Qatar 2022: Group H 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 H, with Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea looking to book their place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
PORTUGAL
Euro 2016 winners Portugal’s route through World Cup qualification was far from straightforward.
With what looked like an uncomplicated qualifying group coming to a close, all Cristiano Ronaldo and co had to do was beat Serbia in the final round of matches to directly reach Qatar.
But a stunning collapse in that match saw Aleksandar Mitrovic lead the Serbs to a 2-1 win on Portuguese soil, condemning their opponents to the play-offs.
Doubts over whether Ronaldo would reach what is likely to be his last World Cup intensified when they were drawn with Turkey and Italy in their four-team play-off group – but wins over Turkey and North Macedonia sealed Portugal’s spot in the finals.
Despite being crowned European champions six years ago, Portugal’s World Cup form has been rather sketchy. Since finishing third at the 1966 World Cup, the Portuguese have only advanced into the semi-finals once – at the 2006 World Cup when they finished fourth.
Yet even though their World Cup record is poor, write off this Portugal team at your peril.
With some of the best defenders in the world to call upon – and one of the greatest collections of attackers of all time – confidence in a relatively straightforward group could skyrocket by the latter rounds of the tournament.
The conversation about pre-tournament Portugal always tends to involve Cristiano Ronaldo – but never one like this.
The 37-year-old’s lack of form for Manchester United and his damaging interview with Piers Morgan has led to questions over whether Portugal’s captain is the best possible option to lead the line in Qatar – among a host of younger and more in-form attacking options.
Make no mistake – nobody will be more determined to bring success to the national team than Ronaldo, who has personal achievements to chase in the Middle East.
The World Cup is the only trophy that has evaded him so far in his career and Ronaldo has hinted he wants to keep playing international football until the 2024 European Championships. There are no guarantees he will be around for the 2026 World Cup, so this could be his last chance of glory in this competition.
But there are plenty of other attacking options for Portugal manager Fernando Santos to pick. Joao Felix, Ricardo Horta, Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota and Andre Silva have all been in and among the goals across Europe over the last couple of seasons. Could it be possible that the great Ronaldo watches on from the side?
With so many top options in defence, midfield and attack for Portugal – there is no question of Portugal’s quality.
The usual problem lies ahead for national team manager Santos, which is picking the right combination of players from the intense squad depth that exists.
Player to watch: Rafael Leao
Rafael Leao is yet to score for his country – which does not bode well for a ‘Player to Watch’ pick – but there is no doubt of his attacking quality going into this tournament.
The 23-year-old only made his international debut for Portugal a year ago but his past 12 months have been sensational.
The winger scored 14 goals across all competitions for AC Milan last season as the Rossoneri won their first Scudetto in 11 years and has since solidified his spot in what is a very competitive Portugal squad up front.
Pace, power and clinical finishing are part of a very impressive repertoire for Leao, who is reportedly catching the eye of several Premier League clubs.
AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli and Fabio Capello have both compared the attacker to Thierry Henry in terms of his style of play, while Leao has also earned the tagline ‘The Portuguese Mbappe’.
Anything close to the impact Mbappe showed four years ago and Leao is going to have a winter to remember.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, Rui Patricio
Defenders: Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Antonio Silva, Nuno Mendes, Raphael Guerreiro
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Mario, Matheus Nunes, Vitinha, William Carvalho, Otavio
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Ricardo Horta, Goncalo Ramos, Andre Silva
Fixtures:
- November 24th v Ghana
- November 28th v Uruguay
- December 2nd v South Korea
GHANA
After a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign last year, Ghana will be hoping to redeem themselves in Qatar.
The Black Stars were knocked out in the group stages of AFCON for the first time since 2006. They hold the record of most consecutive semi-final appearances at the tournament, doing so six times between 2008 and 2017.
Despite their AFCON struggles, Ghana did go on to qualify for the World Cup. They topped Group G in the second round of qualification – beating South Africa, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe to first place – setting up a third round play-off fixture against Group C winners and fierce rivals Nigeria for a spot in Qatar.
They beat the Super Eagles in the most dramatic of circumstances too. After a goalless first home leg, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey scored the crucial away goal for Ghana inside 10 minutes.
