The 2022 World Cup is just around the corner, with 32 teams primed to compete in Qatar for the right to lift the trophy on 18 December.
Although this tournament is set to be one of the most open in years, with no clear favourite to go all the way, there are still several nations that are outstanding candidates ahead of this competition.
Here at FootballTransfers, we have produced a Power Ranking to guide you from the side with the least chance of success at Qatar 2022 to our favourites.
32. Qatar
On the face of it there's simply no way this team can be any good; none of their players feature at any kind of level and they are largely expected to be beaten easily. Yet their group is soft and hosts are often given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to decisions from referees. But they've face nothing but friendlies for years. Can they actually defeat any of Netherlands, Senegal or Ecuador? We'll soon find out.
Most valuable player: Almoez Ali (€800,000)
31. Australia
This is unquestionably the weakest Australia team to ever reach the World Cup finals, and their dearth of European-based players at a high level is notable. There is no Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell or Mark Viduka to elevate this side and very little is expected. Their group is not impossible but Denmark and France should have far too much for them, much as they did back in 2018, when the three shared the same group.
Most valuable player: Awer Mabil (€4.3m)
30. Saudi Arabia
1-0, 0-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0 represents Saudi Arabia's most recent results and if you want to understand what kind of matches we can expect, this will largely be it. Keeping things very tight is very much what they will try and do, but in a group with Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski may prove to make that virtually impossible. It's a difficult group and Saudi's recent record in the tournament is not good. Anything other than bottom position would represent a real success.
Most valuable player: Salem Al-Dawsari (€1.7m)
29. Tunisia
There is, alas, not a huge amount of talent in this Tunisia side and their recent results don't give any kind of indication that they can compete; any team can lose 5-1 to Brazil, but it was such a procession that this group's abilities might be stretched too far. Denmark and France will almost certainly have too much, and it will be a race to avoid the bottom spot with Australia.
Most valuable player: Dylan Bronn (€11m)
28. Iran
Carlos Quieroz is back in charge of Iran, and if we know anything about the former Real Madrid boss is that he errs on the side of caution more so than ever. Expect Iran to attempt to frustrate the life out of their group opponents and be very difficult to break down, which is perhaps a shame as they have two more than decent forwards in the form of Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi, but whether they will see enough of the ball to make any kind of impact very much remains to be seen. It seems like a point against either USA or England would represent a real achievement and they will set up as such.
Most valuable player: Sardar Azmoum (€28.3m)
27. Costa Rica
Costa Rica have mixed it up in the World Cup in the past, not least in 2014 when they reached the quarter-final, and herose of that team such as Joel Campbell and the 37-year-old Bryan Ruiz are still involved. Some of their results are encouraging, defeating Canada, USA and drawing with Korea this year. But in a group with Spain and Germany plus a decent Japan side, it's very difficult to see them making anything like that level of impact this time around.
Most valuable player: Keylor Navas (€9.8m)
26. Japan
Japan are, unfortunately, lumped in with two giants in the form of Germany and Spain and that makes their task virtually impossible from the outset. It's very difficult to see either of those two failing to reach the knockout stages and that's a shame as Japan aren't that bad a team; there's plenty of European football experience at hand within the team. But their journey will end at the groups, barring the type of result that would send shockwaves through the tournament.
Most valuable player: Takefusa Kubo (€36.3m)
25. Morocco
Morocco are a bit of an unknown quantity; the talismanic Hakim Ziyech has been brought back in from the cold and should make a fundamental difference, while Achraf Hakimi is one of the most enjoyable attacking full-backs in the world game. There's also players at a high level elsewhere such as Sevilla duo Bounou and Youssef El-Nesyri. It's a group which isn't insurmountable but there isn't much recent examples of them beating good teams, and therefore it's hard to know how they'll fare against Croatia, Belgium, and threat of Canada's attackers.
Most valuable player: Achraf Hakimi (€58m)
24. Canada
Canada have standout individuals but the weakness of the collective means that this first sojourn to the World Cup since 1986 could be short-lived. Costa Rica and Panama have beaten them this year while Uruguay overcame them relatively easily in their most recent friendly. Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David have the potential to give anyone problems, but the rest of the squad aren't playing at a high enough level to be expected to cause a shock, particularly in a group with Croatia and Belgium.
