After 12 years of mobilization, controversy and debate, there are only a few days left until the 2022 World Cup.
Can Brazil The end of 20 years of harm? Will Lionel Messi finally lead? Argentina To world glory in his last dance? You have England Have you got what it takes to move on after reaching the semi-finals and then the final of the last two major tournaments? Can the hosts Qatar Rabie a surprise or two? We’re about to find out…
To help give you the inner path, the athlete Produce team guides by local experts on 32 competing teams in Qatar, with profiles of each manager involved in this world Cupoutlining each team’s strengths and weaknesses, naming each country’s potential breakout player, and explaining exactly how much pressure each squad would be subjected to from the media and fans back home.
Perhaps most importantly, they will tell you about the manager who always wears a crisp white jersey for luck, and which team with a fan will walk across the desert to Doha, as the panicked head of state tweeted his best wishes for his stricken country. A star, any group of fans who inexplicably revived an ’80s pop song along their way to the finals, and which goalkeeper is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest throw in the world…
Find answers to all these questions and more in the 32 team guides below.
Group A
Qatar
Ecuador
Senegal
Holland
group b
England
Iran
United States of America
Wells
group C
Argentina
Kingdom Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Poland
group d
France
Australia
Denmark
Tunisia
Group E
Spain
Costa Rica
Germany
Japan
Group F
Belgium
Canada
Morocco
Croatia
Group G
Brazil
Serbia
Switzerland
Cameroon
group h
Portugal
Ghana
Uruguay
South Korea
For a group-by-group analysis of each team’s tactics and how to set them up…
Group A guide: De Jong keeps the Dutch national team going and watches set-pieces in Ecuador
Group B guide: England domination and Iran goalkeeper’s javelin throws
Group C guide: A quick start for Argentina, with Mexico getting older and Poland shying away from possession
Group D guide: France’s high pressure, the inverted Danish flankers and the Australian giants
Group E guide: Spain’s young midfield stars watch out for Germany’s triangles
Group F guide: Belgium free-goals, Croatia cross and Canada
Group G guide: Tadic corner, Swiss pressure and Neymar more complete
Group H guide: Bernardo Silva, conductor, and Uruguayan last dancer
(Interior artwork: Images: Getty Images / Design: Sam Richardson. Top image: Getty Images)
