Qatar 2022: Group C Preview

After four and a half years the 2022 World Cup is almost upon us. This edition is perhaps the most controversial ever with host nation Qatar’s human rights record and treatment of migrant workers a serious issue in the buildup. The awarding of the tournament to the Middle Eastern country meant a traditional summer World Cup was out of the question due to high temperatures spawning the first ever winter World Cup. Nevertheless the month long festival of football looks set to thrill us with some of the biggest stars in the game hoping to lead their nation to glory.

Here’s a comprehensive look at Qatar 2022’s Group C, with Argentina, Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia looking to book their place in the knockout stages of the tournament.

ARGENTINA

Argentina come into this World Cup in the best form of any team at the tournament. Lionel Scaloni’s side are unbeaten in 35 games, a run that dates back to 2019. If they can avoid defeat in the group stages in Qatar, they will set a new record for international men’s football.

Of course, the ambition is to go rather further than that. Eliminated in the round of 16 by eventual winners France in 2018, Lionel Messi and the rest will be targeting the country’s sixth World Cup final – and a first win since Diego Maradona captained the team to victory in Mexico in 1986.

There is reason for optimism. Despite the presence of perhaps the greatest player to ever play the game, this is a team that is better than the sum of its parts. A clear identity and a settled side means that players know their jobs. When tested, this team has impressed most.

That shone through as they won the Copa America last year, a first major honour for 28 years and a galvanising experience for a group that has undergone little change since. Whether it will be enough to conquer the world remains to be seen, but their big-game record is encouraging.

They beat Brazil in the Maracana to lift that trophy, defeating Uruguay along the way. More recently, there was the emphatic three-goal over European champions Italy in the Finalissima at Wembley. All those matches were won to nil – the sort of efficiency that wins tournaments.

Given their Copa America success, the Argentina team comes into this World Cup more settled than most. The front three of Messi, Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria is certain to spearhead their campaign. Much of the debate in the country has focused on fringe selection issues.

There is a debate about the right-back role, some favouring Gonzalo Montiel over Nahuel Molina, while there are those who wonder whether Leandro Paredes has the necessary quality in midfield.

The minor nature of the supposedly contentious issues might be seen as evidence of a paucity of options outside the group but it is also testament to the unity and clarity that Scaloni has been able to develop since his then-underwhelming appointment in 2018.

Scaloni does not have the embarrassment of riches boasted by other nations – this is an Argentina team that was built out of players who were competing in the Europa League.

Some of those players, thanks to their good performances for the national team, play at Champions League level. But it is a team which, initially, was made out of players who were not at the same level as the other big national teams competing for the World Cup.

The hope is that this is beginning to change. While Messi and Di Maria will need to roll back the years in Qatar, much of the squad are in their prime. Cristian Romero is 24 and developing into a top-class centre-back. Martinez is 25. Rodrigo De Paul, 28, was superb at the Copa America.

in terms of the names, it is a team with fewer big names. And yet, perhaps that could work to their advantage just as did last year in Brazil and in the summer at Wembley. This is a fully-committed group with a clear idea, built around arguably the greatest player of all-time

Player to watch: Lionel Messi

Who else? There were fears that Messi’s decline was inexorable after he fell short of sky-high expectations in his first season with Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from Barcelona. In the context of his current form, that appears to have been a mere dip. Messi is ready.

That Copa America success in 2021 was the fulfilment of a career goal – major silverware with the senior Argentina side – and his obvious joy was palpable. Perhaps it should be no surprise that he appears to have timed his renaissance for what he says will be his final tilt at the World Cup.

Now 35, Messi goes into the tournament level with Kevin De Bruyne in having provided the most assists of any player in a major European league so far this season. He goes into this tournament having scored an outrageous nine goals in his last three appearances for his country.

He has been part of more talented Argentina squads than this one but never one better organised and never one so wholly suited to his strengths here and now. He has runners, those behind him to cover for his lack of defensive work and ahead of him to latch onto his perfect passes.

