The new domestic football season is just around the corner with the summer transfer window in full swing. But time flies fast and before you know it, we’re all going to turn our focus at Qatar to witness the biggest football extravaganza in November – which is World Cup 2022.
It’s true that nothing is guaranteed in international football since the playing field looks more competitive than ever, but we’re going to make our group stage predictions nonetheless.
Here at SBOTOP, we dusted off our Magic 8 ball by guessing who will make it out of Groups A to D and today we’ll do the same for Groups E to H.
Group E: 1. Germany, 2. Spain
Experience will be a huge factor in Group E, so we’re picking Spain and Germany to progress to the next round because they have plenty of it. After all, Germany took their fourth World Cup in 2014 and Spain last triumphed in 2010, while Costa Rica and Japan have zero titles combined.
In the 2018 edition of this competition, though, Germany finished at the bottom of their group while Spain went out in the Round of 16, so both nations are aiming to re-establish themselves.
We’ll give Germany the slight edge here because they’ve been in better form as they’re unbeaten in 13 consecutive games since their Euro 2020 defeat to England.
Since taking over as head coach to replace Joachim Low, Hansi Flick has revitalised Die Mannschaft by turning them into a more cohesive unit with their solid mix of young and veteran players. The same can be said for Spain, who are also a formidable squad under Luis Enrique.
Group E underdogs Costa and Rica and Japan will look to prove the pre-World Cup 2022 odds wrong and maybe they’ll win a match, but their overall quality just isn’t up to par with the former World Cup champions.
Group F: 1. Belgium, 2. Croatia
Canada were one of the feel-good stories since they’ve made it back for the first time In 36 years, but they’re in for a rude awakening at the hands of Belgium, Croatia, and even Morocco.
Les Rouges are the biggest underdogs in Group F and they’ll use this upcoming World Cup to gain invaluable experience since they’ll be co-hosting with USA and Mexico in 2026. If they can manage to get positive World Cup 2022 results, of course that would be ideal.
Following an outstanding qualifying campaign, Morocco are delighted to reach this point but they aren’t also expected to do much come November, although they aren’t to be underestimated because they have a handful of top talents who are playing in Europe’s top five leagues.
So Belgium and Croatia should be able to breeze through Group F and it’s just a matter of who will own the bragging rights when they battle for the top berth.
Group G: 1. Brazil, 2. Serbia
Given their overwhelming firepower, Brazil are going to take the top spot in Group G while the second one is up for grabs between Serbia and Switzerland, although we’re inclined to pick the Serbs.
Serbia have a strong core in midfield and in the attack, but their inconsistent defence is what’s holding them back from achieving their full potential. But if the Serbs enter in a shootout with the Swiss, though, they should be able to win since the latter are a bit short up front.
As for Cameroon, they haven’t made it past the group stage since 1990 and this trend is likely to continue this year.
Group H: 1. Portugal, 2. Uruguay
Portugal remain the favourites in Group H, but their margin for error is smaller than before. As for the second spot, we’ll be swinging for the fences by choosing Uruguay to advance.
Even if you remove Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be making his international swansong. The Selecao still have a ton of ammunition compared to their Group H counterparts and it’s really just a matter on how Fernando Santos maximises this squad.
Ghana are likely to finish last, but the battle for second is going to be interesting between Uruguay and South Korea.
The Taeguk Warriors and La Celeste are seemingly level in terms of overall quality and depth, but we’ll side with the latter since they’re on a roll under new manager Diego Alonso.
To their credit, South Korea haven’t missed the World Cup since 1982, but the daunting task of finally ending their knockout stage drought might be too much for them to handle.
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