The World Series isn't done yet. The NBA and American football are both intense. Two minutes ago, the European club soccer season stopped. You have to plan for Thanksgiving soon. There was a lot of votes cast. Work has been a beast recently.
The world cup snuck up on you. To admit it is fine. It was just a matter of time. The event was dropped into the most inconvenient time of the year, and while you know how important it is, and you definitely want to get the most out of it, you realize you're running out of time.
You have coverage from an overall standpoint. The 50 best football players at the World Cup have already been told. Every game has been predicted by us. Previous tournaments have been ranked. We've talked about the issue of sportswashing in the host nation.
We've tried to introduce you to the migrant workers who actually comprise the country, but you just want to know more about each team in the coming days.
Allow me to fill in the gaps. Before everything starts, let's walk through the field of 32.
Louis van Gaal's last go-round. Netherlands like familiarity. Over the past 30 years, they've hired Dick Advocaat as manager three times and Guus Hiddink twice. They've hired former Dutch stars like Marco van Basten and Frank de Boer, and when the team disappointed with De Boer at Euro 2020, they pulled the storied Van Gaal, now 71, out of retirement for his third stint in charge.
Predicting all the World Cup games.
Since then, they haven't lost. Their Nations League group has seen them beat Belgium twice and make short work of others. Over the past year, Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay have scored 11 goals and created 27 chances for each other in international play. At times, the back line of Nathan Ake, Matthijs de Ligt, and Virgil van Dijk is put under pressure because of their possession-heavy style, but they are strong enough to usually make it work.
If they win Group A, they wouldn't face a mega-contender until the quarterfinals and they have a solid draw. This is a huge chance for them.
Yedlin is the only member of the squad with World Cup experience.
What are Senegal without Sadio Mane? Senegal have had an amazing 2022, beating Mohamed Salah's Egypt on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, then doing it again to qualify for the World Cup. They've got sturdy veterans throughout the lineup, from goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) to defender Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea) to midfielders Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City) and Idrissa Gueye (Everton). But their attack runs through Bayern star Mane, and his World Cup is over before it started thanks to a tibia injury. Horrible timing.
The Ecuador Seagulls. Ecuador had never qualified for a World Cup until 2002, but have now done so four of six times, albeit with eligibility controversy this time. Unlike a lot of teams in Qatar, most of their highest-level talent is at the back. A lot of them play for a specific Premier League club, too: rising midfielder Moises Caicedo, full-back Pervis Estupinan and winger Jeremy Sarmiento are all plying their trade at Brighton.
The most likely reasons are Caicedo, Estupinan and Piero.
Continuity is key for Qatar. By any measure of pure talent, Qatar are one of the weaker teams in the field. But among some shaky results against high-level teams like Portugal, they've shown hints of sturdiness, drawing with Chile in September and reaching the semifinals of the 2021 Gold Cup.
Their best quality is that they have a high level club in their backyard. Half of their roster is made up of Al Sadd, a two-time AsianChampions League winner. At times, familiarity can be more beneficial than talent.
How much does form matter? Asking for England. England might have more raw talent than any team in this field. A team of players snubbed from the 26-man roster would be favored to qualify for the World Cup(!), but results have vanished of late. England went winless in the summer and fall Nations League slate, results that included a sweep by Hungary. Some of manager Gareth Southgate's favorites -- defender Harry Maguire, winger Raheem Sterling -- haven't been in great form, and confidence is low.
Is any of this important? Four years ago, this team made the World Cup semifinals and almost won the Euros. Again,TALENT. There's a lot of it. What would happen if they don't?
In a debate on "You Have to Answer," sporting stars had their say on the debate.
Knock on wood, but ... the U.S. are healthy? The U.S. have also struggled to inspire confidence in 2022. Of the six World Cup teams they've played in the past calendar year, they've beaten just one. Their performances in two September friendlies were dreadful and betrayed a lack of either creation ability or steady passing in defense, two staples of the possession style manager Gregg Berhalter has spent four years trying to build.
