The World Cup trophy has been in Europe for a long time. Brazil became the champion in 2002. After that, four European countries took the cup in the following four tournaments. From that point, it seems Latin teams are having a bad time in World Cup. In addition to that top four European teams, such as Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal, have an excellent squad at Qatar World Cup. So, there is a good chance that the FIFA World Cup trophy 2022 may remain in Europe.

Table: Power Ranking of Four European teams Participating in FIFA Football World Cup 2022 

Source: Goal.com

4 Potential European Teams to Win the 2022 Qatar World Cup Trophy

Among the 32 World Cup teams, 13 of them are from Europe. While one of the favorites, Italy, is out of the tournament, Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal join the tournament as favorites. However, the other 9 teams also have a good chance to surprise the world. But we will focus on these four teams. Let’s see the analysis of the potential of Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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France

Table: France Squad at a glance

French coach Didier Deschamps has announced the final squad for the 2022 World Cup with 11 players from the team that won the World Cup in Russia. The 25-member squad was announced at a press conference in Paris.

Midfielders N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba are out of the squad due to injuries. However, Karim Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or this year, returned to the attack. But Benzema is also out of the tournament as he was injured during the training session.

Defending champions France have not performed much better in the Nations League. However, some uniqueness has been noticed in their game. Their previous formation seems to have 4-2-3-1. However, with Benzema’s inclusion, Deschamps might have played a 3-4-1-2 formation. Now that Benzema is out, the manager will have to think of a new formation or use the 4-2-3-1.

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Mbappe will play completely in the role of striker while Griezmann helps him from behind. As Varane is doubtful, Arsenal defender William Saliba could come in that place. He is also young, which is both positive and negative for the team because of his experience level.

Young players can also be seen in front of the stoppers. Since Pogba and Kante are gone, Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni will play in their place. Both of them are solid midfielders. Deschamps always introduces new tactics using young players. But it must also be said that Deschamps is the kind of coach who decides the formation after seeing the opponent. At this stage, however, there is not much room for experimentation. But they have much more talented footballers.

All 23 of France’s squad are world-class players. There are some of them who have the ability to turn the match at any time. Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele are two of the best young players in the world of football today. Apart from this, there are great players like Nabil Fekir and Antoine Griezmann. Any one of them has the power to influence the outcome of a match in a moment of magic.

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Overall, Coach Didier Deschamps is the biggest tonic of the France team who was the captain of France’s winning 1998 World Cup team. He has been the coach of France since 2012. As a result, Deschamps got the opportunity to organize his own team for a long time. And we have seen the outcome of the 2018 World Cup. Hence, France has a great chance to retain the World Cup.

Spain

Table: Spain Squad at a glance

Spain grabbed their long-deserved World Cup in 2010. There isn’t much history in football that won so many top tournaments within a decade. With Cassius, Iniesta, Puyol, and Xavi, Spain has passed its golden time.

But, they failed miserably in the following two World Cups as they struggled to pass the group stage and second round. However, under the coaching of Luis Enrique, a new group of stars has started to make the Spanish dream of winning the World Cup again. Will they get their second title?

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Time will answer that question. But, the Spain team, built with a mixture of youth and experience, has the ability to do great things.

Goalkeeper Unai Simon will be Enrique’s first choice under the posts. However, the Spain coach has excellent options in the goalkeeper position. Robert Sánchez and David Raya are also capable of playing their own roles if needed.

Spain is also very strong in defense. Cesar Azpilicueta, Pau Torres, Erik García, and Jordi Alba are very effective in adapting to any situation. Pedri and Koke will be upfront with Sergio Busquets in the midfield.

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19-year-old young Pedri is considered one of the surprises in this World Cup. Eyes will be on Rodri too. How Enrique utilizes the Manchester City star, who has great passing ability, could also play a role in shaping the course of Spain’s game.

And in the forward line, Enrique will rely on Ferran Torres, Pablo Sarabia, and Morata. They can be seen in multiple roles, even by changing positions. Apart from this, stars like Dani Olmo, Ansu Fati, Gavi, or Nico Gonzalez will be waiting for an opportunity from the bench as an alternative even if they do not get a place in the eleven.

It can be said that Enrique has all the enviable options in his hands, which can cause this coach to have a lot of trouble in arranging the eleven. All in all, the mix of youth and experience in the Spain team is quite good.

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All in all, Spain’s way of attacking may be in a 2-3-5 formation, where the fullbacks come forward as an attacking and possession-based team, and the wingers play inverted roles.

In the recent matches they have won, the results seem to be seen that they have struggled. But Enrique’s team was much ahead of the opponent in possession of the ball in almost all the matches. However, scoring does not reflect such strong football.

Apparently, Spain is heading a team like the 2010 World Cup. After France, they have a huge chance to win the World Cup.

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Portugal

Table: Portugal Squad at a glance

Portugal’s best success at the World Cup is two semi-final appearances. However, this year Portugal has a young, energetic team under Cristiano Ronaldo’s captaincy.

This may be the last World Cup for the 37-year-old star, Ronaldo. He will definitely want to grab the desired trophy. However, in addition to Ronaldo, there are a few other stars in the Portugal team who can change the game.

Read More: Portugal Squad Analysis for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

With Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, this time Portugal has a promising team. All these players have been in great form in their club matches. Although the squad is good, Portugal has never played a World Cup final before.

Overall, team Portugal mostly depends on Ronaldo. Other players’ lack of experience in big tournaments may hold the team back. Also, Portugal’s knockout against Belgium in Euro 2021 also portrays a poor team performance.

However, they have easy opponents in the group stage. Despite being a good squad, Portugal has a 50-50 chance.

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Germany

Table: German Squad at a glance

Germany, the 2014 World Cup champions, was eliminated in the first round in Russia four years ago. Never since World War II has Germany been eliminated before the quarter-finals of two consecutive international football tournaments. There is not much optimism about Germany in this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Even the German team doesn’t have much hope for themselves. This is evident from the words of Antonio Rudiger, one of the most important stars of the team. The German defender of Real Madrid thinks that it will be a big ‘shock’ if Germany becomes the champion in Qatar World Cup.

Read More: Germany Squad Analysis for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

This time, such a Germany is going to play the World Cup in Qatar, about whom the British media, The Guardian says, “The Germany team are at a historic low.”

Germany was knocked out in the group stage at the FIFA World Cup in Russia four years ago and failed to make it past the second round after losing to England at the Euros.

After winning the World Cup in 2014, many of their golden generations quit the game. In those places, the replacement was not really done that way. Muller is still their hope in scoring goals. The team did not do well in the Nations League either. All in all, nothing big can be expected from them. But it is also true Hansi Flick will try to build a combination with this team.

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Apart from Muller, 19-year-old midfielder Jamal Musiala is another hope for the team. Musiala’s big strength is his build, and he can move through defenses quickly because of his physical build. Another special thing about Musiala is that he is good with both feet; his shot power is quite good at this age.

Overall, Germany has almost zero chance of surviving in this World Cup unless any miracle happens.

Final Words

This is the World Cup stage, and anything can happen. Though several countries from Europe-America are making strong claims for the championship, it is difficult to say which country will win. So far, we have analyzed the potentials of four European squads including Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, as per the analysis, if we have to pick from Europe, France has the ultimate chance. 

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