2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[Sithara007]

It’s very hard to predict who’s going to win or lose any match it’s world cup and every team will be performing his best, we saw in previous cups how small teams could perform sometimes netter than many strong teams and did better. For Qatar now they will play with big advantage as well since it’s their own field but also a big pressure since they should perform good and at least go to the next stage. They have a chance to win against Ecuador and also Senegal then draw against Netherlands which is a very strong opponent 

Ecuador and Netherlands are very strong teams. I don't think that Qatar will be able to win against either one of them. Even a draw looks very unlikely. In case of Senegal, it looks 50-50 for me. Obviously Senegal is one of the strongest teams from the CAF. Sadio Mané is in terrific form at this point and then there are players such as Ismaïla Sarr, Keita Baldé and Cheikhou Kouyaté. It will be tough for Qatar, but at the same time they don't have anything to lose. Actually no one expects them to qualify to the next stage. If they are able to do that, then it will be a big boost for them.

[keyscore44]

I think they're referring to the football team, not the country as a host for the tournament.

And I agree, I don't think Qatar will go to the next stage.

Not a big fan of the Qatari team, but I need to admit that they have performed really well in recent times. They won the Asia Cup in 2019, and reached the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021. Recently, they played a series of friendly matches against national and club sides. The results included 2-1 win over Bulgaria, 2-1 win against Udinese and goalless draws against both Lazio and Fiorentina. A few days back they managed to defeat Nicaragua by a margin of 2-1. This means that we can no longer take Qatar very lightly.

It’s very hard to predict who’s going to win or lose any match it’s world cup and every team will be performing his best, we saw in previous cups how small teams could perform sometimes netter than many strong teams and did better. For Qatar now they will play with big advantage as well since it’s their own field but also a big pressure since they should perform good and at least go to the next stage. They have a chance to win against Ecuador and also Senegal then draw against Netherlands which is a very strong opponent 

World Cup has always been a game of surprises, the team you never expect to perform well comes to do very well. This coming world cup their are many teams that are strong in performance they are coming up to show their best performance. Let see how the game will go and who will win the game.

You are correct. The World Cup means something new. But this World Cup is going to be the best World Cup in history, this time all the teams will try to play well. But this time, I think that Brazil is Argentina's favorite. These two teams have prepared well. I hope we will enjoy this World Cup.

[rahmad2nd]

I dont think Qatar can make a surprise . They are really bad honestly from what i seen and i dont think they can even get one points inside their group. The only chance how they can surprise someone is if they park the bus and try to defend the entire time and maybe attack with a counter attack.

Maybe, but we will never know what will happen when the match is played. because after all, they are the hosts of this world cup.  they benefited a little from playing in front of their own public, the moral support from the local audience would really help them even though it wouldn't have much impact on their game.
Qatar vs Ecuador, became the opening match of this world cup show. and if we look at the rankings between these two squads, they are not far apart, Qatar has 50th and Ecuador has 44th. meaning, Qatar has a chance to win the game and conquer Ecuador.  however, so far Ecuador has more experience in the world cup event than Qatar.

well, let's just enjoy the show later.

[iv4n]

I dont think Qatar can make a surprise . They are really bad honestly from what i seen and i dont think they can even get one points inside their group. The only chance how they can surprise someone is if they park the bus and try to defend the entire time and maybe attack with a counter attack.

Maybe, but we will never know what will happen when the match is played. because after all, they are the hosts of this world cup.  they benefited a little from playing in front of their own public, the moral support from the local audience would really help them even though it wouldn't have much impact on their game.
Qatar vs Ecuador, became the opening match of this world cup show. and if we look at the rankings between these two squads, they are not far apart, Qatar has 50th and Ecuador has 44th. meaning, Qatar has a chance to win the game and conquer Ecuador.  however, so far Ecuador has more experience in the world cup event than Qatar.

well, let's just enjoy the show later.

Ecuador is the favorite by some bookies, I also think it's because Qatar lacks experience... and I definitely agree that we can't underestimate the host nation, support from the local audience is like the 12th player! And the last time they played 4 years ago Qatar won. So this will be an interesting opening, I guess both desperately need 3 points if they wish to have some chances for advancing, and this is the game when they can get 3 points! In later games against Netherlands and Senegal, both of these teams will have troubles.

[sana54210]

According ESPN sport France midfielder N'Golo Kante have absent until three months later after get injury and ability for him absent at  World Cup 2022 Qatar, but good news with Paul Pogba recovery process faster than expected could be another option for France on midfielder position. Actually N'Golo Kante have absent make France have loss most creative holding midfielder as N'Golo Kante but there are have Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni could replacing position leaving by N'Golo Kante or Pogba if can't back to top level trough several weeks later with Juventus. Little optimistic with Paul Pogba because in this season not playing yet and World Cup left few days later and worry can return to top level without several games play for Juventus?

