their last two tournaments.

They are well stacked in midfield with Pedri providing the exuberance and creativity and Rodri able to sit in a deep midfield role anchoring play and pulling the strings. However, there may be a lack of goals in attack as Alvaro Morata and Ferran Torres are not exactly clinical.

Germany may well encounter the same problems in front of goal with first-choice striker Timo Werner ruled out through injury. Admittedly, they have one of the best prospects at the tournament in Youssoufa Moukoko – who will surely go on to have a fantastic career – but his inexperience may prove problematic.

As you would expect, Germany are not short of top players in their squad – and it will be fascinating to see how Mario Gotze is deployed after being called up to the national side for the first time since 2017 – but their volatility and inconsistency may prove costly in terms of their credentials for actually winning the tournament.

The Netherlands probably look more equipped to go deep into this tournament than they did under Frank De Boer at EURO 2020 and will be looking to make up for lost time after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

With Louis Van Gaal at the helm, they have someone with experience of major international tournaments and going far into him. In the Dutch’s last World Cup in 2014, Van Gaal guided the Netherlands all the way to the semi-finals.

The squad that Van Gaal has selected looks well-balanced, but perhaps lacks the depth to properly challenge the big boys of Brazil, Argentina and France.

Just like they did at the Euros, Denmark look in pretty good shape with Christian Eriksen set to make an inspirational comeback to the world stage of international football following his shocking collapse on the pitch last year.

Depending on how ambitious he is feeling, manager Kasper Hjulmand switches between a 3-4-3 system – when he is feeling more conservative – or a 4-3-3 when he feels he needs to be more attacking and adventurous.

They topped their qualifying group and should go well at the tournament; matching their feat of reaching the semi-finals of EURO 2020 might seem ambitious but not necessarily out of reach for a side that could be the ‘dark horses’ of this World Cup.

When examining which of the other nations have a chance of doing something special at this tournament, one does pop out and that is Senegal. But on one condition – Sadio Mane is fit to play.

The former Liverpool forward, who has adapted to life in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich superbly well, injured himself recently and – despite initially being ruled out – was selected for the tournament to the apparent dismay and anger of his club. But how many games will he play and how effective can he be?

Only one other home nation will be competing at this tournament and that is Wales who will face England in Group B. There is a good feeling around the country at the moment and, after the impressive way in which they qualified through the play-offs, there is optimism that they could go well – although, of course, unlikely to challenge for the title.

Another outsider of interest is Uruguay. Manager Diego Alonso has transformed their fortunes since arriving, leading them to a four-match winning streak to secure qualification, and in the shape of Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Darwin Nunez they have three elite forwards in the tournament. Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur provide guts and class in midfield, and they’re currently favourites to beat group opponents South Korea and Ghana. Whilst they could well face Brazil in the Last 16, an upset against Portugal – or other results going their way in a tight group – could see them avoid the favourites in the knockouts and they will not be an easy opponent.

WILLIAM KEDJANYI & JOE CITRONE

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