The World Cup happens every 4 years and is a soccer tournament between the best 32 countries in the world. It is a chance for some of the biggest players in the world to play for something greater than themselves by representing their countries on the world stage. The start of the tournament is just around the corner, and the question everyone’s asking is who’s going to win it this year.

Something to note about the World cup this year is its location and the impact it has had on the tournament. Most notably, the time period in which the tournament will be played has been changed from the usual summer months of June and July to the colder fall months of November and December due to the extreme heat conditions in Qatar. 

With 32 teams in the World cup and 8 groups with no skill gap between them, deciding who will survive the group stages is not an easy task. Here are our predictions for each group:  

Group A:

Qatar

Ecuador

Senegal

Netherlands

Group Winner Prediction: Netherlands

Group A contains the host country Qatar (ranked 48th via FIFA), Ecuador, a solid South American team (ranked 44th via FIFA), Senegal, the 2022 AFCON winners (ranked 18th via FIFA), and the group favorites Netherlands (ranked 8th via FIFA). Following the experts on this one, we predict a pretty easy group stage for the Netherlands and Senegal with the Netherlands taking first in the group and Senegal coming in right behind at second. Some players of interest in the group include Virgil Van Dijk, the Liverpool center-back who is one of the best in the world. His form has been shaky as of late, so many are expecting a big World cup turnaround for him. Senegal’s team includes Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool player, and teammate of Virgil Van Dijk who in a recent move to Bayern Munich has kept his fantastic form, is a real goal-scoring threat, and the reigning AFCON(African Cup of Nations) winner. Ecuador does not have a star player, but many are looking to Moisés Caicedo for a big tournament. As for the host country, Qatar, hopefully we see a new group of talent out of the country.

Group B:

England 

Iran

USA

Wales

Group Winner Prediction: England

Group B is the group everyone is talking about. Group B has a monstrous England team containing some of the best players in the world (ranked 5th via FIFA), a criminally underrated Iran team, team USA with who is a large question mark at the moment, and a Wales team that snuck their way into the group stages with a shocking goal from Gareth Bale. The clear favorite to win the group is obviously England because of their insane roster of players and rich history of making it out of the group stage. However, it won’t be a cakewalk for the favorites. Team USA, coming in with an average age of 24, has continued to surprise the world winning multiple previous tournaments. Although young, I am hopeful that team USA can hold their ground in the game against England and possibly pull out a win against the other two teams in order to advance out of the group stages. Also, Iran has some veteran talent and will not be an easy team to get by. Overall, this group is not one that will easily be decided, but I believe England will be at the top of the group after dominating each game with the US following in second. However, it’s anyone’s game in this group.

Group C:

Argentina

Saudi Arabia

Mexico

Poland

Group Winner Prediction: Argentina

Group C has the player that many consider the greatest of all time: Lionel Messi. With his legacy comes huge expectations for Argentina and their recent form. They have not lost in 34 straight matches and are currently ranked 3rd via FIFA. Saudi Arabia is playing close to home but is definitely not a favorite going into the tournament (ranked 53rd via FIFA). Mexico has a huge fan base and many are hoping for a good tournament; however, the team’s recent record might say otherwise. They have struggled in recent matches, losing to most of the competitive teams they have played and even playing close games with the bad teams. This being said, they are still ranked 9th in the world via FIFA. Mexico and Argentina being in Group C make it tough on Poland (ranked 26th via FIFA), and they are going to be reliant on their star striker for most of their success. Speaking of the star striker Lewandoski, one of the best in the world for the past couple of years, he is hoping for a massive tournament in an effort to boost his chance of winning the Ballon d’Or. Mexico and Saudi Arabia have some decent players, but Mexico in specific needs a big tournament from their team as a whole if they are going to win.

