The 2022 FIFA World Cup is upon us and this year’s edition will be held in Qatar from November to December. Usually, the WC is played during the summer break but since the tournament is being held in the middle, FIFA has chosen to shift it to the end of the calendar year.
Several big names like Italy, Colombia and Sweden are shock omissions from this year’s edition but nevertheless, 32 of the best in the world of football will battle it out and with just over a month to go, everyone is busy making their favourites for the 2022 edition. Various bookmakers like https://www.canadasportsbetting.ca/ are already putting out their odds as to who could lift the coveted trophy by the end of this year.
A lot has been spoken and written about the way in which the WC was awarded to the Middle Eastern country and how the whole footballing calendar had to be adjusted in order to make sure everything falls into place. However, all the criticism will now take the back seat because the tournament is about to get underway and all that will matter now is who lifts the coveted silverware.
We also decided to take a look at some of the favourites for this year’s World Cup and chalk out a list of the three teams who are currently leading the pack.
England:
England, much like every other time has a plethora of talent at their disposal and if Gareth Southgate can figure out his best starting lineup then the Three Lions could very well come out at the top.
They have some of the best players in the world for every position but it’s up to their manager to figure out which combination works best.
A few of Southgate’s decisions in the Nations League did not go down too well with the fans but hopefully, all those were experiments and the manager learnt his lessons from them. On paper, England very much has what it takes to come out on top and ‘bring it home’ but they have an age-old habit of imploding and we think this trait is their arch-nemesis once again.
Argentina:
Away from the European media glare, Argentina has been slowly polishing their team for the World Cup and without a doubt, they will be one of the favourites to win the tournament.
They have been slotted in a pretty easy group, alongside Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland meaning they should at least qualify for the knockout stages.
They were second behind Brazil in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers and in the 17 games they played, they did not lose a single match. This is going to be the last World Cup for PSG’s Lionel Messi and after a really long time, he has a team around him that is capable of winning things at the highest level.
Brazil:
Brazil topped that CONMEBOL World Cup qualification group with 14 wins out of 17 and just Argentina, they also did not lose a single tie.
Brazil has won five World Cups but their last win came 20 years ago in 2022. It’s high time the Samba boys dust themselves back up and show who’s boss. Tite has assembled one of if not the strongest sides in this World Cup.
He has multiple options in every department across the pitch and since the World Cup will be played during the middle of the season, squad depth will become a key factor for all the nations involved. In fact, Brazil’s squad for the 2022 World Cup is so strong that there’s a chance that Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus might not find a starting berth next month.
DARK HORSE:
France:
The French are the defending world champions but many people feel they will be one of the poorer performers this World Cup because their recent form has been very average.
They have had a very poor Nations League and to make matters worse several big players like Paul Pogba and Kante are running the risk of missing out from the World Cup.
However, we still think France are one of the dark horses to win the World Cup. Yes, they might be going to Qatar at the back of some poor form but Deschamps and his boys know exactly what it takes to overcome all obstacles and lift the WC.