Nigeria’s William Troost-Ekong equalised from the penalty spot soon after, with Victor Osimhen having a second ruled out by VAR for offside.
Despite the scares, Ghana held on for a draw, reaching the 2022 World Cup on away goals. They were guided by former Newcastle and Brighton manager Chris Hughton, who was the Black Stars technical advisor during their World Cup qualifiers in March.
This year marks their first World Cup appearance since 2014, having failed to qualify for the 2018 edition. It will be their fourth World Cup, having made their debut in 2006 where they reached the round of 16.
Ghana featured in the quarter-finals in 2010, becoming only the third African nation to have reached the final eight at a World Cup. They were knocked out of the competition by Uruguay on penalties, having missed their own spot kick in extra-time after Luis Suarez was sent off for a deliberate handball to deny Ghana a potential winning goal.
The Black Stars will be led by new coach and former Ghana international Otto Addo, who was in charge during the play-off win. He featured in Ghana’s first World Cup appearance in 2006.
Ghana face a tough ask to make it out of Group H as the lowest FIFA-ranked side at the 2022 World Cup. They are currently 61st in the world, 10 places behind the next lowest ranked team in Saudi Arabia.
The Black Stars will go up against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in a bid to make it to the knockout rounds for the third time.
The 2022 World Cup is likely to be the final appearance for Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez for their respective countries, while South Korea will be spearheaded by Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son.
Of course, Uruguay are a familiar foe for Ghana, with the pair having met in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They were also in the same group as Portugal at the 2014 tournament, where they finished bottom of Group G.
Portugal beat Ghana in their group stage meeting that year, with Ronaldo scoring in the 80th minute to make it 2-1, earning his side their only three points of the year. However, both teams were eventually knocked out at the group stage.
Meanwhile, Ghana have never faced South Korea in a competitive match, but they have met in four international friendlies. The last outing saw the Black Stars winning 4-0 in June 2014 with Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew scoring a hat-trick.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey continues to drive the success for his country, while Premier League defenders Tariq Lamptey and Mohammed Salisu have been recent inclusions in the squad.
While rankings have them bottom of the pile, there is undoubted quality through their side and they will be hoping to cause somewhat of an upset in Qatar.
Player to watch: Inaki Williams
Inaki Williams is well known in European circles and the 2022 World Cup is a golden chance for him to announce himself on the world stage.
Although he has not missed a game for Athletic Bilbao in over six years – yes, you did read that correctly – his international career has not been as lucrative. Born and raised in Spain to Ghanian parents, he only earned one cap for Spain in 2016.
In July 2022, he made himself available for Ghana ahead of the World Cup and was called up for friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua in September, earning his first two caps.
Williams will surely be one of the first names on Otto Addo’s teamsheet given his wealth of experience, and the forward will be hoping he can transfer his Bilbao form to Qatar this winter.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati, Danlad Ibrahim, Manaf Nurudeen
Defenders: Joseph Aidoo, Daniel Amartey, Baba Rahman, Alexander Djiku, Tariq Lamptey, Gideon Mensah, Denis Odoi, Mohammed Salisu, Alidu Seidu
Midfielders: Andre Ayew, Mohammed Kudus, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Elisha Owusu, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Samed
Forwards: Daniel Afriyie, Jordan Ayew, Osman Bukari, Issahaku Abdul Fatawu, Antoine Semenyo, Kamal Sowah, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Inaki Williams
Fixtures:
- November 24th v Portugal
- November 28th v South Korea
- December 2nd v Uruguay
URUGUAY
Uruguay are World Cup royalty. Despite having a population of only 3.5m, roughly equivalent in size to the city of Madrid, they are one of only eight nations to have won it. They are one of only six to have done so more than once.
Those triumphs came in distant eras. They won the inaugural World Cup as the host nation in 1930 during a dazzlingly successful spell in which they also won gold at back-to-back Olympic Games in 1924 and 1928. They then pulled off a historic upset when they beat Brazil to win it again in 1950.
But a nation defined by football continues to punch above its weight.
