World Cup Group Previews: Group A, the 'Prove It' Group

The 2022 FIFA World Cup opens up with Group A, a group filled with teams trying to prove something about their respective national teams. When the World Cup hosting rights were given to Qatar in 2010, not many knew about the country or any of its soccer players. This will be the opportunity to show what Qatari soccer is all about to the world. 

The Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup after top performances in international tournaments in the early 2010s — including making the World Cup final in 2010, losing to a Spain team at its apex. With a strong squad with high-quality players, the Dutch will look to become a contender for the prize. 

Ecuador surprised many by making it out of the South American qualifying and will look to show they deserve to be in the tournament despite being accused of using an ineligible player. The best way to quiet the critics is to win and show their form in the last two years was no fluke.

Senegal’s Sadio Mané sustained an injury that originally ruled him out of the event, but he still got the call up to the tournament. Since the start of this World Cup cycle, Senegal has become the best team in Africa and will need to show it can continue to put up strong performances without its talisman full healthy. 

FIFA Rankings

(as of October 6, 2022)

Netherlands, 8

Senegal, 18

Ecuador, 44

Qatar, 50

Populations

(according to World Population Review)

Ecuador: 18,001,000

Netherlands: 17,564,000

Senegal: 17,316,000

Qatar: 2,695,000

World Cup history

Qatar

The host nation was awarded the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup (when many thought the U.S. would get that edition of the tournament), which guaranteed its first appearance at the tournament. Qatar has never qualified for a World Cup and has been builidng up its soccer programs in order to field a competitive team. 46-year-old Spanish coach Félix Sánchez will be shouting instructions from the touchline once the tournament commences.

Ecuador

“La Tri” have qualified for the tournament four times, all coming since the turn of the century. Its last appearance was in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The highest finish for Ecuador has been in the round of 16, getting there during the 2006 edition of the tournament. Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro will look to bring Ecuador back to the knockout stages.

Netherlands

The Oranje missed the last edition of the tournament after reaching the final of the 2010 World Cup and the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup. The Netherlands will make its 11th appearance at the tournament, this time under coach Louis Van Gaal, who also managed the country's last World Cup team in 2014.

Senegal

The winners of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualified for their second consecutive World Cup. The Lions of Teranga will make its third appearance in the tournament. Senegal reached the quarter-finals in the 2002 World Cup, losing to Turkey in extra time, and didn’t make it out of the group stage in Russia 2018. Current national team coach Aliou Cissé captained the Lions of Teranga in 2002 and will try to lead one of Africa’s best teams back to knockout stage play.

How they got here

Qatar

As host of the tournament, Qatar automatically qualified for the event. However, it still took part in the second round of Asian Qualifying. Qatar topped Group E with 22 points going undefeated (with seven wins and a draw) in eight games. Qatar also participated in the 2019 Asia Cup, 2019 Copa America, and 2021 Gold Cup to ready itself for the tournament. (In the latter tournament, Qatar pushed the U.S. in a semifinal in Austin, with the Yanks ultimately pulling off a 1-0 win that turned on a second-half missed Qatari PK. 

Ecuador

“La Tri” were one of the surprises in CONMEBOL qualifying. Ecuador would finish fourth in the table with a 7-5-6 record, amassing 26 points to qualify. The squad influx of youth and mixed with some veteran players helped make sure La Tri would get across the line in South America and avoid a play-in game. 

Netherlands

The Netherlands started the World Cup cycle with Ronald Koeman coaching the Netherlands, but he was lured away from managerial duties when Barcelona became interested in his services in 2020. He helped the Dutch qualify for the 2020 European Championship, another major tournament they missed recently. 

Former Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer was brought in as his replacement but an underwhelming display at Euro 2020 led to his early exit. 

Former manager Louis Van Gaal was brought back to coach the national team and he led a successful qualification campaign. The Oranje finished top of Group G to automatically qualify for the World Cup after missing out on the 2018 edition. 

Senegal

The second round of qualification in Africa was a breeze as Senegal topped its Group H with 16 points and a goal difference of +11. The playoff round was not a breeze, as it took a haywire 4-2 penalty-kick sequence for Senegal to get past Egypt and officially punch its ticket to Qatar. 

Cast of characters

 All of Qatar’s national team players play their club football in Qatar. During the 2021 Gold Cup, striker and team captain Almoez Ali won the Golden Boot with four goals scored. He’s scored 39 times for The Maroon in 82 games. The runner-up in that category was fellow midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem. Qatar’s most dangerous player, winger Akram Afif, had previously spent years in Spain playing soccer but returned to his home country in 2020.

