Last updated: 11/17/22 at 14:40
In a World Cup, Group A is traditionally the host team’s group, and it is usually devoid of a major cup contender to give the home crowd something to cheer for if their team is weak. Hosts Qatar, who has never qualified for a cup before, are going into the tournament without much exposure to the better teams of the world and their three group opponents are stronger than they are. The Netherlands is the favorite to win the group, and Senegal is by far the most likely to move on in second place. Ecuador had to defeat some exceptionally strong teams to qualify from South America, and host teams have been known to progress further than expected, for example see Russia in 2018. The bottom line is that Qatar and Ecuador cannot be counted out just yet.
Group A and players to watch on each team
- Qatar ranked 48th
- Akram Afif (Al Sadd)
- Hassan Al-Haydos (Al Sadd)
- Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail)
- Ecuador ranked 44th
- Enner Valencia (Fernerbahçe)
- Pervis Estupiñan (Brighton & Hove Albion)
- Senegal ranked 18th
- Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich) *has been ruled out of the World Cup as of November 17, 2022
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea)
- Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
- Netherlands ranked 8th
- Lukk de Jong (Barcelona)
- Georginio Wijnaldum (Roma)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)
- Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich)
- Memphis Depay (Barcelona)
The Netherlands is the favorite to make it out as the top spot in the group as they bring the most experience in the tournament, having qualified for more world cups than the other three, as well as having made it out of the group stage every time they have participated. With quality players like Virgil Van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt leading the defense, and Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong heading the offense, I predict that the Netherlands are going to be hard to stop.
Current African Champions Senegal bring one of the best teams in its history to Qatar, having defeated perennial power Egypt to qualify for Qatar. Team Captain Sadio Mane puts Senegal in a good position to make it out of the group. I think they will be underestimated by most opponents, which will work out in their favor.
Qatar, although not the favorites, are a strong team and showed its capability by winning its first AFC Asian Cup (3-1 against Japan). They also made it to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they would fall 1-0 to the USA (who won the tournament). I think any mistake made by the favored teams could lead to Qatar sneaking out of the group.
Ecuador, although not the favored team to make it, should not be left out of the talk. They were one of the teams in COMNEBOL to qualify directly and not have to enter a playoff match to make it. They have a tough road ahead, but I think it is still possible for them to sneak in if they were to tie twice and upset one of the three.
Stay tuned for my next article where I will be covering Group B’s breakdown and predictions.
Photo: World Cup football championship 2022 vector, Shutterstock, by Photoroyalty, ID: 2142444821
Well balanced analysis!