Season: 2022
Croatia
Croatia
Pedigree For Croatia, reaching the semifinals in 1998, in its World Cup debut, was remarkable enough. Getting all the way to the final four years ago was one of the most astonishing performances in the tournament’s history. Croatia, as a rule, should not be discounted.
Ambition Croatia earned its place in Qatar with relative ease, but its showing in last summer’s European Championship — where it was eliminated, in one of the most chaotic games in human history, by Spain in the last 16 — indicates that a repeat of four years ago may be a step too far.
The Story The core of the team that carried Zlatko Dalic’s team to the 2018 final remains in place, including the apparently ageless Luka Modric. As with several other teams, there is a feeling that Croatia’s stars have gathered in the hope of a golden, glorious sunset.
Canada
Canada
Pedigree Canada’s relief and delight at qualifying for its first World Cup since 1986 should not be confused with contentment to travel to Qatar just to make up the numbers. John Herdman’s team sailed through a qualifying process that the U.S. and Mexico found particularly fraught.
The Stars Two players stand out from the generation that ended Canada’s wait: Alphonso Davies, likely already the finest player the country has ever produced, and the forward Jonathan David. The rest of the squad, though, should not be lightly dismissed: Stephen Eustaquio, Tajon Buchanan and Cyle Larin are all thriving in the Champions League.
Key Question There was precious little romance in the group stage draw — Canada has every reason to feel a little harshly treated by fate — but if Herdman can find a way to unleash Davies and David, in particular, Canada may trouble all three of its illustrious opponents.
Morocco
Morocco
Pedigree Morocco has an encouraging balance: an obdurate defense flanked by two of the world’s best fullbacks, Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui; a midfield graced by the scheming of Hakim Ziyech; and an attack spearheaded by Youssef En-Nesyri. Qualification was suitably straightforward, and expectations are high.
The Curse Vahid Halilhodzic, a Bosnian and one of soccer’s great knights errant, oversaw Morocco’s qualification for the tournament, meaning he has now taken four teams to the World Cup in a long, distinguished and adventurous career. He has, though actually coached only one team at a World Cup. Morocco maintained that pattern by firing him in August.
Key Question The rationale behind Halilhodzic’s dismissal was that he had ostracized two of Morocco’s stars, Ziyech and Mazraoui, for disciplinary reasons. Now he is gone and they are back. Both will be under pressure to prove that was the correct decision.
Belgium
Belgium
Pedigree It would be easy to dismiss this generation of Belgian players as a disappointment; they have spent almost a decade, after all, being hailed as contenders to win a major trophy. They might not have won one, but they made the semifinals in 2018, and have spent most of the last four years ranked as the best team in the world. That’s not bad.
The Story Belgium’s bright young prospects have, by now, grown gray and old. Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen are all now the high side of 30, and Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco are hurtling toward that line. This could be one tournament too many, or it could be a glorious last hurrah.
Key Question For the first time in years, it does not feel as if Belgium enters the tournament under any particular pressure. Roberto Martínez’s team has not been mentioned as a possible winner. Hazard and Lukaku have been cast as yesterday’s men. Could that be a blessing?
Japan
Japan
Ambition Japan has qualified for every World Cup since 1998, generally alternating between elimination in the group phase and an exit in the round of 16. The coach, Hajime Moriyasu, has a sufficiently strong squad to see the latter as an achievable aim, though having to face Germany and Spain does not help.
Experience The vast majority of Moriyasu’s squad now plays in Europe: There are only seven representatives of J League clubs among his selected 26, and two of them have only recently returned home. At least in theory, this may be the strongest, most experienced, team Japan has ever taken to a World Cup.
Key Question If there is one flaw in Moriyasu’s squad, it is up front. Japan has no shortage of creative players — Takumi Minamino, Junya Ito, Takefusa Kubo, Daichi Kamada — but finding a reliable source of goals has been a problem for some time. It shows no sign of alleviating.
Germany
Germany
Pedigree It is a curiosity of the draw that Germany should find itself in a group with Spain, given the parallels between the two. Like Spain, Germany followed up winning the World Cup, in 2014, with a scarring group stage exit four years later. Like Spain, Germany has responded by naming a squad shot through with young talent.