Low vibes. Good health. Injuries have limited the number of times the young quintet of attackers Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and full- Berhalter favorites and emerging stars are also included. We don't know how the American team will do because we haven't seen it yet.
Gareth Bale's curtain call. Wales are playing in their first World Cup in 64 years, qualifying in part thanks to sturdy defense and an exciting young core of players like midfielders Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Ethan Ampadu (Spezia) and Harry Wilson (Fulham) and forwards Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest) and Daniel James (Fulham). But Gareth Bale remains the headliner. The Welsh legend netted all three goals against Austria and Ukraine in the qualification playoffs and, at 33, is rapidly nearing the end of his career. Does he have enough magic left in him to drive Wales to the knockout rounds?
Iran: Advanced CONCACAF. According to the ratings at EloRatings.net, neither the U.S. nor Wales are the second-best team in Group B: Iran are. Carlos Queiroz helms a team that does the "defend with everything you've got and hit a couple of counter-attacks" routine as well as anyone. It's a style that gave the U.S. fits in World Cup qualification, and Iran are better at it than any CONCACAF squad besides perhaps Canada.
If veteran attackers Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun can provide any sort of finishing, the team could advance. If you're betting, those odds are interesting.
The last dance for Lionel Messi (and Robert Lewandowski). There's plenty of exciting, young attacking talent in the soccer universe at the moment, from Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior on down. That's good because we're going to be losing a lot of storied talent in the coming years, too. The most storied talent, in fact.
They took 4,000 pounds of meat to the World Cup.
Lionel Messi has a great Argentina team around him. They are the second betting favorite behind Brazil. In the back, there are sturdy people like Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), and, if healthy, Paolo Dybala (Roma). In the summer of last year, Argentina won the Copa America. They will probably play either France orDenmark in the round of 16 and then either Netherland or England in the quarterfinals and Brazil in the semifinals, but the team is outstanding.
It's possible that Robert Lewandowski's last World Cup is this one. While his supporting cast lacks compared to Messi's, Poland aren't bereft of talent, as evidenced by the fact that Napoli's Piotr Zielinski is a solid attacking complement. They were knocked around by Belgium and the Netherlands in the Nations League, but they're a good team.
He doesn't know what to expect from France at the World Cup.
Tata's redemption? The U.S. allegedly looked at Tata Martino before choosing Gregg Berhalter as manager four years ago; Martino instead landed with Mexico and, for a while, he looked like the far better choice in charge. But then Mexico lost three times to the U.S. in 2021; since last October they have played eight matches against World Cup teams and haven't beaten a single one (four draws, four losses.)
The only players on the roster who are currently playing in Europe's Big Five leagues are the two veterans who are the only players on the roster who are currently playing outside of Europe. Is Mexico falling into a down cycle? Is the World Cup going to cause a rebound?
Goals are unicorns for Saudi Arabia. Journeyman manager Herve Renard helms a roster that, like Qatar's, calls entirely on domestic league talent, including 12 players from Saudi heavyweight Al-Hilal, winner of the Asian Champions League in 2019 and 2021. That has paid off in the form of defensive stability: in the past calendar year, they've allowed just seven goals in 12 matches.
They're in a group with two of the best players in the world. Six goals were scored in those 12 matches. Their best chance of reaching the next round is a run of niles.
France: A massive (and massively talented) wildcard. It's a very disorienting experience talking about France at the moment. On one hand, they're the defending champions and a favorite in any tournament they enter. On the other hand, they won just one of six Nations League matches this summer and fall. On one hand, they have lost some incredibly high-caliber players to injury -- midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante and forward Christopher Nkunku, for instance -- and other stars are dealing with at least nagging injuries. On the other hand, they still have Mbappe, Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and loads of both seasoned veterans (Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann) and precocious youngsters (Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, William Saliba.)
It's loaded and dangerous. They are in a slump and are playing second teamers. It wouldn't be a surprise if they won the World Cup and lost early. They're one hell of a wild card.