The significance of the prize for Messi’s legacy hardly needs pointing out. Diego Maradona won the World Cup. He has not. Accomplishing it in the autumn of his amazing career would reframe the debate if not end it – and rewrite his own extraordinary story one more time.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Franco Armani.

Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Juan Foyth.

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodriguez, Papu Gomez, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios.

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Paulo Dybala, Nicolas Gonzalez, Joaquin Correa.

Fixtures:

• November 22nd v Saudi Arabia
• November 26th v Mexico
• November 30th v Poland

MEXICO

For a footballing-mad nation and the ninth-largest in the world by population, Mexico’s World Cup history has never taken off in the way they would have dreamed.

The reward for reaching 16 of 21 finals tournaments ahead of Qatar, as many as England, has been a measly pair of quarter-final appearances, and both when the tournament was held on home soil.

Playing away from Latin America has been a challenge too daunting to overcome, despite producing players of clear quality across the generations. Something has just never clicked.

There is even some rather harshly delivered criticism that Mexico’s greatest contribution to the World Cup has been the Mexican Wave, introduced to a global audience when they last hosted the tournament back in 1986.

Why has it never worked out for a country which has spent the majority of the last 30 years inside FIFA’s top-20 ranked sides?

Just as Mexico have never travelled well to finals tournaments, so many of their greatest, most-capped players have spent their careers playing in central or North America, and experienced something of a culture shock when they have been exposed not only to different environments but such a variation of opposition too.

Recent frustrations have been as much down to circumstance as Mexico’s own shortcomings, though.

At the 2014 World Cup, they emerged unbeaten from a group containing Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon, only to concede twice in the final two minutes to lose to a talented Netherlands side in the next round.

Further back in 2006, it took Argentina until extra-time to see off their continental colleagues at the same stage.

These are small crumbs of comfort for a side who have waited to reach the revered ‘fifth game’ for 36 years. Since 1986, it’s all they have – and it’s why they turned to former Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino, a man with international experience leading Argentina and Paraguay, to make it a reality this time around.

“Mexico have been consistent in being one of the best 16 teams in World Cups. We hope to be better than that in this process,” was Mexico Football Federation president Yon De Luisa’s clear message at his unveiling in 2019.

Three years on that hope seems as far away as ever amid criticism of Martino’s methods, a real problem with goalscoring and stagnant performances both in qualifying and friendlies.

Perhaps influenced by those past failures, he has spent little time casting an eye over domestic talent and has been criticised for delegating visits to Mexican league matches to his assistants.

As a result, European-based players have been given what has been perceived as undue precedence in the national squad, even when they have only played bit-part roles for their club sides.

Another bone of contention involves Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez, two stalwarts of the national team who will both be absent in Qatar, albeit for reasons not entirely of Martino’s own making.

Vela unofficially retired from international duty in 2019, while Hernandez has been ostracised from the Mexico squad since his part in organising a party with a group of models in the build-up to one of Martino’s first matches.

There has never been any official word from the manager on the reasons for Hernandez’s absence, but the absence of Mexico’s all-time top goalscorer has done little to calm tensions around their faltering performances, particularly in front of goal.

All in all, Mexico will arrive in Qatar next month far from a harmonious unit as they look to upset the odds and make history on foreign soil.

On paper, Mexico’s group-stage draw has been relatively kind, pitting them against minnows Saudi Arabia, a Poland side who have not progressed beyond the group stages since 1986, and group favourites Argentina.

Even with their stuttering form, Mexico should have enough in their locker to reach an eighth consecutive last-16 spot.

Beyond that, life is looking familiarly tough. Should results follow the form book and they finish second in Group C, a likely meeting with World Cup holders France awaits in the first knockout round and therein lies little hope of causing an upset.

The groundswell of support three years ago around the appointment of Martino, with top-level experience at both club and international level, fell away quickly and the mood music around the national team is especially negative coming into the tournament.

