The World Cup’s hosts and visitors prepare for the football spectacle amidst a number of debates and criticisms. On December 18, the yatra, which began on Sunday, will come to a finish.
The opening match of the largest football tournament in the world, the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2022, will take place on Sunday between Qatar and Ecuador, the hosts. In Uruguay, the 1930 FIFA World Cup got under way. The competition will now crown a new champion at a new location after 92 years. For the first time ever, the Football World Cup is being staged in Qatar. Earlier, the 2018 World Cup was played in Russia, and France won it all after defeating Croatia in the championship match.
32 teams will compete in the 2022 event, which is split up into eight groups. Winners France are paired with Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia in Group D, while Croatia, who finished in second place, are paired with Belgium, Canada, and Morocco in Group F. Hosts Qatar and Ecuador are paired with the Netherlands and Senegal in Group A. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, is in Group C with Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and what may be his final World Cup. England, who finished second at Euro 2020, is placed in Group B with Iran, the United States, and Wales, while Italy, who won the competition, was unable to qualify for the World Cup.
Germany, a four-time World Cup champion, was placed in Group E with Spain, Costa Rica, and Japan. Despite winning the competition in 2014, Germany was eliminated before the knockout rounds in 2018. This time around, the squad will try to make up for those failures.
Five-time world champions Brazil will compete in Group G alongside Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will compete in Group H against Ghana, Uruguay, and the Republic of Korea. Ronaldo, who hopes to help his nation win its first World Cup, would be careful against Uruguay in his group because they were the reason for his team’s elimination from the previous event.
Group A, which also contains the Netherlands, Ecuador, and Senegal, includes Qatar. The only host nation to ever not go past the group stage of the Football World Cup was South Africa in 2010. Qatar’s challenge in such a scenario will be to prevent such collapse.
Given that Senegal and the Netherlands are regarded as formidable opponents, Qatar will have the best chance of defeating Ecuador on Sunday. In the FIFA rankings, Ecuador is rated 44th, while Qatar is placed 50th.
The Qatari team has been getting ready for this competition for a while now.This also covers the team’s participation in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2019 Copa America.The team also demonstrated its skill during this by winning the Asian Cup in 2019.
Coach Felix Sanchez, who has been with the group since 2017, is credited with coming up with that continental title. He formerly oversaw Qatar’s Under-19 team. However, because the competition will be at its highest level here, the success of the Asian Cup cannot be compared to that of the Summer of the World.
The Ecuadorian team, however, wants to do everything possible to overcome Qatar. However, the group was charged with using an ineligible player during World Cup qualifying. Byrne Castillo was accused of having connections to Colombia and participating in qualification games illegally by Chile and Peru. However, such assertion was disproved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Castillo was consequently left off of coach Gustavo Alfaro’s 26-man Qatari team.All of these controversies are anticipated to fade away with the start of the Football Mahakumbh on Sunday, leaving only this match as the topic of conversation.