Since 1950, there have been three semi-final appearances, the last of which came in South Africa in 2010, when a Uruguay side inspired by the explosive Luis Suarez, whose performances, and infamous handball against Ghana, a side he is now set to meet again, 12 years on, captivated viewers across the world.
Suarez, now 35, was there again when Uruguay reached the last eight in Russia in 2018, and, along with his veteran strike partner Edinson Cavani, he will be there in Qatar too, in what will likely be both his and Cavani’s final World Cup appearance.
Can the iconic pair, scorers of the 126 goals in 266 international appearances between them, make it one to remember?
Uruguay head into the tournament with a new manager, Diego Alonso having replaced the long-serving Oscar Tabarez in December, and once again they will be pitting themselves against far bigger nations.
But it would be folly to underestimate a country of their pedigree in Qatar.
The appointment of Diego Alonso in place of Tabarez, who served as Uruguay manager for 15 years, has given the side fresh impetus
Since taking over, Diego Alonso has changed the dynamics of Uruguay’s national team. Towards the end of Tabarez’s tenure, Uruguay were pragmatic, reactive and lacking a DNA that fans could identify with anymore.
Alonso wants his team to take more initiative, with and without the ball. Uruguay have massively upped their pressing game, and have also become more comfortable on the ball.
So far, he has not settled on a formation and it seems that he won’t either. In the World Cup, Uruguay will probably mix it up, depending on the opposition.
Suarez and Cavani remain key figures under Alonso but there is plenty of fresh blood in the group too. With the emergence of young stars like Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez, Ronald Araujo and others, the burden on Suarez and Cavani to deliver for La Celeste has lightened.
Still, these two unique strikers are expected to feature in Qatar.
In contrast to previous tournaments, however, if the hitmen born in Salto do not turn up, Uruguay can now rely on other players who have proven themselves at the highest level.
It all adds up to a positive mood in Uruguay. Since Alonso has taken over and led Uruguay to the World Cup, the feeling among the fans has been optimistic.
Uruguay start every tournament with the belief that the team can go all the way. At times, this is based on hope rather than realism.
This time around, Uruguay have a team to compete but a potential round of 16 clash with Brazil would be a big hurdle to overcome.
Player to watch: Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde is no breakout star. The 24-year-old has already made 44 appearances for Uruguay, scoring four times, and featured 168 times across five seasons with Real Madrid, scoring 14 goals, eight of which have come this season.
But, having narrowly missed out on selection for the last World Cup in Russia, he heads into this tournament as arguably Uruguay’s most important player behind Suarez and Cavani, and one who is well worth keeping an eye on.
Valverde has developed into a footballing leader of Uruguay.
Valverde’s footballing ability can be seen in his passing, dribbling and finishing prowess but he stands out for his off-the-ball work too, his outstanding stamina and tireless work-rate ensuring he is just as influential in a defensive sense.
His versatility is another asset to Uruguay. Valverde can fill in all roles in midfield, and often does as well. For Uruguay, he has less defensive responsibility than he was tasked with during Madrid’s Champions League run last season.
That could be bad news for Uruguay’s opponents in Qatar.
Liverpool, after all, struggled to contain Valverde’s attacking threat in their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, when he provided the assist for Vinicius Jr’s winner, and the hope for Uruguay is that he will prove similarly influential at the World Cup.
In Qatar, Uruguayans will be looking at Valverde and believing that he can produce a campaign like that of Diego Forlan in South Africa in 2010.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera, Sergio Rochet, Sebastian Sosa
Defenders: Ronald Araujo, Sebastian Coates, Martin Caceres, Guillermo Varela, Matias Vina, Mathias Olivera, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Jose Luis Rodríguez
Midfielders: Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Nicolas de la Cruz, Federico Valverde , Facundo Pellistri, Agustin Canobbio, Facundo Torres
Forwards: Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez, Maximiliano Gomez, Edinson Cavani
Fixtures:
- November 24th v South Korea
- November 28th v Portugal
- December 2nd v Ghana
SOUTH KOREA
No Asian team has qualified more for the World Cup than South Korea, who will be making their 11th appearance at the tournament.
