22 November 2022
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
Soccer/Entertainment
The 2022 World Cup is finally here, and for the first time, Qatar is hosting the Internationally recognized FIFA championship. As fans cheer on their teams, spectators conclude their travel plans to Qatar to witness the games firsthand.
The fact that the games are taking place in the middle of the European League forces players to feature in their club games and still be in shape for the World Cup games barely six days later. Despite all of this, the turnout has been pretty impressive, and the teams are ready to give it their best shot. Let’s look at the countries playing in this year’s Qatar 2022: World Cup preview.
- Ecuador
Ecuador went through a rocky time returning to the World Cup this year over the eligibility issue of one of their players. Eventually, they were able to secure their place in group A. Also referred to as the La Tri group, the Ecuador football team was legally challenged by Chile, claiming that Byron Castillo, one of their players, was not eligible to play in the World Cup. Unfortunately, Castillo was excluded from the 26-man roster for Qatar, and Ecuador was able to return to the World Cup in 2022. With the Ecuadorians present, the world of football betting has the work cut out for them this year.
- Iran
Considering the chaos playing out in their home country, the Iranian football team is taking a big step in competing in this year’s World Cup Championship. IR Iran has qualified for the World Cup six times and won twice. Unfortunately, they aren’t getting as much support from fans this year, as they have been accused of failing to distance themselves from the country’s oppressive regime.
Amidst all this, they have had to practise under turbulent conditions and a divided team since they started training a few days after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini (killed I’m Iran by morality police). Although FIFA threatened to exclude them from all international games until the issues in their country were handled, the team was still able to make it (in team B) for the championship games in Qatar.
- Argentina
It’s mixed feelings for Argentina’s national team as Lionel Messi is presumed to be playing his last World Cup Championship. While having him on the team will increase their chances of winning the Cup, watching him go after this year’s games would be hard.
The team secured their spot in the World Cup (Group C) after beating Italy in the qualifiers. This is great news for their team and unpleasant news for other teams; Argentina has always been a force to contend with when it comes to football.
- Australia
As one of the countries in Group C, Australia is ready for its fifth World Cup appearance. They have 17 new World Cup participants making them a bit less predictable than usual.
Their journey to the World Cup was not necessarily a walk in the park, they narrowly beat Japan and won their game against Saudi Arabia 1-0. Although there aren’t any big names on their team, they are coming in with positive spirits and have a good chance at winning the championship, just like every other team.