The Outsiders to Win the FIFA World Cup 2022
Before every World Cup, there are articles written about the potential winners and how they will fare in the tournament.
That being said, everybody loves an underdog story and to see some of the lesser teams progress and compete is one of the joys of the World Cup.
Like all tournaments, there will be some upsets and we can’t wait to see which sides outperform those who have the supposedly better players.
In our view, the below list are the teams that have the best chance of doing this…
Croatia
The Croatians are perennial dark horses, continuously performing well above their expected level. However, they are a side that does have some aging stars, with the likes of Luka Modric no longer the player that he was. They will be hoping they can get one more tune out of the masterful midfielder. See availability for Croatia World Cup tickets here.
Russia
Russia actually sit atop of Croatia’s qualifying group and seem to have hit form at an opportune time. That being said, the Russians tend to reach tournaments, then underperform while at them. For instance, they finished bottom of their group at Euro2020 and although they defeated in Spain in the last World Cup, they lost to the Croatians in the game that followed. They will need to do better than that if they are to compete in Qatar.
Denmark
The Danes were only the second side to secure qualification from Europe. Considering the harrowing events surrounding Cristian Eriksen at Euro2020, this was an incredible feat. They are a side that tends to rise to the team they are playing, so they could go far in this tournament.
Netherlands
Unbelievably, Holland can be viewed as an outsider for the World Cup. If you look at the list of players they can choose from, they should be one of the tournament favourites.
They have scored the most goals in European qualifying so far and Memphis Depay looks to be the complete player since his move to Barcelona. This, along with a steely defence led by van Dijk, suggests they may have a big say in Qatar.
Sweden
Amazingly, Sweden sit in first place in a qualifying group that contains Euro 2020 semi-finalists and Nations League finalists, Spain. They have been brilliant so far during this qualifying campaign, having continued to impress in their recent 2-0 drubbing of Greece.
Egypt
Led by the most in-form footballer in the world, Egypt has made it into the next stage of the World Cup qualifying in Confederation of African Football (CAF) with ease.
They did so without losing a game and could prove a troublesome tie for any side if they make it to the tournament in Qatar.
Senegal
Speaking of top Liverpool players, Saido Mane has been in excellent form for Senegal during the World Cup qualifiers, popping up with three goals. He has been helped by Famara Diédhiou, who has scored four in this campaign.
With those two lurking around the box, Senegal will represent a difficult challenge for any team.
Uruguay
Uruguay hasn’t had a great qualifying campaign so far, but who would rule out the South Americans if they make it to the tournament. When it comes to World Cups, they just know how to get the job done. Afterall, they have won two of them.
The North America 2026 World Cup is just around the bend and hopefully it will bring with it brilliant football and even a surprise result or two.
