FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage Analysis and Predictions
The biggest tournament on the football calendar is just around the corner, with England, France, Brazil and Argentina all looking strong. We have analyzed all of the teams in the competition to bring you our World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions. It’s not all about the favorites though, with the likes of Wales, Denmark and Senegal all looking decently poised to get out of their respective groups. So without further ado, let’s get started!
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Group A
Qatar’s first ever World Cup appearance is going to be difficult. The host nation are the lowest ranked side ever to play at the tournament, and most are expecting them to finish at the bottom of the table in the World Cup Qatar Group Stage.
The Netherlands are fancied by many punters to go all the way this time, mainly because of their fine form in 2022, having not lost a game.
At the back, the Dutch have Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk, and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, so the team should not concede many goals. Going forward, the Netherlands will play in-form Cody Gakpo who is scoring hats of goals at his club, PSV. And with Frenkie de Jong and Steven Berghuis, the Dutch have plenty of creativity in the midfield.
Senegal is still on high from winning the AFCON last year, and has the recently crowned second-best footballer in the world – Sadio Mane. Unfortunately, he is injured and missing the whole WC. In addition to Mane, Chelsea players – Kalidou Koulibaly, and Édouard Mendy bring quality to the team. Either Senegal or the Netherlands will win the group, and it would be a major upset if both teams do not qualify for the knockout phase.
Ecuador are a well organized unit, who surprised many by qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. They have a combative midfielder, Moisés Caicedo who has been in fine form this season playing for Brighton in the Premier League. Up top, they will rely on their captain, Enner Valencia to get the goals, but it will be a tough task to beat the Dutch or Senegal to qualify.
Group A predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Senegal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Ecuador | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Qatar | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Group B
In this 2022 World Cup groups analysis, we think England will easily win the group and could be potential winners of the tournament. If they do not win the group, it will be a major surprise. England have quality in all positions, and star striker Harry Kane is the bookies favourite to win the Golden Boot.
In the middle of the park, few sides have a better combination than Declan Rice and wonderkid, Jude Bellignham. The attacking prowess of Foden, Saka, Grealish, Sterling and Mount will be a menace to every side in the tournament.
In Group B, second place is up for grabs though, and the USA, Wales or Iran can qualify for the knockout phase, making our World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions quite tough here. The Americans have many players that play at a high level in Europe, including Pulisic at Chelsea, Reyna at Borussia Dortmund, and Weston McKennie at Juventus. The US squad is the strongest it has ever been and the team should have enough to clinch the second spot.
However, Wales will fancy their chances to qualify too. In their first World Cup since 1958, their talisman, Gareth Bale is in goalscoring form, and even scored the winner for the Welsh to qualify.
The Welsh squad is packed full of Premier League stars, like Ben Davies at Spurs and Brennan Johnson at Forest, so the Wales quality is good enough. The Wales vs USA match will be tasty, and whoever wins that fixture will likely qualify with England.
Iran are expected to finish at the foot of the table, although they were the first Asian team to qualify for the World Cup. The Iranians do have goalscorers in the side though such as Azmoun who plays for Bayer Leverkusen and Taremi at Porto. However, most of the squad still plays in Iran, thus the quality needed to progress is just not there.
Group B predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Wales | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Iran | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Group C
Argentina are one of the favourites to win the World Cup, which will be most likely Messi’s last ever one. The Argentinians have won the trophy twice, and have their strongest squad since 2014, when they were runners up. Often, the defence is an issue, but not this time around. Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez is in scintillating form, as well as Cristian Romero at Spurs.
Nevertheless, the attack has always been Argentina’s strength with the GOAT Messi leading the line. He’s on top form at his club, PSG and forms a formidable partnership with Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez. Our Qatar group stage predictions suggest that Argentina should get 9 points in Group C, although games against Mexico and Poland may prove difficult.
