Argentina
The pinnacle of Argentina’s star-studded attack and one of the greatest players of all time Lionel Messi attempting to bring the world cup back to Argentina for the first time since 1986 after his efforts in 2014 just falling short. Messi after a rocky start to life in Paris has hit for this season at the perfect time with 17 G/A in just 13 matches this season. This could be a fairy tale ending for Messi and Argentina with the little magician on 993 career appearances could have his 1000th game of his career in the world cup final. There may not be a better time for Argentina to win the world cup.
Leo McManus-Andrea
England
After a disappointing Nations League campaign this year, in which England failed to win any of their six matches, Southgate’s men are going into the tournament on one of their worst runs of form during the manager’s tenure. With other favourites such as Argentina and Brazil being on unbeaten runs of 36 and 15 respectively, England’s dip in form could not have come at a worse time.
With Group B being considered one of the easier groups in the competition, barring a complete debacle from the Three Lions, England should march on to the knockout stages as group winners. In this case, England would play runners up of Group A, a test Southgate’s men should pass. The quarter finals could potentially see the Three Lions lining up against the 2018 champions in France, a matchup that would likely see Les Bleus progressing to the semi-finals. Anything less than a quarter finals appearance should be considered a failure for a squad with this much talent, and it is at this point I see England bowing out of the tournament.
It is without doubt England have the talent and mentality to make a deep run in the competition, and very well may do so. However, with other tournament favourites coming into the competition in red-hot form, the Three Lions may have to turn their sights to Euro 2024 in their bid to bring football home.
Raff Tindale
Brazil
Brazil is arguably the most talented squad in the World Cup. Looking at their technical ability, team culture and star players, Brazil is one of the favourites for the title.
The Brazilian squad consists of some big names, such as Neymar JR, Alisson Becker, Vinicius Jr, Casemiro and football legends like Dani Alves and Thiago Silva.
The best team in the World Cup is Brazil, they have only lost three games in the last four years, with Neymar only three goals away from breaking Pele’s record for the highest goal scorer of all time.
Everything looks set and done for Brazil as every news outlet, football expert, and the wider football fan community agree that it can happen once again. This year’s team Brazil has the potential to give their nation their sixth title, and their first since 2002.
Elena Photiadou
Netherlands
After topping their group in qualifying, the Dutch will fancy themselves in Qatar this winter. The side only lost once in their qualifying group and scored 33 goals in the ten games they played. There was much relief amongst the country’s fans when they reached the tournament, with them not featuring at a world cup since they travelled to the tournament in Brazil in 2014.
They find themselves in group A in this year's cup, alongside hosts Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador, a group that most would expect them to top. The Dutch will see this as a chance to show their quality to other sides at the tournament, with anything less than three wins being seen as a failure.
The man looking to guide them to success at this tournament is Louis Van Gaal, once of Manchester United. Van Gaal was the manager of the side at their last World Cup in 2014, a tournament which included a memorable 5-1 win against tournament holders Spain. He has got his Dutch side playing some great football and will be hoping to take his side all the way to the final in Qatar this year.
The Dutch squad has got numerous high-quality players, with a good mix of experience and young talent. Memphis Depay travels to Qatar as part of the squad after scoring 12 goals in qualifying, the most of any player in their group. The likes of Matthijs De Ligt, Virgil Van Dijk and Frenkie De Jong make up the core of what should be a quality starting eleven, with young talents such as Cody Gakpo and Noa Lang hoping to impress.
The Dutch have reached three World Cup finals in 1974,1978 and 2010, but this year they will be hoping to do one better and lift the trophy for the first time. With a good, experienced manager, strong squad and weak group stage opposition there is certainly cause for optimism among Dutch fans going into this World Cup.
Jack Evans
Senegal
Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy between the posts will be looking to make his country proud after winning FIFA’s Best Goalkeeper award back in January. A centre back pairing of Kalidou Koulibaly and Abdou Diallo provides security at the back, and with attacking options such as Bamba Dieng, Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr, there are more than enough players to bring their attack up to an exceptional level. Senegal are competing in Group A with Qatar, Netherlands and Ecuador: the easiest group in the tournament with an average FIFA ranking of 31.75. Senegal, if they were to progress, would be pit against a Group B team in the Round of 16, with England, Wales, USA and Iran all being potential opponents. All these teams, like Senegal, are ranked by FIFA as one of the top 20 nations, so it’s anyone’s guess if Senegal will make it to the quarter-finals.
Adam Lovegrove
Wales
After overcoming Scotland and the Ukraine in the play-offs in Cardiff, Wales landed themselves in Group B with the USA, Iran and England.
The last time Wales were in tournament group with England, they topped the group in France and so the now blended side of youth and experience will be confident of at least qualification.
This is likely to be Gareth Bale and others’ last competitive tournament for Wales, as they’ll look to make history as the second smallest country in the competition.
The exciting talents of Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams will be looking to stamp their mark on the competition, as the whole world will be watching.
Whilst Wales have a variety of options to call upon in the attacking positions, assuring no suspensions or injuries in the first choice midfield and backline will be paramount in their chances of progressing through the tournament.
Tom Barlow
Ecuador
Finally combining an exciting squad with the ever-reliable captain, Enner Valencia. A lot of their upturn in form can be put down to their superstar midfield prospect and key man, Moises Caicedo. Off the back of a superb start to his Premier League career at Brighton, at the age of just twenty-one, Ecuador possesses a player who will be genuinely feared by the big boys of the competition.
