The World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest football event there is. It brings together numerous national teams and renowned and well-known players playing with the same purpose: to make their country a world champion. As it is something of extreme desire, the national teams train with great fervor to achieve the goal.
Therefore, inevitably, even before the event begins, some teams are already considered favorites for the title and, in large part, because of what they showed in the knockout phase, in friendly matches and their history in previous competitions. To see this in more depth, we have separated 8 teams that have morale at the top and are seen by many people as possible champions of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil
Without any mystery, the Brazilian team is seen as a real candidate for the title and that’s not surprising. It ended up occupying 1st place in the knockout stages and undefeated, as out of 17 games, it won 14 and drew 3. It is worth remembering that Brazil and Argentina had one round less, due to breaches of public health protocol regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. ANVISA banned and ended the match that was already in progress.
In addition to the excellent numbers and performance, the selection also has a great squad, made up of experienced players in the World Cup and others who are having their first opportunity now, but who demonstrate extreme capacity and skill due to their achievements in their teams. Like, for example, Vinicius Jr, who scored the goal that made Real Madrid the current champion of the UEFA Champions League.
If it wins the competition, Brazil will become the dreamed six-time world champion.
Argentina
Selection of one of the greatest stars in the world, Lionel Messi, Argentina also has its highlight due to the achievements. After all, it comes from an undefeated phase that already adds up to more than 30 games and with a very well-consolidated team that knows how to take advantage of the main player it has. Like Brazil, they went through the knockout stage without suffering any defeat, with 11 wins and 6 draws.
France
Impossible to make a list of title favorites and not mention the current world champion. Especially because a good part of the squad that played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where it took the title home, are still active. Particularly noteworthy is Karim Benzema, with a memorable performance in the 2021/2022 edition of the Champions League and winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or, and Kylian Mbappé, who despite recent and major controversies at PSG, is still the team’s top scorer and one of the protagonists for winning the title four years ago and that, certainly, will cause at least a certain amount of concern in the opposing teams.
Germany
Champion in 2014 and who starred in the unforgettable score of 7×1 over Brazil, it is currently in the most competitive group of this edition, group E, facing challenges such as: Spain, Costa Rica and Japan. Despite this, the selection has experienced names that should by no means be ignored.
Spain
The Spanish national team comes with a great proposal for internal restructuring and the good performance in the knockout phase raised spirits and is in a considerable position in the FIFA ranking. However, the work needs to continue to be continuous so that the same regrettable end that occurred in 2014 does not happen again. If it manages to go through the hard work of facing the selections of group E, it is a very strong candidate for the title.
Belgium
The Belgian team does not have any title of world champion but is currently among the favorites to win the competition. This is due to its performance in the knockout phase and also to having some important names in its squad, such as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and striker Romelo Lukaku.
Portugal
As much as their classification was through the recap of the qualifiers, the Portuguese team, which has one of the biggest names in football, Cristiano Ronaldo, as its main player, cannot be discarded so easily from favoritism. Especially because the union of CR7, Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, striker Diogo Jota of Liverpool and João Félix of Atlético Madrid make experts analyze this squad as one of the strongest in the history of Portugal.
England
With Harry Kane as the main star and new talents with good levels in their clubs, the English team arrives strong as a candidate for the title after qualifying undefeated in the knockout stage. It is also worth highlighting the participation of Holland and Denmark who, despite not being definitively favorites for the title, are in the last FIFA ranking before the Cup, with 1694.51 and 1666.57 points respectively.