With a new opening game date of 20 November for Qatar versus Ecuador, the 2022 World Cup isn’t far away at all. In the run-up to the first World Cup in an Arabic nation, there’s been a lot of discussion about it disrupting the standard European domestic calendar, also being the first winter World Cup. Even though his spell as the England boss wasn’t littered with silverware, Fabio Capello does make a fine point for England.
The Italian, who managed the Three Lions between 2007 and 2012, theorises that a winter World Cup is more opportune for England. Capello sees summer tournament struggles as a result of fatigue due to the intense English domestic season. In the winter, players will be at their peak in terms of physical fitness, or at least, that’s how he experienced the side, and so they could be even better than expected.
Another boost domestically is that players are looking to impress international head coaches in the opening months of the campaign. For Newcastle United, a team building towards the ascendency, there are plenty of players looking to secure or earn a place at the 2022 World Cup. One win, five draws, and one loss coming into the international break wasn’t the best start, but there were some strong individual performances throughout.
As it stands, four players for the Toon look have their eyes on a room in Qatar, but who looks to be playing for the top contenders for the ultimate crown in the sport?
Fabian Schär
Starting centre-back for Newcastle and a constant call-up for the Swiss national team, Fabian Schär is currently in competition for a starting place with Switzerland. Against Spain and Portugal in the UEFA Nations League, Manchester City’s late signing, Manuel Akanji, and Nico Elvedi formed quite the formidable duo. With the Nati winning both of those games, it makes sense that Murat Yakin doesn’t want to mix things up.
Against Spain, two set-pieces either side of the home side’s goal proved to be enough, with Akanji netting one and Breel Embolo getting the other. Still, even with these giants crushed, the Swiss have an uphill battle at the World Cup. In Group G, Nati need to get past Cameroon, Serbia, and Brazil, or at least come second best to one of those sides.
On paper, and given their form, it would seem straightforward, but Serbia are formidable now, and Cameroon are the right kind of unknown quantity to cause an upset or two. That’s why Switzerland are, as you’d assume, far-out contenders to win the World Cup. As it stands, Schär and his compatriots are out at 80/1 to go all the way, or good for 14th as the odds rank.
Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope
After going all of the way to the final of Euro 2020 in 2021, England have turned in a fair few underwhelming results. World Cup qualification went fine, but the UEFA Nations League has been close to a disaster. Six games, three draws, and three losses. With the three losses coming to Hungary twice and Italy – neither of which are going to the winter showcase – it’s been an underwhelming campaign, to say the least.
However, Kieran Trippier played in two of the six games. Those two turned out to be a couple of the better results: a 1-1 tie in Germany and 0-0 hosting the Euro 2020 champions. On the other hand, Nick Pope was given the gloves in the most recent games against Italy and Germany, but didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. He’s been a sound shot-stopper for Newcastle but looked a bit out of sorts against elite European foes.
Even with the recent poor run of form, England are still among the favourites to win the World Cup. Argentina with Lionel Messi are out at 7/1, but the Three Lions are sitting pretty as the second-favourites to win the tournament with odds from top new betting sites at 11/2. With those odds, punters can get special offers from the bookmakers, such as the “bet £10, get £30” welcome bonus from TebWin.
Despite the form coming in, the most recent winners look to have laid a favourable roadmap for England. France ended up as the runners-up in the Euros that they hosted before winning the 2018 World Cup – and England lost at Wembley in the Euro 2020 Final. Perhaps history will repeat itself in Qatar.
Bruno Guimarães
United’s midfield pitbull might just be in the best position to take the Qatar World Cup, but he certainly faces a battle to break into the starting XI. Casemiro, Fred, and Lucas Paquetá – West Ham’s shock summer signing – dominate proceedings for Tite, being given two defensive midfielder roles or comprising the three in the middle of the park. Guimarães has, however, been given minutes of late.
Since the start of 2022, the midfield maestro has earned five caps in seven games, but only one was a start. That said, his one start – against Bolivia – resulted in a 4-0 win at the absurd 12,000-foot altitude of Estadio Hernando Siles. The Brazilian scored in that game and nailed his third assist in three games, but outside of his recent flurry of squad and line-up rotation, Tite tends to run out the same side whenever he can do so.
As they quite often are, Brazil are the favourites to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, coming in at 9/2. Only a few bumps ahead of England, but certainly the frontrunners in the heat of Qatar, the all-star squad that Tite can field deserves its tag as the top team at the tournament.
If they keep on making a strong case with Newcastle United, Fabian Schär, Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, and Bruno Guimarães look set to compete in Qatar this winter.