The crew debated who will have the best World Cup.
Dynamite Danish dark horses, part deux? Last we saw Denmark on a big stage, they had to work through a nearly unfathomable tragedy -- Christian Eriksen's on-field collapse and near death via cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 -- but after losing their first two matches, rallied to not only reach the knockout rounds but come within an extra-time Harry Kane goal of the finals. They were popular sleeper picks and lived up to it.
They are popular dark horse picks after a year and a half. They've still got veterans like Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and defenders, as well as optimistic 22-year-olds, and they've been wonderful. The group is kind of outside of France, and if the Danes win it will serve as a huge challenge for Argentina in the round of 16. They could be a story again for good reasons.
Are either Australia or Tunisia capable of disruption? Six players in Scotland. Two in Japan. Two in Denmark. Two in Italy. One at Hamburg St. Pauli. One for the Columbus Crew. Australia might have the most diasporic roster in the World Cup. Tunisia, meanwhile, don't have the individual standouts of other African qualifiers, but they've got the results. They made the Arab Cup finals last December and since the summer they've beaten Chile, Japan, Iran and lost only to Brazil. They neither attempt nor allow many shots, and just generally make things annoying.
Are they just neat stories or do they have enough? The latter is definitely favored by the oddsmakers. They are neat stories.
Do Spain have finishers? Even in an era in which the best teams attempt to dominate the ball more than ever before, no one does it like Luis Enrique's Spain. Barcelona teenager Pedri runs the show with plenty of help from Manchester City's Rodri, the ageless Sergio Busquets and the other teenage Barca midfield star, Gavi. They have the ball on a string.
Sometimes they don't put the ball in the net. In their first two games, against Poland and Sweden, they had 80% possession, attempted 29 shots, and scored one. 70% possession, 44 shots, 4.4 xG, two goals, in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Most of the other favorites have elite finishing talent, but Spain lacks it.
Lionel Messi wants Argentina to start their World Cup campaign the best way possible.
This confusing era of German underachievement. From 2006 to 2016, a new generation of Germany players, playing a new brand of soccer, finished third or better at six straight major tournaments. It was an absurd run ... and then it very much ended. They failed to advance in the 2018 World Cup, then bowed out to England in the Euro 2020 round of 16. Since the Euros, they've played three matches against World Cup teams and drew with all three.
It makes absolutely no sense to look at the roster. They have a lot of key players. Two years in a row, defender Antonio Rudiger has won the European Championship. Is this the tournament where the whole becomes greater than the parts again?
A custom-made dark horse (with a steep hill to climb). Spain and Germany make this an obvious "Scary Bad Group." That's really unfortunate, because I had long committed to naming Group E mate Japan a dark horse using the "I just love this roster" principle.
Ian Darke predicted who would lift the trophy.
I really like this roster. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ko Itakura are high-effort defenders who can pass the ball. Daichi Kamada is getting better by the day. Ritsu Doan is a new attacker for the squad. Every match, Takuma Asano runs himself into the ground. Three veterans are still strong contributors. A young attacker is interesting.
The Japan team is in control. We will see if they can overcome the group of death.
Costa Rica aren't going to make another run, right? Eleven of the 26 players on Costa Rica's World Cup roster are 30 or older, and six were on the 2014 World Cup squad that damn near made the semifinals. Joel Campbell? Still the primary goal scorer. Keylor Navas? Still a rock-solid goalkeeper.
They are smoking hot as well. In the past year, they have played 13 matches and lost one. Campbell gets one solid scoring chance per match because of their defense and defense. Is that not going to work anymore?
Are Belgium and Croatia old or perfectly seasoned? Four years ago, Croatia made the World Cup finals with a veteran-laden squad -- 13 of 23 players were at least 28 years old, including stars like Luka Modric (32), Mario Mandzukic (32), Ivan Rakitic (30), Ivan Perisic (29) and Dejan Lovren (28).