The Missing Germany’s unassuming, popular coach, Hansi Flick, might, in his gloomier moments, reflect that his resources have been thinned by injury more than most. Losing Timo Werner, Marco Reus and Florian Wirtz is a blow, but it means a chance for the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko, the Borussia Dortmund striker who turns 18 this month.
Key Question There is still a sense that Germany is trapped between two generations: the one represented by Thomas Müller, now well into his 30s, and the one represented by his heir for club and country, Jamal Musiala. Flick’s task is to build a team that can accentuate the best of both.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Pedigree Nobody had to wait as long as Costa Rica to seal a place in Qatar — its playoff victory against New Zealand completed the field — but that does not mean it should be dismissed as a makeweight. This is a country that has reached the quarterfinals more recently than Spain, for example.
The Coach Luis Fernando Suárez has already been to the World Cup twice, once with Ecuador and once with Honduras, and his willingness to blood a new generation of players helped invigorate a listless Costa Rica and win a spot in Qatar. A couple of old-timers, like Celso Borges and Bryan Ruiz, remain, but this is now very much a team built by Suárez.
Key Question The group stage draw means few expect Costa Rica to repeat its heroics of 2014, when it came within a penalty shootout of making the semifinals. Its group that year, after all, was far harder, at least on paper: England, Italy and Uruguay. If anything, Costa Rica should probably go farther this time.
Spain
Spain
Pedigree Spain’s fall from grace was swift and brutal. The country produced certainly the most successful — and arguably the greatest — national team of all time between 2008 and 2012, winning three consecutive major tournaments, including its maiden World Cup in 2010. Since then, it has been a bitter disappointment, losing in the group stage in 2014 and in the last 16 in 2018.
The Story Luis Enrique, the coach, has taken it upon himself to snap Spain out of its nostalgic reverie. Of that great generation, only Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba remain. The squad is distinctly youthful, and the team is likely to be built around Pedri and Gavi, Barcelona’s teen sensations young enough to be Busquets’s children.
Key Question The freshness of Spain’s squad will make it a fascinating proposition, but much will depend on Enrique’s risk tolerance. Will he throw caution to the wind and unleash Ansu Fati, Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino? Or will the better known qualities of Álvaro Morata prove more appealing?
Tunisia
Tunisia
Pedigree Tunisia secured a place in its sixth World Cup in steady, rather than spectacular, fashion. The country conceded only two goals over six games during Africa’s second phase of qualifying and then slipped past Mali in a playoff thanks to a single goal over two legs. Do not expect the Eagles of Carthage to be a soft touch.
Ambition Being in the same group as France and Denmark might seem to inhibit Tunisia’s aspirations, but Coach Jalel Kadri has vowed to leave if his team is eliminated in the group stage. Not reaching the last 16, he said earlier this year, would be a “failure.”
Reality On paper, Tunisia is likely the weakest of Africa’s five qualifiers, though the squad has been bolstered in the last few years by an influx of players with Tunisian heritage. Hannibal Mejbri, a combative and charismatic midfielder employed by Manchester United, is the most high-profile, but the inventive Anis Ben Slimane is an intriguing prospect, too.
Denmark
Denmark
Pedigree There will be a temptation to describe Denmark as a dark horse, but it does not quite fit. Kasper Hjulmand’s team reached the semifinals of the European Championship in 2021, qualified imperiously, and has beaten France twice in the last five months. There is absolutely nothing dark about the Danes.
The Story Christian Eriksen’s inclusion in the squad may be the most touching story of the whole World Cup. It has been only 18 months since Eriksen collapsed on the field during the European Championship. For months, it seemed unlikely — and largely unimportant — that he would play again. His return makes Denmark a sentimental favorite.
Ambition Denmark’s size, and its comparative lack of stars, means it will never be regarded as a true contender for the title, but it would be no surprise to see Hjulmand’s side make the quarterfinals, at the very least. That would match the country’s best World Cup performance.