They famously reached the semi-finals two decades ago as they finished fourth when co-hosting with Japan in 2002, but since then they have only made it out of the group once.
The Taegeuk Warriors face a tough task if they are to reach the knockout stages this winter after being drawn in a group with Portugal, Uruguay – who knocked them out of the round of 16 in 2010 – and Ghana.
But if their opponents’ stars in Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal and Luis Suarez for Uruguay are fading, then South Korea’s will be shining brightly in Heung-Min Son.
The Tottenham forward thrived in their convincing qualifying campaign as they won seven and lost only one of their 10 matches, finishing second behind Iran.
But Paulo Bento’s side have had a mixed 2022 with wins over Egypt and Chile coming amid heavy defeats against Brazil and Japan, while there was an unconvincing draw against Costa Rica in September.
South Korea’s last game at the World Cup four years ago saw them stun Germany 2-0 to knock the reigning champions out – and they will need more moments like that in Qatar if they are to enjoy a strong tournament.
There was major concern for Son’s place at the World Cup earlier this month after he had surgery on a fractured eye socket he suffered in Spurs’ Champions League win at Marseille.
But thankfully for South Korea, he has declared himself fit for the tournament and has been named in their 26-man squad.
Prior to his injury, there had been alarm for Bento at Son’s underwhelming start to the season as he failed to score in Tottenham’s first eight games.
But a 13-minute hat-trick against Leicester followed by goals in both of South Korea’s September friendlies have quietened any doubts over his form.
However, it does raise the question of whether Bento has a Plan B if his star does not fire in Qatar?
In the draw against Costa Rica, Wolves’ Hwang Hee-Chan scored their opener while Hwang Ui-jo, who started as the main striker in that game, will be looking to impress Nottingham Forest fans after joining the club this summer before being loaned to Olympiacos.
But if the attack is not delivering, then the defence will have to be much tighter.
Since the start of the year, South Korea have conceded twice in the draws against Paraguay and Costa Rica, let in three goals against Japan while Brazil smashed five past them in June.
Bento will be looking to Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae to steady the backline.
The 25-year-old is enjoying an outstanding first season with the Italian club after joining from Fenerbahce in the summer and his strong form has seen him linked with a Premier League move.
But ultimately, Bento will be hoping Plan A with Son can see his side squeeze through Group H.
Player to watch: Heung-Min Son
South Korea’s hopes rest on their captain Son, who will have to overcome his eye injury to fire on all cylinders if they are to reach the knockout stages.
But it is a pressure Son is used to delivering on as he showed for Spurs last season.
He scored 23 goals to become the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot – which he shared with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah – to earn Tottenham Champions League qualification.
The achievement only enhanced his ‘God-like’ status back in South Korea as he was given a hero’s welcome when Antonio Conte’s side travelled to South Korea for pre-season in the summer.
He is likely to receive similar fanfare in Qatar as he heads to the Middle East as one of the tournament’s elite players in the prime of his career at the age of 30.
Qatar 2022 also gives Son the chance to become the country’s all-time top scorer at World Cups – he needs just one goal to surpass Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung’s record of three goals.
But Son, who has scored 35 goals in 104 appearances for South Korea, still has a way to go to become their leading goal scorer, as he sits 23 goals behind Cha Bum-kun.
Son’s aim for now, though, will be to lead his side past the group stages for just the third time in their history.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu, Jo Hyeon-Woo, Song Bum-Keun
Defenders: Kim Min-Jae, Kim Young-Gwon, Kwon Kyung-Won, Cho Yu-Min, Kim Moon-Hwan, Yoon Jong-Gyu, Kim Tae-Hwan, Kim Jin-Su, Hong Chul
Midfielders: Jung Woo-Young, Son Jun-Ho, Paik Seung-Ho, Hwang In-Beom, Lee Jae-Sung, Kwon Chang-Hoon, Jeong Woo-Yeong, Lee Kang-In, Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan, Na Sang-Ho, Song Min-Kyu.
Forwards: Hwang Ui-Jo, Cho Gue-Sung.
Fixtures:
- November 24th v Uruguay
- November 28th v Ghana
- December 2nd v Portugal