Group D: 

France

Australia

Denmark

Tunisia

Group Winner Prediction: France

One of the lesser talked about groups, Group D seemingly has a clear winner. Although France has the trifecta of talent, results, and history, right now injuries of many star players may put them slightly behind and change the results of the group. Group D has plenty of talent in other teams such as a highly ranked Denmark squad with an astounding performance in the 2020 Euros. A squad of young talent and veterans provides a great mixture for an underdog performance to win second place and possibly even first in this group. Tunisia and Australia are both teams who lack talent and performance, so an advance out of the group would be quite the feat. Another thing to consider is the World cup curse where the winner from the prior World Cup gets knocked out in the group stage. It happened to Spain, and I could surely see it happening to France with the way they have performed recently. So maybe an early exit from France could allow for Australia or Tunisia to sneak by into the knockout stages.

Group E:

Spain

Costa Rica

Germany

Japan

Group Winner Prediction: Germany

Group E is what many are considering the group of death. Heading the group off is Spain (ranked 6th via FIFA), who is usually very competitive in major international tournaments due to their pool of talent in La Liga and the Barcelona academy. Costa Rica (ranked 34th via fifa)  also has a pool of talent and recent wins such as their dominating 2-0 victory over the U.S, showing major upset potential. Germany (ranked 11th via FIFA) is another team with a realistic chance of winning the tournament. Bringing back a handful of players from their 2014 World cup winning squad, such as Manuel Neuer, shows they have the leadership capability to win again. Japan (ranked 24th via FIFA) are definitely the dark horse of the group. They are not the most consistent team but should have a competitive tournament.

Group F:

Belgium

Canada

Morocco

Croatia

Group Winner Prediction: Belgium

Group F is anyone’s game. This is a group that has some of the best teams in the world and is a toss-up for who advances. The group favorite Belgium, ranked 2nd by FIFA, has some of the best players in the world spanning across the Champions League. They are the favorite to win the group; however, this will be anything but a cakewalk for them. A young Canada team led by Alphonso Davies is on the rise to shock this group and possibly take the number one spot. They are the number one team in CONCACAF and continue to put up great results against class teams. They are definitely a dark horse to win this group and would not surprise me if they moved out of the group stage. Morocco also has many lineup changes including a new manager and the addition of Hakim Ziyech to the squad. An underrated team, but it would be a major upset for them to advance out of this group. Last but not least Croatia, an experienced squad with plenty of talent, results, and history to prove themselves as a contender for the trophy this year

Group G:

Brazil

Serbia

Switzerland

Cameroon

Group Winner Prediction: Brazil

Group G is one of the weaker groups; however, if you were going to bet money on the World Cup winners, your first choice should be Brazil (ranked 1st via FIFA). They have by far the deepest pool of talent in the world, and their World Cup greatness is historical. The country has participated in every World Cup and currently holds the record for the most titles. Serbia (ranked 25th via FIFA) has great chemistry as a team and a lethal striker named, Aleksander Mitrovich, who could do serious damage. Switzerland (ranked 14th via FIFA), a country renowned for its neutrality, is for form neutral when it comes to soccer. Although they don’t have a standout scorer, the team works well together and goalie Yan Sommer is someone to keep an eye on. Cameroon (ranked 37th via FIFA) has a huge task ahead of them but like every other team in the tournament could be very surprising.

Group H:

Portugal

Ghana

Uruguay

Korea Republic

Group Winner Prediction: Portugal

Group H is another group with a questionable outcome. This group has plenty of young and experienced talent. A lethal-looking Portugal side is looking like the clear favorite. Also likely being Christiano Ronaldo’s last tournament, he is looking to make a statement in his last chance at the world’s biggest stage. Additionally, there is a very talented Uruguay squad led by veteran strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, and younger stars like Federico Valverde and Darwin Nunez. This squad has large depth, yet has not been seeing many results. I would not be surprised if we saw a top finish from Uruguay with likely final trips to the World cup for Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. The bigger question marks of the group Ghana and the Korean Republic are likely not going to win this group, but really anything can happen on a stage this large. An upset is definitely possible from either of the two.

After a long four years of wait, it’s time to crown a new champion of the world. Although the tournament will start in November this year, we still expect a thrilling show. This year is likely to be the last time we will see many big names such as Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, and many others. This is also the year for the US to prove themselves after not qualifying in 2018, so there is a chip on their shoulder to at least advance from the group stages.

Finals Prediction: Argentina 2 – Portugal 1

Argentina World Cup Winners