Just 17 goals in 14 qualifying matches, without Vela and Hernandez to help, as well as general patchy displays in the build-up to Qatar have led Martino to come out swinging against media criticism, and last month he claimed a “campaign” was being led against him ahead of the tournament.

Though Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez was touted by Chelsea in the summer, he is one of a rare breed of elite-level players in their squad, and a lack of fresh talent emerging was highlighted with Mexico’s squad the oldest of the eight in CONCACAF qualifying.

If Martino is to fulfil the federation’s wish and reach the promised land of the last eight, it will be as much a surprise to Mexico fans as anyone, even after 36 years of hope.

Player to watch: Edson Alvarez

Edson Alvarez suddenly became a familiar name to English football fans on Transfer Deadline Day, when Chelsea’s last-minute bid for the 24-year-old was ultimately unsuccessful.

He has been growing his reputation in Europe for some while, joining Ajax in the summer of 2019 in part to help soften the blow of the departure of Frenkie De Jong, and he has settled well in the Dutch capital.

A tough tackler who is equally adept on the ball as off it and who does his fair share in the air too, as Rangers found out to their despair in the Champions League last month.

The international stage perhaps lends itself best to his assets where he can dictate play from deep, while still offering a defensive shield to the Mexico backline.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera, Rodolfo Cota

Defenders: Kevin Alvarez, Nestor Araujo, Gerardo Arteaga, Jesus Gallardo, Hector Moreno, Cesar Montes, Jorge Sanchez, Johan Vasquez

Midfielders: Edson Alvarez, Roberto Alvarado, Uriel Antuna, Luis Chavez, Andres Guardado, Erick Gutierrez, Hector Herrera, Orbelin Pineda, Carlos Rodriguez, Luis Romo

Forwards: Rogelio Funes Mori, Raul Jimenez, Hirving Lozano , Henry Martin, Alexis Vega

Fixtures:

• November 22nd v Poland
• November 26th v Argentina
• November 30th v Saudi Arabia

POLAND

Poland had a decent qualification campaign, winning six games and drawing twice in their 10 qualification matches.

However, that was only good enough for second place in their group behind England, who they lost 2-1 to at Wembley and drew 1-1 with in Warsaw thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser from Damian Szymanski.

The runners-up finish in Group I secured a play-off place and because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia were thrown out of World Cup qualifying, which meant Poland received a bye through to the semi-finals.

It set up a clash with Sweden for a place in Qatar, and Poland ran out 2-0 victors in Chorzow thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski.

Poland are making their ninth World Cup appearance in Qatar.

Their first appearance was in 1938, but after that, they had a long absence from the competition until they re-appeared in 1974.

It proved to be a successful tournament for Poland as they finished third, and they matched that feat eight years later in Spain.

Appearances in 2002 and 2006 ended in group-stage eliminations, and after a 12 year absence, Poland qualified for the tournament in Russia four years ago.

Adam Nawalka’s side managed just won win, losing their other two matches as they crashed out at the group stage once again.

This time around, manager Czeslaw Michniewicz will be hoping he can lead Poland into the knockouts rounds for the first time since 1986.

Poland will be looking to address their modest World Cup record of recent years when they travel to Qatar this winter, and their hopes of doing that could rest on their opening game against Mexico on November 22.

It’s going to be difficult for every team at the World Cup to try and hit the ground running. With the tournament coming in the middle of the season, there is not much preparation time for any side, but for Poland, their first game of the tournament could be the most crucial.

Poland have been drawn in a group with Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Many will expect Poland to lose to Argentina and pick up a victory against Saudi Arabia, making their clash with Mexico potentially all-important.

That game is first up for both sides. Win it and it could set your up for a decent run into the competition. Lose it, however, and the pressure will crank up straight away.

Poland have not qualified for the knockout stages of a World Cup since 1986 so it will certainly be their aim to put that right, and the result against Mexico could prove crucial.

Player to watch: Piotr Zielinski

When looking at Poland’s squad, your eyes are always drawn to Robert Lewandowski.

The Barcelona striker has been in the goals again this season in Spain, and he will once again be crucial to Poland’s chance of escaping their group and having a decent run at this tournament.