Ecuador has one of the youngest rosters at this World Cup. Players such as Moisés Caicedo, Pervis Estupiñán and Piero Hincapié are setting their feet in Europe. Recent MLS Cup Champions, LAFC will likely have Diego Palacios, José Cifuentes and Jhegson Méndez going to Qatar to represent La Tri. Captain Enner Valencia may be the only player on the roster with previous World Cup appearance. This will be the first taste of the World Cup for many players on the 26-man roster.

Netherlands has some prominent players on its squad, including Virgil Van Dijk, Memphis Depay, Frenkie De Jong, and Matthijs De Ligt. Veterans like Stefan De Vrije, Steven Bergwijn, Davy Klaassen, and Daley Blind. Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, and Jurrien Timber are all promising young players that could play key roles for the Oranje. 

Senegal will have to head to Qatar with their star man, Bayern Munich winger Sadio Mané, in doubt due to injury. He was originally ruled out of the tournament but still made the country’s 26-man roster. The scoring responsibilities will be on 25-year-old striker Boulaye Dia. However, Senegal also has good help at the back with a pair of Chelsea players, goalkeeper Édouard Mendy and center back Kalidou Koulibaly. Quality supporting players in Ismaïla Sarr, Idrissa Gueye, Pape Matar Sarr, and Pape Gueye to help strengthen the midfield as well.

A name to remember (who might not be on your radar)

In recent years, the Netherlands have been able to produce young talent to lead their national team and become great players at the club level. At this tournament, PSV’s 23-year-old winger Cody Gakpo is a player to keep an eye on in Qatar.

Louis Van Gaal isn’t afraid to give young, promising players opportunities on the pitch. In 2014, Van Gaal gave the 19-year-old Depay minutes off the bench and a start during the knockout rounds of the tournament.

With Van Gaal back in charge of the Dutch, Gakpo could see usage in Qatar. The 23-year-old winger leads the Eredivisie with nine goals and 12 assists in 13 games played. Recent transfer rumors have suggested that Manchester United is keen on making a bid for him during the January transfer window amid his stellar start in the Netherlands.

With Depay and Bergwijn causing plenty of problems to the opposition’s backline, Gakpo can add his attacking versatility to create a three-headed attack nobody wants to face. He’s a sure candidate for breakout player of the tournament.

Phil West’s Mascot Fight Corner

Who would win in a battle royal among all four mascots?

First of all, we have to talk about the official mascot for Qatar 2022, According to some fanciful backstory, La’eeb “belongs to a parallel mascot-verse that is indescribable – everyone is invited to interpret what it looks like.” I will take them up on that invitation and say it looks like a big flying head scarf. It is not going to be of use to the host nation in the mascot fight, unless it can drape over another mascot at a key moment. 

Qatar’s nickname? The Maroon, which is a color. Ecuador is not much better — well, it’s exactly three times better, as it’s La Tricolor, hinting at the yellow, blue and red of the flag and the uniform. Senegal gets an actual animal – specifically, the Lions of Teranga, which sounds fantastic, but it loses a little of its fighty edge when you learn that teranga is an esteemed Senegalese value that essentially amounts to meaning “good hospitality.” That leaves the Netherlands, which is represented by a lion on its badge but goes by the Oranj – yep, another color — or Clockwork Orange, which is a sci-fi classic with a color in it. 

We’re going to go with Senegal, the only living mascot of the bunch. - Phil West

Who is most likely to advance from the group?

Although the FIFA rankings have the Netherlands and Senegal as the top teams in the group, I don’t expect to be this easy for both teams. With Senegal, one of the best players in the world is not fully fit and their attack looks less menacing without him involved.

With the exception of South Africa in 2010, every host nation has qualified for the knockout rounds of the World Cup. With this being Qatar’s first display on the world stage, Qatar needs tons of effort to make it out of this group. Ecuador’s last display at the World Cup was in 2014 and many of the players on that roster are no longer with the national team setup.

After missing the last tournament, the Dutch will be looking to reassert themselves on the world stage by topping Group A. We predict Ecuador and Qatar will fight for second place but home-field advantage will help the Qataris advance to the round of 16. With Mané not at 100%, Senegal loses its bite and will likely struggle to score at the World Cup.