Poland will rely on their star striker Robert Lewandowski, who is scoring goals for fun at his club, Barcelona. At the back, the Polish have Aston Villa duo, Matty Cash and Jan Bednarek, as well as veteran centre half Kamil Glik. Therefore if they can keep clean sheets, and Lewandowki nicks them a goal, Poland could cause upsets. It will be a toss of a coin between the Polish and the Mexicans though, on who will qualify for the knockout phases.
Mexico are often over performers at the World Cup and have legendary goalkeeper Ochoa between the sticks. Napoli winger Lozano will cause defences problems, so write off the Mexicans at your peril.
Saudi Arabia should finish bottom, because of the quality of the squad, as most still play in Saudi. It would be a surprise if the Saudi’s even get a point.
Group C predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Group D
France won the 2018 World Cup in style, and their team has only got stronger since then, making them one of the favorites in our overall FIFA World Cup predictions. With experiences players like Olivier Giroud, as well as Mbappe and Griezmann in the attack, goals should not be an issue for the French.
The only bad news for the team is that their main striker Karim Benzema, and the two starting centre midfielders, Pogba and Kante will not play due to injury.
With the quality in the squad and a World Cup winning manager, Didier Deschamps, France should easily win Group D, claiming 9 points. Second place should be Denmark, who performed excellently at EURO 2020, reaching the semi finals.
Their star man, Christian Eriksen is enjoying his football at Manchester United, and playing out of his skin. And with veteran keeper Schmeichel in goal, Denmark should have enough to qualify for the knockout phase.
Australia and Tunisia will cause a big upset if either team is to qualify. Australia have reached the World Cup six times, but only qualified for Qatar 2022 by the skin of their teeth. Most of their players do not play at a decent level, with the exception of Jackson Irving at St Pauli, and Aaron Mooy at Celtic.
Tunisia are not expected to do well either, their best player is Khazri, who used to play for Sunderland, and now Montpellier. Who knows? If they stay organised and park the bus, they could get second spot, but it’s a tough ask.
Group D predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Denmark | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | France | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Australia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Group E
Spain are rejuvenated with Luis Enrique in the hot seat, and are concentrating on young players to bring them success. Most notably, Barcelona duo Gavi and Pedri, who both have won the Golden Boy award, will have a major role to play if the Spanish are to succeed.
The teenagers will be joined by experienced players such as Rodri, Sergio Busquets and Koke, making the Spanish midfield very strong. The only department where the Spanish are lacking is the attack, as Alvaro Morata often leads the line, but is not a prolific goalscorer.
In Group E, Spain or Germany should win the group, and both should qualify for the knockout stages. The fixture Spain vs Germany in the group stage is fit to be a final.
The Germans have rebuilt their team after a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign, losing to England in the last 16. Their manager, serial winner Hanse Flick has organised the team well, and it would not be a major surprise if the Germans are to win their fifth World Cup.
Bayern’s wonderkid, Jamal Musaila is the star of the side, playing the number ten role. His dribbling, vision and shooting will help Germany go far in the tournament. The midfield is super strong, with Toni Kroos, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Ilkay Gundogan to choose from. All are great passers of the ball, and will overrun most opponents. Japan are a well organised unit, but will not have enough to qualify for the knockout phases, as beating Germany or Spain will be difficult. The same can be said for Costa Rica, who are expected to finish 4th in the group according to our World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions.
Group E predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Japan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Group F
It might be Belgium’s last ever chance to win the FIFA World Cup. Their golden generation will be playing in their last tournament, and will wish to win the most coveted prize of them all.
Their key man, City’s Kevin De Bruyne, as well as Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku have bags of quality in the final third, so scoring goals will be easy. Keeping clean sheets shouldn’t be difficult either with Golden Glove winner, Thibaut Coutois in goal. With a strong defence and attack, it would be a big upset if the Red Devils do not win Group F with maximum points.
Second place though, is certainly up for grabs, with Croatia being slight favourites over Canada in what might be the hardest of all our World Cup 2022 groups predictions. Their maestro, Luka Modric will be playing in his last ever World Cup, and will be joined in the midfield by Brozovic and Rakitic. It would be a big surprise if Croatia do as well as in 2018, coming runners up, but with their quality and experience, they should beat Canada.