Most valuable player: Alphonso Davies (€60.3m)
23. South Korea
There's not a massive amount of Koreans featuring at the very highest level these days, and their pairing with Ghana, Portugal and Uruguay has helped to create one of the most unpredictable groups of the entire tournament. That being said, they have the world-class Heung-Min Son and Napoli's Kim Minjae is one of the breakout defenders of the season so far. And their form is encouraging; they have faced difficult opponents and, in the main, held their own. But the difficulty of the group trumps what they can achieve - a repeat of their Germany win in 2018 seems unlikely.
Most valuable player: Heung-min Son (€54.9m)
22. Cameroon
Cameroon are in no kind of form. They lost to Korea in their final build-up match but even more worryingly was the 2-0 capitulation to Uzbekistan - not a result to suggest that this is a team ready to face three strong teams in Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia. There is some talent there - Bryan Mbuemo has been excellent for Brentford while Andre Onana remains a top goalkeeper, but there's not enough here to suggest they will be any kind of threat to the three challengers in their group.
Most valuable player: Bryan Mbuemo (€44.1m)
21. Ecuador
Ecuador have played 10 internationals in 2022 and have scored six goals in those games, and haven't scored more than one in any of them. So it's clear to see where their problems lie ahead of Qatar. Enner Valencia has started the season well for Fenerbahce but he doesn't seem able to translate that over to his national side. There's confidence that they can perhaps reach the knockouts, however, given their group is one of the softer ones and much will depend on the Senegal clash. There's talent here, even if they aren't perhaps the best travellers outside of South America.
Most valuable player: Pervis Estupinan (€33.4m)
20. USA
It's difficult to gauge exactly where this USA team are at; there are talented individuals within the squad, such as Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna, but the sum of the collective is worryingly out of form in the build-up. An insipid defeat to Japan was followed by an ever more dismal display against Saudi Arabia and it seems expectancy of what is possible is at a low point. It's also a trappy group in which geo-politics will form as much of the narrative as the football itself when they face England and Iran.
Most valuable player: Christian Pulisic (€36.1m)
19. Ghana
Ghana still have the likes of Jordan and Andre Ayew, veterans of 2010, trying to drive them to glory, but while that team had class running through it, this incarnation doesn't have the same depth of ability and it could count against them in what is a difficult group. Thomas Partey's perennial injury problems do little to give confidence that he'll make it through the full tournament, and defeating Nicaragua in friendlies does little to prepare them for the difficult task of Uruguay, Portugal and Korea. Exiting the group would be a real achievement.
Most valuable player: Joseph Aidoo (€19.9m)
18. Mexico
Mexico are the masters of the group stages, making the knockouts every tournament since 1994 and that makes them a dangerous opponent for the likes of Poland, who they will be competing with directly to exit the group. This team certainly isn't as talented as others that have reached the Round of 16 - and lost every time. Their fate does seem to lie clearly in the clash with Poland, with Argentina topping and Saudi Arabia potential also-rans. The likes of Chucky Lozano will definitely be worth watching, but their impact on this tournament isn't expected to be huge.
Most valuable player: Edson Alvarez (€30.3m)
17. Wales
Wales will live or die by the fitness of one man; Gareth Bale. Bale joined LAFC and they have been working collaboratively with the Welsh FA to optimise Bale's fitness and avoid injury as much as possible. But there is also an underlying young talent there that props up their talisman and they are also in a competitive group. Their matchup with England will be worth watching and they will be fully expecting to make the knockouts, at their first World Cup since 1958.
Most valuable player: Ben Davies (€34.7m)
16. Poland
The modern day Poland are far better are reaching tournaments than they are at actually doing anything when they get there. Their three previous World Cup forays - in 2002, 2006 and 2018 - all ended at the first hurdle, while the same happened at Euro 2020. Their form is a little patchy - defeating Wales was their first win in five, and they were humbled 6-1 by Belgium during that time, but Robert Lewandowski is arguably looking as good as he ever has, and that makes anything possible. They are up against Argentina and notably a Mexico team which are their polar opposite, in that they are superb at getting out of the group, having done it every time going back to 1994. Their clash is one of the key fixtures of the group stage.
Most valuable player: Robert Lewandowski (€44.9m)
15. Senegal
Senegal are likely Africa's greatest chance of a team reaching the knockout stages. They have undoubted quality in their ranks but the question is more around the form of key players. Sadio Mane's Bayern start has tailed off, while Khalidou Koulibaly has similarly suffered at Chelsea. But if these issues can be resolved they are a good bet for the knockouts. Their Group A is soft; hosts Qatar have little to no expectations while Ecuador don't always travel particularly well outside of South America, despite having a good team. If they can find form, then no-one is likely to want to face them.