If they end up with missing both of them, that would be terrible, even in this situation they are missing Kante who I believe is better than Pogba, and "maybe" pogba will be able to play, which is not certain and I believe that it's going to be something very difficult for him to come back with 100% neither, a player who is already worse than Kante, will also be worse than his own 100% and be ready for a small chance.

France does have other midfieldiers thankfully but they will be missing Kante for sure. These things happen, there are players who miss world cup before as well and I am guessing Kante won't be the last news neither.

[KTChampions]

Are you confusing anything about Qatar and Covid? Qatar won the right to host the World Cup back in 2010, and it was initially assumed that due to the climate, the championship would be held at such an exotic time. Covid has nothing to do with it.
As for Pogba, he's still recovering from injury (and surgery) and appears to be doing well, but Deschamps said it's not yet clear if he'll include him in the squad.

Normally we don't have world cup scheduled in November-December. For example, Russia 2018 was held in June-July. I thought that the tournament was moved to November, due to COVID. It never came to my mind that Qatar is located in the middle of desert and weather would be intolerable during June-July. Anyway, no one is complaining about the weather in Qatar right now and therefore I believe that the organizers did a good job.

Thanks for the information about Pogba. It is still not clear whether he will participate in Qatar 2022. But one thing is sure. France would be significantly weakened if he doesn't play.

The result of the season (and such an exotic World Cup), in my opinion, can only be summed up after the national championships resume and we will see how such a calendar of games affected the results of the teams. It seems to me that most of the top clubs (whose opinion is the most significant) will be unhappy.
Deschamps has a wide choice, but only he knows who he will prefer - an experienced Pogda who is recovering from an injury, or for example Tchuameni who will be functionally much better prepared, plus he will be more motivated.

[Daniel91]

I agree that in every world cup the hosts have a slight advantage, but personally I think Qatar is probably the weakest host ever in a world cup in terms of team quality and I don't expect them to make it to the knockout stages of the world cup.
The Netherlands is one of the favorites of this world championship, and Senegal, if I remember correctly, is the runner-up of Africa.
Senegal also have a good chance of reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup and perhaps equaling their greatest World Cup success, the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup.

If I am not mistaken in the history of the World Cup, there have been at most a couple of exceptions when the hosts of the tournament did not advance from the group to the next round of the competition. Qatar has every chance to add to the list of these exceptions, although given their strong corrupt "magic" with which they generally got the right to host the tournament, you can expect some surprises, haha.

I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

[nullama]

~snip~
I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

Yeah, it's a huge advantage to host the world cup. But the thing is that the previous world cups have been usually held in countries in which they have a strong team to begin with, such as Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, Uruguay, and so on.

This is probably the first time that it's going to be held in a relatively weaker country. Maybe Korea-Japan 2002 could be comparable up to a point, and even then they managed to go past the first stage, which has been their all time best performance for both Korea and Japan.

We'll have to see if the boost for playing local is enough for Qatar.

[Sithara007]

Yeah, it's a huge advantage to host the world cup. But the thing is that the previous world cups have been usually held in countries in which they have a strong team to begin with, such as Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, Uruguay, and so on.

This is probably the first time that it's going to be held in a relatively weaker country. Maybe Korea-Japan 2002 could be comparable up to a point, and even then they managed to go past the first stage, which has been their all time best performance for both Korea and Japan.

We'll have to see if the boost for playing local is enough for Qatar.

I mentioned this previously. The Qatari national team has performed quite well in the recent few months, during the international friendlies and informal matches against various European club sides. And then during the world cup, they will be playing matches in their home ground, and that will give them an added advantage. But the first obstacle would be to get past the group stage. They are placed in a very tough group, alongside Netherlands, Ecuador and Senegal. And these three are very tough opponents.

[Daniel91]

~snip~
I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

Yeah, it's a huge advantage to host the world cup. But the thing is that the previous world cups have been usually held in countries in which they have a strong team to begin with, such as Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, Uruguay, and so on.

This is probably the first time that it's going to be held in a relatively weaker country. Maybe Korea-Japan 2002 could be comparable up to a point, and even then they managed to go past the first stage, which has been their all time best performance for both Korea and Japan.

We'll have to see if the boost for playing local is enough for Qatar.

I wouldn't really compare South Korea and Japan with Qatar, because Korea and Japan have a much longer football tradition, they have invested much more in football, and they have a much larger population and a much larger football base.
Just look at their results in the last world cups, Korea and Japan often make it to the knockout stages of world cups and achieving great results.
Ok, it seems that Qatar is currently achieving good results in friendly matches, but does anyone seriously think that they would have qualified for this World Cup if they did not have the direct right to participate as hosts?

