World Cup 2022: Which is the Group of Death?
Friday 1st April was a big day for football betting fans from all over the world. The playoffs were all but over and the draw for the final groups for the World Cup tournament was being held. This can make or break the entire tournament for a country. They simply want to see who else is in their team and hope that they aren’t put in the famous ‘Group of Death’.
As is the case with all football tournaments, some groups are simply a lot tougher than others. Sometimes there is a very obvious ‘Group of Death’ – where three or four of the teams are favourites to qualify – other times it isn’t quite as clear cut. Although at first glance, there isn’t one big stand out Group of Death at the 2022 World Cup, there are certainly some teams thinking they pulled the short straw, with others sighing in relief.
There are some groups this year that will be difficult to call for sports betting punters. In 2018, we had a group consisting of Argentina, Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria – which ended up offering a surprising result… with an unhappy ending for Argentina. Coming second in the group meant facing France in the final 16… the eventual champions.
Ultimately, being drawn into an easier group is definitely a springboard to a better route in the knockout stages. But which ones are the easiest … and which top teams could be hindered by their tough draw?
Here are, in our opinion, the three toughest groups in the World Cup 2022 – who could all make a claim for the title Group of Death.
GROUP C
- Argentina
- Mexico
- Poland
- Saudi Arabia
Lionel Messi will certainly want to bring glory to his country in the latter stages of his career. This title has evaded him until now but he will be full of confidence given their current form. They are currently enjoying a 31 game unbeaten streak… the longest of any international football team right now.
Then we have Mexico. They had a tough time in World Cup qualifying – and Tata Martino faced some tough questions about his leadership skills. However, they still managed to finish in second place in the Octagonal round in the CONCACAF region. If Martino can get his front three players – Jiminez, Corona and Lozano, firing on all cylinders, they will be a tricky opposition.
Poland needed to beat Sweden in the playoffs to book their tickets to the tournament. However, the fact is they have one of the best goalscorers in the world right now on their team – Robert Lewandowski. This alone should cause other teams to worry.
Finally is Saudi Arabia. Although this is just their second World Cup appearance since 2006, they finished top of their AFC qualification section and lost just one of their ten fixtures.
GROUP H
- Ghana
- Portugal
- South Korea
- Uruguay
Portugal hasn’t impressed much since winning the Euros in 2016. They never even made it past the Round of 16 for the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020. However, there is a team of talent, which means that they can never be ruled out.
Uruguay is known for star players such as Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Although these are coming to the end of their careers, they have some emerging talent in the team. Valverde and Araujo will make them strong in the midfield and defence, while Darwin Nunez shows that Uruguay is more than capable of still producing top-level strikers
Ghana needed to win a playoff against Nigeria to qualify – but they won and eliminated Nigeria and have shown some good form since their shock exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Finally, the group has South Korea – having lost only one game in qualifying. The team boasts Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, giving them some serious firepower. They have also managed to keep four clean sheets from their last five qualifiers.
GROUP G
- Brazil
- Cameroon
- Serbia
- Switzerland
This team obviously boasts the tournament favourites, but there is also some strong competition.
Serbia went through their qualifications unbeaten – coming top of their group. A group that included Portugal no less. They will no doubt have confidence that they might cause a few upsets. They will be led from the front by Juventus striker, Dusan Vlahovic, alongside Dusan Tadic of Ajax and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the Lazio midfielder. These are some serious elite level players.
Switzerland also made it through qualifiers without losing a game – finishing top of the group that included the winners of Euro 2021 – Italy. The team does have a reasonably new manager, but they are used to playing in the big stage – having qualified for every World Cup since 2002 and reaching the quarters of Euro 2021.
The pot 4 team in the group is Cameroon – who boast a very decent pedigree. They beat Ivory Coast in group stages and Algeria in the playoffs.
So, there are the toughest three groups – although some might argue Group E – with Spain and Germany, or even Group F with Belgium and Croatia could be tricky. Football betting fans will be rubbing their hands with delight as they can start preparing for some of the best football action ever – all kicking off in November.