Canada will be buzzing in the World Cup, qualifying for the tournament only for their second time. They can attribute their success to Bayern Munich’s superstar Alphonso Davies, and Lille’s striker, Jonathan David. The Croatia vs Canada match will be crucial to who will qualify, and it could go either way, but we believe Croatia will get the better of the Canadians.
Morocco will come rock bottom in Group F, as the team lacks the quality to beat their tough opponents. Their main players will be Achrim Hakimi, the PSG right back, and Chelsea playmaker Ziyech. However in other areas of the pitch, the Morrocans will not have enough to beat the Belgians, Canadians or Croatians.
Group F predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Croatia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Morocco | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Group G
Our 2022 FIFA World Cup Group Stage predictions agree with the bookmakers that Brazil are the heavy favourites for the tournament. They have won the Golden trophy five times, but not since 2002, and this year it’s certainly theirs to lose.
Currently ranked number 1 in the world, Brazil’s squad is top class. Their attack is the cherry on the cake, with Neymar, Vinicius Jr and Gabriel Jesus up top, scoring goals should be of no concern.
Throughout the team is top class quality, as Fabinho and Casemiro in the midfield will be doing most of the heavy lifting to allow Brazil to attack their opponents. In goal, Brazil has the two best goalkeepers on the planet, in Allison and Ederson, however only one can play.
Group G is competitive but Brazil should finish top of the pile with maximum points. Predicting second place is difficult though as Switzerland, Serbia or Cameroon have the quality to qualify.
Serbia star striker Mitrovic, is scoring plenty of goals for Fulham in the Premier League, and Cameroon have Bayern number 9, Choupo Moting to put the ball in the net. In this group, we are expecting plenty of goals, so it will be the defence that will make the difference.
Switzerland are an all around better team than Cameroon and Serbia, and are able to beat top sides on their day. In EURO 2020, they knocked out World Cup winners France and worked well as a team, so the Swiss must be favourites to qualify with Brazil. However, it’s a difficult one to predict so the first fixture in Group G will be an indication of who will qualify.
Group G predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Brazil | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Serbia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Group H
Easily the most competitive group at the FIFA World Cup, any team can progress or finish bottom. Topping our World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions here are Portugal, who Cristiano Ronaldo plays for. It will be his last ever international tournament and he will want to win the only trophy that has evaded him.
The Portuguese squad is full to the brim with talent, especially in attacking areas. Bruno will be an integral part of the side, who currently plays with Ronaldo at Manchester United. Also Atletico Madrid wonderkid Joao Felix has a point to prove, after not living up to expectations at his club. If the Portuguese can gel, they will win the group, and perhaps even the World Cup itself.
Uruguay have won the World Cup twice and are the next best squad on paper. The older players, Suarez and Cavani are still in the squad, but a new generation is breaking into the team.
Their main man will be Real Madrid sensation Fede Valverde, as well as Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez. Defensively the Uruguayans are sound, with Spur’s Bentacur playing defensive midfielder, and Jose Maria Jiminez playing centre back. They certainly have enough quality in the squad to progress in the World Cup.
South Korea and Ghana both have a chance of qualifying, as the quality of both squads are good. If these teams were in other groups, they would most likely progress to the knockout phase.
Ghana have plenty of players applying their trade in the Premier League. Their star man has to be Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, yet Ayew at Crystal Palace and Lamptey at Brighton will have key roles.
The South Koreans are highly organised, and the team is built around star striker, Spur’s Heung Ming Son. If he is firing, the Koreans have a great chance of progressing, but it will be a mammoth task.
In the group, 4 points will most probably be enough to qualify for the knockout phases. All teams can do it, but we expect the Portuguese and Uruguayans to progress, and either Ghana or South Korea to finish bottom.
Group H predictions
| Position | Team | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Portugal | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Ghana | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions – Our Final Words
So there you have it, all of our top World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage predictions. If we were to pick a banker out of any of the above, it would be to back Brazil to top their group and likely go on to win the tournament.
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