[Boristhecat]

If I am not mistaken in the history of the World Cup, there have been at most a couple of exceptions when the hosts of the tournament did not advance from the group to the next round of the competition. Qatar has every chance to add to the list of these exceptions, although given their strong corrupt "magic" with which they generally got the right to host the tournament, you can expect some surprises, haha.

Actually, I don't expect any surprises in this regard. Qatar will probably leave the tournament without reaching the next round. They have a mediocre squad and will only qualify for the tournament because they are the host country. The Netherlands will likely lead in Qatar's group, with Ecuador and Senegal vying for second place.

The Netherlands is an obvious favorite for the first place, and in my opinion Senegal is the favorite for the second place - this is a strong team, but Ecuador, although on paper it is weaker, has already presented surprises at the World Cups and they even managed to reach the 1/8 finals. Therefore, Ecuador cannot be discounted. The problem is that I don't know anything about the Qatar national team, and judging by the posts on the forum, not many people know, haha. Maybe they have already taken naturalized Brazilians and other professionals to the national team who, for a lot of money (which there is in Qatar), agreed to change their citizenship.

[FanEagle]

The Netherlands is an obvious favorite for the first place, and in my opinion Senegal is the favorite for the second place - this is a strong team, but Ecuador, although on paper it is weaker, has already presented surprises at the World Cups and they even managed to reach the 1/8 finals. Therefore, Ecuador cannot be discounted. The problem is that I don't know anything about the Qatar national team, and judging by the posts on the forum, not many people know, haha. Maybe they have already taken naturalized Brazilians and other professionals to the national team who, for a lot of money (which there is in Qatar), agreed to change their citizenship.

This group has been talked about a lot, and netherlands+senegal duo is just way too good to lose to a team like Qatar, and that’s not going to change. We will have to watch and see of course, that doesn't mean it's guaranteed, but if anyone ever wants to wager on these games, do you really think that it wouldn't be a huge risk to bet on Qatar to win? They are going to lose and Senegal and the Dutch will go up.

However, that won't even matter in the end, because I believe they will lose too, we already know the favourites of the tournament, which means that neither Netherlands nor Senegal would be able to go too much further ahead after they leave the groups.

[nullama]

~snip~
I wouldn't really compare South Korea and Japan with Qatar, because Korea and Japan have a much longer football tradition, they have invested much more in football, and they have a much larger population and a much larger football base.
Just look at their results in the last world cups, Korea and Japan often make it to the knockout stages of world cups and achieving great results.
Ok, it seems that Qatar is currently achieving good results in friendly matches, but does anyone seriously think that they would have qualified for this World Cup if they did not have the direct right to participate as hosts?

Yeah, I agree. It's probably just the closest teams, yet still a bit different.

Given the group that Qatar is in, I really doubt they will go to the next stage.

My guess is that Ecuador and The Netherlands are the two teams that will end up moving forward, even though it will probably be a really tough group anyway.

[usekevin]

Now the team Qatar was strong enough against the many team.So the two team jointly can win the games against Qatar and weak them so.The best combo for the Qatar will be Netherlands and Senegal.The betting on Qatar May lose your bet money.Instead bet on the Team like Dutch and Senegal.This two team was strong enough to win the Qatar.Qatar should need to improve his game,before they had a match against the Dutch.The coach of Qatar had huge responsibility over a team to win against the Dutch.

[Sithara007]

Now the team Qatar was strong enough against the many team.So the two team jointly can win the games against Qatar and weak them so.The best combo for the Qatar will be Netherlands and Senegal.The betting on Qatar May lose your bet money.Instead bet on the Team like Dutch and Senegal.This two team was strong enough to win the Qatar.Qatar should need to improve his game,before they had a match against the Dutch.The coach of Qatar had huge responsibility over a team to win against the Dutch.

Surprising that you are not even considering Ecuador. IMO, they have a real chance of topping Group A. One lesson that I have learnt from the previous editions of the world cup is not to underestimate the CONMEBOL teams. They are at entirely at another level, even if we compare them to other confederations such as the UEFA. Qatar and Senegal are strong sides as well, but I don't know whether they will be able to compete in a meaningful way against Ecuador. Even the Dutch should be worried about them.

[rahmad2nd]

I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

Maybe we don't have much information about Qatar. however, what most people rarely know is that they are the finalists of the 2019 asia cup. meaning, they deserve to appear in this world cup even if they get an automatic ticket because they are the host.  Qatar's football development began to be better than the rest of Asia, they even overthrew South Korea and Japan.

Qatar is ranked 50th in FIFA, not too bad in my opinion personally. although, we agree their chances are very slim to qualify for the next phase.

[blue_hurricanger]

~snip~
I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

Yeah, it's a huge advantage to host the world cup. But the thing is that the previous world cups have been usually held in countries in which they have a strong team to begin with, such as Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, Uruguay, and so on.