Most valuable player: Sadio Mane (€54.2m)
14. Switzerland
Switzerland continue to cause difficulties for Europe's established sides and they completely deserve to as well. In their last three matches they have defeated Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal, and they of course got the better of World Champions France at Euro 2020. It's not a team that, on paper at least, is bristling with exciting footballers but there's experience in the likes of Yann Sommer, Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka. They are paired with Brazil and Serbia, just as they were in 2018, with both of those sides more challenging than they were in 2018 and will put this team to the test. But they've passed many exams against the odds, and there's no doubt that they can do it again.
Most valuable player: Breel Embolo (€34.8m)
13. Serbia
Serbia would appear to be the real deal. This is a team absolutely brimming with attacking talent that is ready to perform on the main stage, and their results building up to the tournament suggest that they are ready to make a more significant mark than they did last time. Confident wins over Norway and Sweden put them in a good spot, and Aleksander Mitrovic's incedible form, should he sustain it, will make him a threat to anyone. Add in Dusan Tadic, Dusan Vlahovic, and the accomplished Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and it's a European team on the up as opposed to others on the way down. It's not an easy group - Switzerland knocked them out at the same stage in 2018, while they are paired with Brazil again - but they are a better team now than they were then.
Most valuable player: Dusan Vlahovic (€58.4m)
12. Uruguay
Uruguay are in a team in transition as they move from one generation to the next, but the potential of the team remains high. An injury is likely to rule out Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo from the tournament which is a blow, but they have accomplished players at a high level in other positions. Rodrio Bentancur at Tottenham, Fede Valverde at Real Madrid, Darwin Nunez at Liverpool - these are potential superstars. And Luis Suarez may be long in the tooth, but he's still going, and this is a tournament he's got plenty of history with. Uruguay have a tough group, paired with Portugal, Korea and Ghana but there's no reason why this team can't cause some serious damage.
Most valuable player: Federico Valverde (€64.9m)
11. Belgium
Belgium's Golden Generation may have run out of time; it seems like World Cup 2018 and the paucity of their semi-final loss to France will perhaps be the pinnacle of their achievements with underahivement permeating in every other place. And now we have Eden Hazard barely playing, Romelu Lukaku unsettled, a defence old and totally downgraded, while a underwhelming new generation are yet to emerge. Roberto Martinez looks like the type of coach who has already extracted everything he ever will from this squad and their placing with Croatia means topping the group is absolutely no guarantee. A group stage exit is not out of the question, but there should be enough to get them to the knockouts at least.
Most valuable player: Thibaut Courtois (€68.2m)
10. Netherlands
Louis van Gaal is back in every way and though he has his own health issues there's something mythical about him being back at the helm of Oranje. He took them to the semi-finals in 2014, only losing to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out, and he's got a team that is looking to restore some of the pride lost by their dismal qualification failures in 2016 and 2018. There's definite talent within the team and they are well structured under LVG. But like other teams they lack firepower and Memphis Depay's uncertain role at Barcelona is also a particular problem. But results have been promising, LVG is box office, and they have a laughably easy group - after that, it's anyone's guess.
Most valuable player: Matthijs de Ligt (€69m)
9. England
Twelve months ago England were among the clear favourites for this tournament but there is a worrying regression in the effectiveness of Gareth Southgate's obdurate tactics and it's coming at exactly the wrong time. There's nothing exciting nor dynamic around their dismal performances and it's ever more frustrating given the superb talent that's available. But Southgate has an idea of how to play and how to win at international level - as far as he knows. It's served him reasonably well in back-to-back tournaments but that luck could be running out. One thing in his favour is that the group is navigable and the Round of 16 game should be, too. But where they can go from there is now hugely sceptical.
Most valuable player: Phil Foden (€131.1m)
8. Germany
Germany have been doing quite a bit of experimenting during this Nations League would explain how they haven't managed to defeat Hungary twice, but the big concern for them will be around the relative form of all of their attacking players. Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Kai Havertz are not exactly in prolific form, and the talented Jamal Musiala could find his way into the team by the time the tournament begins. Other than Spain the group should facilitate qualification but beyond that it's rather difficult to say what their target should be. A talented group of players, rather than a talented team - but this is the World Cup, and this is Germany. Their 2018 group stage exit was the only time they haven't reached the quarter finals since 1998. But they could run into Croatia in the knockouts.
