A Look at the 2022 World Cup Teams

Scotland v Ukraine World Cup Semi-Final Playoff 1 June 2022

The two teams will meet at Hampden Park, Scotland, and attempt to win their place in the playoff final. Both teams will be highly motivated with Scotland having the chance to play Wales and potentially another chance to beat England having valiantly drawn against them at Euro 2020. Ukraine will are likely to be wearing their hearts on their sleeves and determined to give their nation something to smile about.

Winner of Playoff Semi-Final v Wales 5 June 2022

The winner of Scotland v Ukraine will set up a playoff final against Wales. Wales like Scotland will want to test their skills against England in the World Cup group A, with the potential of an all-British tie.

UAE V Australia World Cup Playoff Semi-Final 6 June 2022

United Arab Emirates take on Australia in this game with the winner qualifying for the playoff final against Peru. UAE are aiming to qualify for only the second time; their last appearance in the World Cup was in 1990 when they lost all three games. Australia has a history of losing playoff qualification matches; it happened in 1966, 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2002. However, they have qualified for the previous four World Cups.

Winner of Playoff Semi-Final v Peru June 2022

The winner of UAE v Australia will play Peru to determine which team qualifies for the World Cup. If Peru are successful, it will be the sixth-time they will have qualified for the World Cup group stages.

Costa Rica v New Zealand World Cup Playoff Final 13 June 2022

Costa Rica is ranked 31 in the world rankings. If New Zealand beat Costa Rica, they will have the lowest ranking (101) in the World Cup. Costa Rica are aiming to qualify for the sixth time and they were World Cup quarter-finalists in 2014. New Zealand will attempt to qualify for only the third time.

Now we have looked at those remaining places, let’s see what happened in the World Cup draw in Doha 1 April 2022 and how each group looks (the world rankings are shown in brackets).

Group A:              Qatar (51), Ecuador (46), Senegal (20), Netherlands (10)

Group B:              England (5), Iran (21), USA (15), Wales (18) or Ukraine (27) or Scotland (39)

Group C:              Argentina (4), Saudi Arabia (49), Mexico (9), Poland (26)

Group D:             France (3), Denmark (11), Tunisia (35), Australia (42) or UAE (68) or Peru (22)

Group E:              Spain (7), Germany (12), Japan, Costa Rica (31) or New Zealand (101)

Group F:              Belgium (2), Canada (38), Morocco (24), Croatia (16)

Group G:             Brazil (1), Serbia (25), Switzerland (14), Cameroon (37)

Group H:             Portugal (8), Ghana, Uruguay (13), Korea Republic (29)

Now you are familiar with the group stage draw, we can take a closer look at some of the teams that have qualified.

Poland:

The 2022 World Cup will be the eighth time Poland has qualified for the tournament. Their greatest successes came in 1974 and 1982 when, on each occasion, they finished third. 

Argentina:

Argentina has only ever failed to qualify for four World Cups, the last of which was in 1970. The national team hold the fourth most appearances in the tournament and have won it twice in 1978 and 1986. They have also finished runners up on three occasions. 

France:

The current World Cup champions, France has a rich World Cup history having won the competition twice, finished runners up once and claiming third place twice. They participated in 15 World Cup tournaments.

Portugal:

Another team with a strong squad full of star players, Portugal will take part in their eighth World Cup tournament on 2022. There greatest achievement came in 1966 when they finished in third place. They also finished fourth in 2006 and they will be looking for a strong tournament. 

Belgium:

Belgium has appeared in the World Cup 14 times with a fourth-place finish in the 1986 Mexico World Cup tournament. Their best finish came at the last World Cup when they finished in third place. 

Brazil:

How can we not mention Brazil? They are the most decorated of all the national football teams in the World Cup. They are five-time winners of the tournament and have twice finished second, third and fourth. The team that won in 1970 is said to be one of the best to have featured in the World Cup. 

England:

Fourth place in 2018 and runners-up at Euro 2020, England have experience playing in major games at the biggest football tournaments. Winners in 1966 when they beat West Germany 4 – 2, the game is remembered for the only ever World Cup final hat-trick.

Regardless of which team you support, we have all you need to bet on the World Cup here at mr.play. However, we passionately believe in responsible gambling and would urge anyone who with concerns to approach an organisation such as gambleaware.co.uk for free support and advice.