This is probably the first time that it's going to be held in a relatively weaker country. Maybe Korea-Japan 2002 could be comparable up to a point, and even then they managed to go past the first stage, which has been their all time best performance for both Korea and Japan.

We'll have to see if the boost for playing local is enough for Qatar.

I wouldn't really compare South Korea and Japan with Qatar, because Korea and Japan have a much longer football tradition, they have invested much more in football, and they have a much larger population and a much larger football base.
Just look at their results in the last world cups, Korea and Japan often make it to the knockout stages of world cups and achieving great results.
Ok, it seems that Qatar is currently achieving good results in friendly matches, but does anyone seriously think that they would have qualified for this World Cup if they did not have the direct right to participate as hosts?

No, of course. No one holding that illusion. Before, Qatar isn't on the same level as some of the MENA teams in the region. If not for the host right, they wouldn't even pass against other strong teams like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Qatar recently got good only because of the massive preparation for this World Cup. They got a lot of new players under their national team, buying and transferring left and right just for the stake to put up a good face as a host. I'm damn sure after this World Cup is over, Qatar will fall back to its place, behind stronger teams in MENA. Money can only buy them some temporary victories before and a bit after this World Cup.

[Juggy777]

~snip~
I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.

Yeah, it's a huge advantage to host the world cup. But the thing is that the previous world cups have been usually held in countries in which they have a strong team to begin with, such as Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, Uruguay, and so on.

This is probably the first time that it's going to be held in a relatively weaker country. Maybe Korea-Japan 2002 could be comparable up to a point, and even then they managed to go past the first stage, which has been their all time best performance for both Korea and Japan.

We'll have to see if the boost for playing local is enough for Qatar.

I wouldn't really compare South Korea and Japan with Qatar, because Korea and Japan have a much longer football tradition, they have invested much more in football, and they have a much larger population and a much larger football base.
Just look at their results in the last world cups, Korea and Japan often make it to the knockout stages of world cups and achieving great results.
Ok, it seems that Qatar is currently achieving good results in friendly matches, but does anyone seriously think that they would have qualified for this World Cup if they did not have the direct right to participate as hosts?

No, of course. No one holding that illusion. Before, Qatar isn't on the same level as some of the MENA teams in the region. If not for the host right, they wouldn't even pass against other strong teams like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Qatar recently got good only because of the massive preparation for this World Cup. They got a lot of new players under their national team, buying and transferring left and right just for the stake to put up a good face as a host. I'm damn sure after this World Cup is over, Qatar will fall back to its place, behind stronger teams in MENA. Money can only buy them some temporary victories before and a bit after this World Cup.

I will also jump the bandwagon of people saying NO, and if I could swap them for another team then I would have gladly use it to bring back Italy. Furthermore do you’ll think that it’ll be a nice opportunity to make some quick bucks while wagering against them, and even though I’m expecting super low odds I yet feel that we can earn some good bucks on their matches if we get lucky.

[wiss19]

Before, Qatar isn't on the same level as some of the MENA teams in the region. If not for the host right, they wouldn't even pass against other strong teams like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Qatar recently got good only because of the massive preparation for this World Cup. They got a lot of new players under their national team, buying and transferring left and right just for the stake to put up a good face as a host. I'm damn sure after this World Cup is over, Qatar will fall back to its place, behind stronger teams in MENA. Money can only buy them some temporary victories before and a bit after this World Cup.

Here I agree about this all Qatar is surely having good quality, and they are participating in this world cup just because of host but keep one thing remember right now they are spending good amount on their domestic set up, and they have services of many world-class coaches and players which is surely improving quality and having good soccer structure which is going to help them in future for having better quality and skilled players which are going to help them for having better results.

Few weeks back there was an offer for Ronaldo to join Qatar club surely this was one of the biggest offer, but he refused, and another big point Xavi was also coach in Qatar club before joining Barcelona, so they are hiring top quality players and coaches for better development, and they have enough money for doing things like these which is surely a big positive point for them soccer in Qatar even after this world cup.

[nullama]

~snip~
I will also jump the bandwagon of people saying NO, and if I could swap them for another team then I would have gladly use it to bring back Italy. Furthermore do you’ll think that it’ll be a nice opportunity to make some quick bucks while wagering against them, and even though I’m expecting super low odds I yet feel that we can earn some good bucks on their matches if we get lucky.

That's an interesting point.

But I'm not sure if the payout would be great in that bet. I'm sure the local advantage is taken into consideration when calculating the odds of Qatar, so I don't think it would be a crazy bet.

You never know though, maybe the other teams are not having a great day, etc, and Qatar being the host is full of luck and gets to the next round. We'll have to wait and see...