The Road to Qatar Fifa World Cup 2022

With the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, we look at how the rankings are looking, which teams are tipped to be the favourites and what predictions, if any, we can start making for the finals. For some, it’s been a smooth road to qualification, for others, it’s been stressful journey.

Rankings

With the tournament kicking off on Sunday, the rankings will read as so going into the games.

Croatia have had an exciting journey, making it to 12th place, beating Denmark and Austria on the way. It pushed them up three places to be ranked just after Germany, although it did not affect the draw seedings obviously. Croatia’s last game was against Saudi Arabia on the 16th of November, resulting in a 1-0 victory for the 2018 finalists. four days away from the opening match in Qatar. Odds for the top five teams are very favourable right now, in case you want a break from your casino777 game and bet on which teams will be in the final four. Netherlands and Portugal are @12/1, while England and Argentina are @7/1.

FIFA have been criticised for the methodology used to rank nations, so since the end of the World Cup in Russia, they have amended the system in attempt to make it more fair. The previous model did not consider friendly matches, and points were calculated on average. With the new system, points are calculated by adding or subtracting from the country’s existing total, and it also counts penalty shoot-out victories as a half win.

Brazil, ranked 1st, are an obvious favourite to win the World Cup. Their chances look good, counting one of the world’s best goalkeepers, Alisson Becker, and two of the most in-form forwards, Neymar Junior and Vinicius Junior.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina side have been looking increasingly battle-hardy, even beating Italy 3-0 in La Finalissima. What they lack in defensive stars is made up for their in forward line and midfield, which could pose a real problem when faced by the likes of French player Kylian Mbappe, who they could face in a quarter-final.

The 2014 Champions Germany are more of a dark horse than a favourite, as they had a dismal performance in the 2018 edition, where they didn’t even make it past the group stages. Their first game is against Spain, who thrashed 6-0 them in the 2020 Nations League. This is one game to watch as Germany will look to return with a vengeance. If they have the same consistency they showcased in 2014, they stand an excellent chance to make it to the semis.

In Summary

This World Cup is most likely to be a swan song for some prominent players such as Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, and they will undoubtedly want it to be a successful tournament for their teams. It makes for a more than entertaining cocktail for the fans.