GROUP-BY-GROUP GUIDE

2022-11-19 -

GROUP A

BY MATTHEW DUNN QATAR

Coach: Felix Sanchez

Star player: Almoez Ali

World Cup best: Debut

Prospects: Hosts are making their first appearance in the finals and have failed to do much against any qualified teams in friendlies.

ECUADOR

Coach: Gustavo Alfaro

Star player: Moises Caicedo

World Cup best: Second round 2006 Prospects: In poor form with three points from their last four qualifiers. It’s 10 games since they scored more than one goal.

SENEGAL

Coach: Aliou Cisse

Star player: Idrissa Gueye

World Cup best: Quarter-finals 2002 Prospects: Will badly miss Sadio Mane but Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyate have a wealth of experience. NETHERLANDS Coach: Louis van Gaal Star player: Virgil van Dijk World Cup best: Runners up 1974, 1978, 2010 Prospects: Impressive in qualifying and unbeaten in Nations League. Strong side in good form – contenders.

GROUP B

BY MATTHEW DUNN

ENGLAND

Coach: Gareth Southgate

Star player: Harry Kane

World Cup best: Winners 1966 Prospects: Semi-final... final... fans are looking for that win and England can do it – but so can half a dozen other teams.

IRAN

Coach: Carlos Queiroz

Star player: Sardar Azmoun

World Cup best: First round 1978,

1998, 2006, 2014, 2018

Prospects: With Carlos Queiroz in charge and three strikers with nearly 100 international goals between them, could be a surprise package.

USA

Coach: Gregg Berhalter

Star player: Christian Pulisic

World Cup best: Third 1930

Prospects: Gregg Berhalter is unashamedly using the ‘Gareth Southgate’ way to rebuild USA’s fortunes but they are still years behind.

WALES

Coach: Robert Page

Star player: Gareth Bale

World Cup best: Quarter-finals 1958 Prospects: With Bale six years older, a repeat of 2016 seems too much to hope for. But with the Welsh you never know.

GROUP C

BY DAVID McDONNELL

ARGENTINA

Coach: Lionel Scaloni

Star player: Lionel Messi

World Cup best: Winners 1978, 1986 Prospects: With such a formidable squad, particularly in attack, they can go all the way in what will be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup.

SAUDI ARABIA

Coach: Herve Renard

Star player: Salem Al-Dawsari

World Cup best: Second round 1994 Prospects: Drawn in such a tough group, finishing third would be a stunning achievement for Saudi Arabia, who have it all to do not to finish bottom.

MEXICO

Coach: Gerardo Martino

Star player: Edson Alvarez

World Cup best: Quarter-finals 1970, 1986 Prospects: Vying with Poland for the runners’-up spot behind group favourites Argentina, but unpredictable at major tournaments.

POLAND

Coach: Czeslaw Michniewicz

Star player: Robert Lewandowski

World Cup best: Third place 1974, 1982 Prospects: Bottom of their group in the last two major tournaments, Poland need their star man Robert Lewandowski to shine.

GROUP D

BY DAVID McDONNELL

FRANCE

Coach: Didier Deschamps

Star player: Kylian Mbappe

World Cup best: Winners 1998, 2018 Prospects: Defending champions and tipped by many to retain their title, with Benzema and Mbappe in attack, they have every chance. AUSTRALIA Coach: Graham Arnold Star player: Mathew Ryan World Cup best: Second round 2006 Prospects: With France and Denmark favourites to progress, the Socceroos face a tough task, and a lack of squad depth may cost them. DENMARK Coach: Kasper Hjulmand Star player: Christian Eriksen World Cup best: Quarter-finals 1998 Prospects: With Christian Eriksen back after his cardiac arrest last year and thriving at Manchester United, the Danes have high expectations in Qatar. TUNISIA Coach: Jalel Kadri Star player: Wahbi Khazri World Cup best: First round 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018

Prospects: Rank outsiders, but have exciting young talent in Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, currently on loan at Birmingham.

GROUP E

BY JEREMY CROSS

SPAIN

Coach: Luis Enrique

Star player: Sergio Busquets

World Cup best: Winners 2010

Prospects: Emerging as one of the brightest sides in Europe, having reached the Euros semis. One of the dark horses.

COSTA RICA

Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez

Star player: Keylor Navas

World Cup best: Quarter-finals 2014 Prospects: The last time they were drawn in a group with two European powerhouses Suarez’s men produced a huge shock. Why not do it again?

GERMANY

Coach: Hansi Flick

Star player: Manuel Neuer

World Cup best: Winners 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014

Prospects: The last World Cup was a national disaster for the Germans, who are back with a blend of stars old and new in a bid to make amends.

JAPAN

Coach: Hajime Moriyasu

Star player: Daichi Kamada

World Cup best: Second round 2002, 2010 and 2018

Prospects: Blew a golden chance to make the quarter-finals last time and will be hoping greater experience can see them produce a few surprises.

GROUP F JEREMY CROSS

BELGIUM

Coach: Roberto Martinez

Star player: Kevin De Bruyne

World Cup best: Third place 2018 Prospects: If one team needed to lift the trophy to justify its so-called ‘golden generation’ before it’s too late, then this is it.

CANADA

Coach: John Herdman

Star player: Alphonso Davies

World Cup best: First round 1986 Prospects: Canada’s last appearance saw a rapid first round exit, but this new generation will feel confident of making a substantial impact this time round.

MOROCCO

Coach: Walid Regragui

Star player: Hakim Ziyech

World Cup best: Second round 1986 Prospects: Given the chaotic nature of their build up to this tournament, which included a managerial change, Morocco will take some predicting.

CROATIA

Coach: Zlatko Dalic

Star player: Luka Modric

World Cup best: Runners-up 2018 Prospects: They still have one of the best midfield groups around, but time may well have caught up with them.

GROUP G

BY CHRIS McKENNA BRAZIL Coach: Tite Star player: Neymar World Cup best: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002

Prospects: They are the favourites and when you look at their squad you can see why.

SERBIA

Coach: Dragan Stojkovic

Star player: Dusan Tadic

World Cup best: First round 2010, 2018 (Yugoslavia finished fourth in 1930 and 1962) Prospects: Will hope to reach the last 16 if Tadic can deliver on the big stage. SWITZERLAND

Coach: Murat Yakin

Star player: Granit Xhaka

World Cup best: Quarter-finals 1934, 1938, 1954

Prospects: They will be confident in the battle for second in their group but Xhaka must perform.