32 nations that qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 are drawn into eight groups, and here is the group-by-group breakdown.
GROUP C:
Argentina, Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia
Lionel Messi, one of the best players in football history, some naming him even GOAT, will try to add the World Cup title to his impressive award collection. Given his age, this will be most likely his last World Cup and he will give his best to do what great Maradona did in World Cup 1986, namely to be the World Cup's best player and the World Cup winner. Last year he led Argentina to the Copa America championship and won it in the best possible fashion with a win over arch-rivals Brazil. He won everything with Barcelona breaking most individual records and picking up several Ballon d'Or best player in the world awards, only thing that's missing is the title of World Cup champion to remove any doubts about being the best player and history. Another of the great ones, Robert Lewandowski, will lead Poland to fight for second place with Mexico. Given the strength of other teams in this group, Saudi Arabia has slim chances of advancing to the next round of the tournament. Two teams that advance to the next round cross path with Group D.
ARGENTINA: Team that has Lionel Messi can dream big. Last year they won Copa America and this year they will be one of the favorites to win the World Cup. Also, their place at the No. 4 FIFA world ranking shows that they will be a force to be reckoned with. Argentina has two Word Cup titles, 1978 led by Mario Kempes when they hosted the World Cup and before mentioned 1986 in Mexico with Diego Armando Maradona as the biggest star. They qualified for the World Cup 2022 with a second-place finish in South American qualification behind Brazil. Since 2018 their coach is Lionel Scaloni. As always, Argentina has a big selection of great players. Messi is assisted by Angel Di Maria from Juventus, Lautaro Martinez from Inter, and Lucas Ocampos from Sevilla.
POLAND: Poland won their place in Qatar by winning against Sweden with 2-0 in the final playoff game of European qualification. They went straight into the final game after Russia was banned from qualifications after they invaded Ukraine. This will be their ninth World Cup appearance. The team is led by coach Czeslaw Michniewicz, who has plenty of experienced players at his disposal. Their biggest star is of the best forwards in the world, Robert Lewandowski. There are also a few other good players such as Piotr Zielinski from Napoli, Karol Linetty from Torino, Matty Cash from Aston Villa, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from Juventus.
MEXICO: Best Northern American team, ranked ninth on FIFA world ranking. Qualified for the World Cup 2022 by finishing second in North American qualification, behind group winners Canada. Most likely, Mexico’s game with Poland will decide second them to advance to the next round of the World Cup from this group. Mexico is led by ex-Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino who likes to play strong defensive football. They don’t score much but concede even less. Not pretty to watch but effective. Their best players are forwards Raul Jimenez from Wolverhampton, Hirving Lozano from Napoli, and Jesus Corona from Sevilla.
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia is one of the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. Currently, they are ranked at No. 49 on the FIFA world ranking. This will be their seventh World Cup appearance. Looking at the group, nobody gives them any chances to go to the next round. They are led by experienced French coach Herve Renard. All Saudi Arabian players currently play in their home country.