Modric is 37 years old. The player is almost as good as ever. Lovren, Kramaric, and Domagoj are all on the 2022. Nine of the 11 players who have played for Croatia over the past year are at least 27. This is a team that could be difficult to eliminate.
Belgium is still trying to get to the promised land. Twelve of their top 16 players are at least 29 years old. It feels like this is the last chance for the golden generation of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, andEden Hazard. They've remained reliant on Jan Vertonghen and TobyAlderweireld in defense. They've lost seven matches in the last four years, with 19 goals allowed.
In order to get to the finals, Belgium will have to beat either Spain or Germany in the round of 16 or England or France in the semis. The road to a happy ending is not easy.
Gab and Juls wonder if the "golden generation" will come good in 2022.
Morocco vs. the sum of their parts. Two things have defined recent Moroccan football: high-end talent and a lack of tournament success. Achraf Hakimi (PSG) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern) are among the most exciting and versatile full-backs in the game. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) is a cranky creator. Forward Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla) isn't far removed from a 24-goal season in LaLiga. But they haven't made even the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations since 2004.
They earned one point in three matches at the World Cup. The squad has a minimal track record and has a lot of potential.
The start of the story for Canada. Few international teams know themselves like Canada. They were happy to give teams the ball if asked; relying on the ridiculous speed of players like Alphonso Davies (Bayern), Jonathan David (Lille) and Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), and the creativity of Davies and Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) to create strong counter-attacking opportunities. It earned them their first World Cup bid since 1986. They don't have the pieces to operate well from behind, but they are confident and capable of making noise with the right game state.
Davies, David and Buchanan are all under the age of 25. They are going to be here for a long time.
What weaknesses might Brazil have? The numbers love Brazil. The sportsbooks love Brazil. The eyeballs love Brazil. They've lost once in the past three calendar years. They have Neymar, Real Madrid's Champions League-winning Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, Tottenham's Richarlison and Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus (and Manchester United's Antony if healthy) in a loaded attack.
Will he capture the World Cup dream as well as the Brazil goal record?
Brazil starts the tournament at the top of the pack. The World Cup is too random for any one team to be a favorite. It might start at the back if they fall short. They still rely on Thiago Silva at center-back, as well as Casemiro, Fred, and Fabinho.
A fast attack could make their defense look slow. They've played nine matches in the past year and only allowed three goals, but that doesn't mean it can't happen again.
We can expect to see a lot from Brazil at the World Cup.
A major opportunity for Serbia and Switzerland. As is the case with most light heavyweight European teams, both Serbia and Switzerland are blessed with plenty of exciting talent that plays for major clubs -- Serbia have forwards Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) and midfielder Filip Kostic (Juventus); Switzerland have veteran midfielders Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) and Denis Zakaria (Chelsea), defender Manuel Akanji (Manchester City), forward Breel Embolo (Monaco) and about 17 strong goalkeepers.
One of the tournament's weaker groups could be drawn by the second-place team in Group H. It wouldn't take much luck for either of these teams to make it to the quarterfinals if they're on top of their game.
An intriguing Cameroon attack. Cameroon have one of the more storied histories in African soccer -- this will be their eighth World Cup appearance since 1982, and they famously reached the quarterfinals in 1990 -- but it took a shocker for them to qualify this time around. Lyon's Karl Toko Ekambi scored vs. Algeria in the 124th minute of their final qualification match, just six minutes after Algeria had seemingly clinched advancement with a goal of their own.
This isn't the most talented squad that they have brought to a World Cup, but they have enough intriguing pieces to challenge. While depth is problematic in the back, they have at least one high-level player in Frank Anguissa. They would be surprised if they advanced.
Portugal vs. the worst of vibes. Act I: Cristiano Ronaldo waits until Manchester United begin to play well without him, then decides to burn every possible bridge with the club (which still employs Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes) on his way out the door to Qatar.
There is an interaction betweenRonaldo andFernandes.
Bruno Fernandes catching up with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portugal camp 👀🇵🇹
(via @selecaoportugal) pic.twitter.com/D1UFlfBlwG
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