Predicting the winners of Group A in the 2022 World Cup
Predictions on how Group A will finish in the 2022 World Cup
With the 2022 World Cup set to begin on Nov. 20, there are teams from each of the eight groups ready to leave their mark on the tournament.
Looking at Group A, we have the hosts Qatar joined by Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands.
This group leaves plenty of interesting questions to be answered once the first match between Qatar and Ecuador begins.
First Place: Netherlands
It would be fair to say the Netherlands will finish at the top of this group.
Returning to the big stage after their absence in the 2018 edition in Russia, the team dominated in their World Cup qualifiers. Of the 10 matches played, they only lost one while scoring 33 goals, displaying considerable offensive firepower in the process.
Despite being years removed from his prime, Jasper Cillessen provides invaluable World Cup experience at the goalkeeper spot at 33, and he will have Virgil Van Dijk, Daley Blind and Stefan de Vrij to assist him from the backline.
The Netherlands also have a great young talent in Frenkie de Jong, a key player in their midfield who has been progressing in his skillset at Barcelona.
What else is there to say about Memphis Depay — their best striker who notched 12 goals in the qualifiers. He will be the one who determines how far this team can go in the knockout rounds.
Second Place: Senegal
Arguably the best team from Africa, Senegal has a chip on their shoulder heading into the tournament.
In the 2018 edition, they turned plenty of heads when they took a 2-1 upset victory over Poland. After settling for an entertaining 2-2 draw against Japan, they lost 1-0 to Colombia and failed to advance to the Round of 16 solely because Japan had a better Fair Play record.
Having a lot of momentum to build on since then, Senegal won the 2021 African Cup of Nations and were in cruise control throughout their qualifiers, punching their ticket after surviving an astounding penalty shootout against Egypt.
Senegal boasts a world-class goalkeeper in Edouard Mendy, who has been in solid form throughout his time at Chelsea. They also have talented captains in their defense and midfield in Kalidou Koulibaly, also from Chelsea, and Idrissa Gueye, who moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Everton this year to have a bigger role as a starter.
In their offense, Sadio Mane is the heart and soul of the team. Playing in excellent form for Bayern Munich, Mane will want to carry his club performance into the national team with the offensive craftiness he brings on the wing.
While getting out of this group will be no easy task, if there is a team that can handle strong European squads like the Netherlands, Senegal is that team.
Third Place: Ecuador
Ecuador made a strong resurgence after missing out on the 2018 tournament.
After a tough World Cup qualifying campaign in South America, Ecuador secured fourth place behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. They tied with the Argentines for the second-best offense by netting 27 goals, which played a key role in helping the team return to the world stage.
One of the players responsible for elevating Ecuador’s offense is Michael Estrada, who scored six of those goals throughout the qualifying campaign. Though he will be expected to play a crucial part in how the offense performs in Qatar, Enner Valencia will also help him as he scored four goals in the qualifiers.
Ecuador will be the dark horse to come out of this group. While they have a good chance to steal a win from Qatar in the tournament opener, they will have a hard time limiting the top-level quality of the Netherlands and the strong defensive discipline from Senegal.
Fourth Place: Qatar
Despite having the advantage of hosting the World Cup, there is a good chance Qatar bottoms out in Group A.
This is not to say they are pushovers. In the second round of World Cup qualifying in Asia, the team showcased plenty of their strengths by going undefeated and only conceding 1 goal in eight matches.
Almoez Ali and Akram Afif were complementary to one another, combining for 10 of Qatar’s 18 goals as the team’s best strikers throughout the qualifiers. They will be important to how Qatar keeps their composure on the pitch, especially since this is their first World Cup appearance.
The biggest challenge for Qatar will be their ability to handle competition outside of Asia. While they exceeded expectations by winning the 2019 Asian Cup and reaching the semifinals of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, they had their low points during the 2019 Copa America, where they suffered a group stage exit.
dark. Next. 5 biggest names to miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup
If all goes well for Qatar, they could take the runner-up spot and sneak into the Round of 16 to be one of the underdogs in the tournament. If it does not go their way, they will make it worth their while to compete with the teams in their group to give their home fans something to appreciate.