Most valuable player: Florian Wirtz (€79m)
7. France
Without question the deepest talent pool of any country in the world, and yet this France team seems to be cycling back from world champion back to potential implosion. It happens on the regular, from failing to reach USA 1994, to exiting 2002 without winning a game, to doing the same in 2010. This team should be, at the very least, in the final four particularly with Kylian Mbappe at the peak of his powers, but Paul Pogba's personal issues, Antoine Griezmann's lack of minutes, consistent injuries and a lack of clear starting XI all count against a team that has too many good players, but not an overall coherent team. And yet they could easily confound all of that and go all the way - like in 1998 and 2018. It's what they do.
Most valuable player: Kylian Mbappe (€150m)
6. Spain
Spain remain frustatingly packed with potential and yet so distinctly lacking from the team that were so spectacularly dominant during the last decade that it's difficult to know where to place them. They were a penalty shoot-out away from the Euro 2020 final and have genuinely world-class midfield talent in the form of Thiago, Pedri and Rodri. Plus Luis Enrique is a progressive coach who has a deep squad even if it is lacking in one or two individual stars that previous incarnations could call upon. Exiting the group should be of no difficulty and at that stage Croatia - beaten in said Euros - or Belgium await. The latter in particular wouldn't necessarily pose much of a threat, and on their day they are capable of outpassing anyone. But whether they can find any forward that scores a goal is anyone's guess.
Most valuable player: Rodri (€73.5m)
5. Denmark
When you defeat a side of the quality of World Champions France - home and away - you have be taken seriously, and when coupled with their run to Euro 2020's semi-finals, Denmark are a side who can cause damage on a tournament distinctly lacking in in-form giants. They also have Christian Eriksen back to complete the ultimate story of redemption, while having a settled team in virtually every other position. There is a small doubt around players who aren't playing as much as they would like, but that's a problem for most teams and their group stage is very soft. Denmark are a match for most European teams and it would be no surprise to see them late in the tournament again.
Most valuable player: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (€61.8m)
4. Croatia
This team were explained as one having a 'last stand' at Euro 2020 but in fact they're still going, and going strong. Luka Modric looks ready to play forever, and with his supporting cast of Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren and Marcelo Brozovic all still present and correct, they are perfectly capable of going deep, particularly with a soft group; Belgium are misfiring, Canada are raw, while Morocco are unpredictable. They might lack a serious goalscorer, but they did just fine in 2018 without one and there's enough organisation and structure about this team to make a significant dent - even if reaching the final again seems beyond them. The only doubt is that they will almost certainly play either Spain or Germany in the Round of 16.
Most valuable player: Marcelo Brozovic (€44.7m)
3. Portugal
Given the relative slip-ups, scandals and out-of-form players around them, Portugal are in a good position to have a good run at this World Cup, despite their questionable recent record in the competition. They were ousted by Spain in 2010, battered by Germany and exited in the groups in 2014, then lost to two brilliant Edinson Cavani goals in the Round of 16 in 2018. They did of course win Euro 2016, though, and this squad is better than that team in virtually every conceivable way. With Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, Jota, Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix, this is a team of limitless attacking opportunities. In fact, it may well only be limited by one man - Cristiano Ronaldo. A generational player who is now mixing with a totally different generation; Ronaldo might be holding this team back from greatness.
Most valuable player: Bruno Fernandes (€77.2m)
2. Argentina
Argentina have arguably their least talented team on paper since about 1994, and yet they are probably a more effective unit than they have been in the majority of those tourmaments. Previously the attacking talent was so rich that it was difficult to work out who should play with Lionel Messi, but now the team is built completely around him, and though the parts are - on paper - weaker than previously, Messi is a man on a mission. He achieved the Copa America but he knows that winning this World Cup solidifies his legacy alongside Diego Maradona and as the greatest player in history. Their run isn't soft - they could face either France or Denmark before meeting Brazil in the quarter-finals - but there is a real belief that given the standard of opposition, Argentina deserves to be among the favourites.
Most valuable player: Lautaro Martinez (€83m)
Brazil
Brazil are the team with the most formidable attack in world football at the moment; Jesus, Richarlison, Martinelli, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha, Antony, Roberto Firmino and, of course, Neymar. Couple that with Casemiro protecting the likes of Militao and Marquinhos, with Alisson in goal, and it's not just the attack that is stacked. With the relative travails of the European rivals, this has been a great spell for the Selecao and though they've been favourites more than any team in the past, this time it will be justified. They actually have one of the tougher groups, and their run to the final will be difficult, but this squad is capable of winning for the first time since 2002.
Most valuable player: Vinicius Junior (€124.1m)