Group C
Two of the best players on the planet right now face off in Group C as Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski go head-to-head.
For Messi it’s his last chance to win the World Cup for Argentina and for Lewandowski it could be his last tournament with Poland.
Mexico and Saudi Arabia join them.
One of the most decorated countries in world football Argentina arrive in Qatar fresh off their 2021 Copa America success.
Last summer the Albicelestes brought the trophy back to Argentina for the first time since 1993 thanks to a 1-0 win over Brazil in the final and this year there’s hopes of more international success for the South Americans.
The two-time winners haven't won the trophy since 1986 in which time they’ve lost two finals against West Germany in 1990 and a reunified Germany in 2014. However much speculation surrounds Argentina’s 1978 triumph what with the kidnapping of Johan Cruyff and the astonishing 6-0 victory over a solid Peru side, but we won't get bogged down with that. Also 1986 saw Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God sink England on Argentina’s route to the final. Whether we like it or not Argentina can still boast having two stars on their jersey.
A lot of people expect this to be Messi’s final World Cup and many people expect him to finally lift the trophy. As well as Messi the Argentines also boast Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria and Julian Alvarez in what is a mouth-watering attack.
If the defence stays strong they’ll have a real chance however a poor defence was Argentina’s Achilles heel in 2018 with them conceding nine goals in four games.
In recent years one of Europe’s biggest underachievers has been Poland.
The Poles qualified for both the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 Euros but both times failed to make it out of their group.
Before every tournament Poland seem to have the same hype built up around them but every time they fail to reach expectations. This is partly down to the fact that The Eagles rely on Robert Lewandowski a tad too much.
The current Barcelona forward has been scoring goals for fun ever since his move to Borussia Dortmund in 2010. If the veteran can create a solid partnership with Juventus attacker Arkadiusz Milik then the Poles will be in business.
However a Last 16 clash with either Denmark or France could be too tough for Poland.
A World Cup regular Mexico will be competing with Poland for that second-place spot as El Tri look to end their Last 16 curse.
In each of the past seven World Cup competitions (1994-2018) the Central Americans have been knocked out in the Round of 16 each time; and what with Denmark or France waiting for them in the second round it’s likely that curse won't be coming to an end anytime soon.
Mexico eased their way to the World Cup with El Tri finishing second in their CONCACAF qualifying group (runners up to Canada on goal difference). In fact the Mexicans were only beaten twice in their qualifying campaign; losing 2-0 away at the USA and 2-1 in Canada.
Mexico don’t have any big standout names that they can boast in their squad, but attackers Raul Jiminez and Hirving Lozano will be key attacking assets for El Tri.
The international footballing community will wait with bated breath to see if the eleven fingered Guillermo Ochoa will produce more World Cup heroics in goal for Mexico (the 37-year-old has six fingers on his right hand).
And finally in Group C there is Saudi Arabia who make the short trip across their Eastern border to Middle Eastern neighbours Qatar.
The Falcons have previously qualified for five World Cups, progressing beyond the Group Stage just once in 1994 when they reached the Last 16.
Every single player in the Saudi Arabian squad play their trade within Saudi Arabia itself and despite the fact I can't claim to watch an awful lot of Saudia Arabian football I don’t believe the standard is extremely high.
As a result the 2022 World Cup is likely to be a tricky one for the Falcons who will probably be happy to just score a goal.
My Predictions
ARG 3-0 SAU
MEX 1-1 POL
POL 2-0 SAU
ARG 3-1 MEX
POL 2-2 ARG
SAU 0-1 MEX
1. Argentina
2. Poland
3. Mexico
4. Saudi Arabia
By Nathan Williams
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