2022 World Cup Group A: Preview, Odds, Picks & Betting Guide
The greatest event in soccer is around the corner! The World Cup is like no other event, whether sports-related or not. It brings whole nations together and allows the best players to play their game with a full heart and represent the land that made them who they are.
This article is for Group A, which is unique to the other groups, as it was not guaranteed that a top-eight team in the world would be in it because the first pot was the top seven teams as well as Qatar, who is the host nation for the World Cup. That said, ironically enough, the eighth-ranked team ended up in the group.
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Here are the teams of Group A:
Qatar (FIFA Ranking: 50)
Qatar has been a country on the rise on the pitch, having reached its all-time high ranking of 48 in 2021. They are steps below the elite but also steps above where they had ever been. They have players who, in the majority, play domestically and internationally in tournaments. A player rarely plays in one of the top flights in Europe from here, so they may not stand a chance tactically, even if they have earned their way into a respectable spot in the world rankings. A player to watch is Almoez Ali, who is their main threat in attack and has 39 goals in 82 international appearances.
Netherlands (FIFA Ranking: 8)
One of the premier nations in the world in soccer, they are always a dark horse team but never to be considered a true threat to the giants of the world. Don’t expect them to fall victim to the trap of playing the home team, though, as their last World Cup appearance resulted in a third-place finish, in which they defeated the home country Brazil 3-0 in the third-place game. This team is loaded, but there isn’t a player more fun to watch for the Dutch than Memphis Depay. The Barcelona striker has been playing high-level soccer for years now and has 42 goals in 80 international appearances. Another player to watch is the captain of this Dutch squad, Virgil van Dijk. The Liverpool center-back is a great leader and an extremely skilled defender, both of these guys are essential to any sort of noise the Netherlands wants to make on soccer’s biggest stage.
Senegal (FIFA Ranking: 18)
Don’t let the fact that they aren’t ranked among the elite nations in the world yet. This is a very, very good team. They have players who play for PSG, Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Tottenham Hotspur, among other very respectable top-flight clubs. Their top player is their midfielder Sadio Mane, who was the first of these Senegalese players to get the recognition they deserve. He has participated in 93 international matches for Senegal and has scored 34 goals for them. To show how far this program has come, those 34 goals are the most of all time for a footballer born in Senegal.
Ecuador (FIFA Ranking: 44)
This Ecuador squad will be one of the least exciting brands of soccer to watch, but that does not mean they haven’t been effective. They don’t have the attacking prowess of most other nations in the tournament, but they have shown an ability to keep games extremely low scoring. Their last five competitions have had a TOTAL of two goals. Their captain is their only real threat scoring, and that is Enner Valencia. Valencia is a member of Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Super Lig. This is a good league to compare to some of the competition of this tournament, but the elite teams should have players who can neutralize him.
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