However, another player who could take some of the burden off Lewandowski is Piotr Zielinski, who has been in fine form for Napoli.

The midfielder has helped Napoli rise up the Serie A table and played a key role so far in their excellent Champions League form.

The 28-year-old was extremely influential in Napoli’s 4-1 win over Liverpool in September, winning and converting a penalty and setting up a goal for Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, before adding another goal himself.

Again, all the talk in the build-up to the tournament will be about Lewandowski’s goals, but with the Barcelona striker set to be joined in attack by Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piatek, Zielinski’s creativity from midfield could be crucial.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: GWojciech Szczesny, Bartlomiej Dragowski, Lukasz Skorupski

Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Kamil Glik, Robert Gumny, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Jakub Kiwior, Mateusz Wieteska, Bartosz Bereszynski, Matthew Cash, Nicola Zalewski

Midfielders: Krystian Bielik, Przemyslaw Frankowski , Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jakub Kaminski, Michal Skoras, Damian Szymanski, Sebastian Szymanski, Piotr Zielinski, Szymon Zurkowski

Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piatek, Karol Swiderski

Fixtures:

• November 22nd v Mexico
• November 26th v Saudi arabia
• November 30th v Argentina

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia sealed their spot in Qatar by qualifying from an Asian qualifying group which featured Japan, Australia, Oman, China and Vietnam.

They finished top of the group and picked up some notable results, beating Japan and Australia 1-0 at home, while they also drew in Sydney against the Socceroos.

Saudi Arabia will be making their sixth appearance at the World Cup since making their debut in 1994, when they reached the last 16 in the USA.

They have failed to reach those heights since, exiting at the group stage in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

Saudi Arabia then failed to qualify in 2010 and 2014 before returning to the competition in Russia four years ago, where they were knocked out at the group stage once again.

Following a disappointing exit at the World Cup in 2018 and an early exit at the 2019 Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia set about an overhaul of their squad as they looked ahead to future tournaments.

Frenchman Herve Renard, who guided Zambia and Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations triumphs, was tasked with the rebuilding project, and the move paid dividends.

Integrating established players such as Salem Al-Dawsari and Salman Al Faraj with young talent in the form of Firas Al-Buraikan, Abdulelah Al-Amri and Sami Al-Najei had an immediate impact as they secured an early spot at Qatar, registering just one defeat in their successful qualification campaign.

However, this squad faces a huge test in Qatar as they join Argentina, Mexico and Poland in Group C.

Renard will be looking to build on their one victory at the tournament in Russia four years ago as they look to secure a last-16 spot for the first time since 1994.

Player to watch: Salem Al-Dawsari

Salem Al-Dawsari is a player with World Cup pedigree.

The Al-Hilal winger featured in all three of Saudi Arabia’s group games in Russia and hit his country’s last-gasp winner in their final match at the tournament against Egypt.

He has bundles of experience with 66 caps to his name and 17 goals during an international career which has spanned over 10 years.

He’s been an influential figure at club level as well. Last season in the Saudi League, he contributed to 14 goals in just 21 games, scoring nine and producing five assists.

Al-Dawsari, who did have a stint with La Liga side Villarreal in 2018, can lay in numerous positions across the front line.

He remains a pivotal figure for Saudi Arabia and he will need to be at his best if the Green Falcons are to mark any sort of impact in Qatar.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Mohamed Al-Yami

Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Madu, Hassan Tambakti, Sultan Al-Ghanam, Mohammed Al-Breik, Saud Abdulhamid

Midfielders: Salman Al-Faraj, Riyadh Sharahili, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohamed Kanno, Abdulelah Al-Malki, Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Otayf, Nasser Al-Dawsari , Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, Salem Al-Dawsari, Hattan Bahebri

Forwards: Haitham Asiri, Saleh Al-Shehri, Firas Al-Buraikan

Fixtures:

• November 22nd v Argentina
• November 26th v Poland
• November 30th v Mexico