After finishing 4th in the qualifying stage, form is certainly on Ecuador’s side as they enter the tournament, having taken points off Brazil and Argentina, as well as earning an impressive 4-2 win over Uruguay during qualifying. There is now genuine hope of causing upsets in the knockout stages back in Ecuador and whilst Netherlands will provide a stern test in the group stage; games against Qatar and Senegal will be viewed as largely winnable, therefore allowing Ecuador to target a potential second round tie against England. Holding Ecuador back from being in the main conversation, though, is the lack of attacking talent barring their veteran captain, Enner Valencia. However, history tells us that defences win championships and if Ecuador can defend how they have recently, with grit and steeliness, who knows how far their fans can dream.
Dan Balliston
France
Since their world triumph in 1998, every nation who has gone onto win the World Cup have been eliminated in the group-stages four years later, barring Brazil in 2006. Since then, Italy, Spain, and Germany have all fallen victim to this obscure occurrence, creating what is known as the most plausible conspiracy theory in football, the World Cup curse.
What puts a repeat of the curse in some doubt, though, is that France certainly have maintained their star quality, and integrated young talent, four years on. However, the absence of their best midfield pair, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante due to injuries, has put intense pressure on the younger players in the squad to perform. Kylian Mbappe, Raphael Varane and Ballon D’or winner, Karim Benzema are born winners and will strike fear into all teams, however the beating heart of the French side has been removed, with less proven names such as Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni making up an exciting yet inexperienced midfield. Will France fall victim to the World Cup curse once again; or will their fantastic forward men and youthful exuberance carry ‘Les Blues’ to back-to-back world glory?
Dan Balliston
Uruguay
Diego Alonso’s side didn't have an easy run in their South American qualification campaign. They finished third, 11 points behind second-placed Argentina and 17 points behind group winners Brazil.
Along with the likes of a powerhouse like Portugal, Son Heung-Min's South Korea, and Ghana, a team out for vengeance after what transpired in South Africa in 2010, “La Celeste” face a formidable test in Group H.
Uruguay are going through what you would call a generational change at the minute. Though still capable of exceptional performances, players like Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Godín have passed their prime years. Hence, youth and the emergence of talented players such as Federico Valverde, Darwin Núñez and Rodrigo Bentancur, could be the reason behind Uruguay's success in this World Cup campaign.
Valued at a whopping 100 million Euros, Valverde is arguably one of the best in world football at the minute. Playing at Real Madrid, the central midfielder, who can also play on the right wing, is in his best goal-scoring season of all time, netting eight times so far.
Pairing this with recent Premier League additions, Núñez and Bentancur. As well as talented youth players such as Manchester United loanee, Facundo Pellistri, Uruguay look to have one of their strongest and most experienced sides in years.
Although they may lack in the defensive department, the squad is definitely good enough to progress through to the latter stages, depending on where they finish in the group.
For Uruguay, winning the group is essential as the runners-up play the winners of Group G, which consists of World Cup favourites, Brazil. Although anything can happen, I have no doubt that would be the end of Uruguay’s World Cup and the same goes for Portugal, therefore the battle for first place in Group G is vital to World Cup success.
If Uruguay win their group, which I believe they have a great chance of, they will probably play either Switzerland or Serbia in the knockout stages. Two difficult but extremely winnable contests that could earn them progression into the World Cup quarter-finals
However, I don't believe they can advance any further than the quarterfinals. Teams like France, Spain, Argentina and England would punish Uruguay at the back and down the flanks and ultimately possess a higher level of talent in terms of squad depth, which is crucial when progressing through the latter stages of such a prestigious tournament.
Lewis Thompson
Team captain Cristiano Ronaldo is arriving in Qatar under a cloud. Coming off a difficult and controversial season with Manchester United, football's all-time top goalscorer will have the added pressure of finding himself a new team, as if the pressure of delivering at the World Cup wasn't enough. He will be looking to return to his former glory with Portugal, mirroring his Euro 2016 glory and making himself look appealing for potential new teams. His team is more than talented enough to pick up the slack, but Ronaldo will still be looking to make a splash in what will likely be his final major international tournament.
Arthur Ferridge
The former Barcelona manager has overseen a culling of established stars like David De Gea, Thiago Alcantara and Sergio Ramos. Rigid in a 4-3-3 formation, Enrique prides himself on an aggressive, attacking style of football, based around a high pressing line and using pacey wingers to move the ball quickly in transitions.
At the heart of his vision is a dynamic midfield trio anchored by unsung hero Sergio Busquets, the only survivor from Spain's golden era along with Barcelona's world-class teenage trio of Gavi and Pedri dubbed the new Xavi and Iniesta. This forms the backbone of an exciting side that reached the Euro's semi-final just last year. With the exception of a Nations League loss to Switzerland, the team has been in great form since.
France and England are the top picks from Europe but whisper it quietly, Spain is Europe's best chance of coming home with World Cup glory.
Cristian Turner-Bell
As this squad of players reach thirty years of age and beyond, though, it feels like the changing of the guard is beginning and this might just be Belgium’s last chance to win international silverware with this group of players. What they do have in their favour, though, is the form of arguably the best midfielder and goalkeeper in the world right now in Kevin de Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois. However, the threat of the once unplayable Eden Hazard appears to have diminished, along with the hunger and world class ability of the former stars of this team. In Qatar, though, the ‘golden generation’ will have more desire than ever to bring the coveted trophy back to Belgium. They will once again be amongst the favourites.
Dan Balliston