The 2022 FIFA World Cup has been one full of surprises so far. Even the decision to have the nation of Qatar host this tournament had been a surprise with many fans and players alike, disapproving of Qatar’s laws and rules. The 2022 Qatar World Cup has also surprised many by changing some rules of the game. The most notable of these rules is an increase of players in each countries national squad from 23 up to 26 players, and the increase of substitutions allowed from three to five. This will also be the first World cup where female referees officiate matches.   

 The main surprises however have come from the actual matches. We are less than 2 rounds into the group stage, and there have already been some major upsets in the results. Very reputable teams thought to perform well in this tournament, such as Argentina and Germany have already suffered heavy, unexpected losses to lower ranked teams such as Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively.  

 But even without these significant losses, the World cup table is still looking very different to how many thought it would.   

 Some notable information about the draw of the World Cup is that the French team has already qualified. This leaves Australia fighting for second place, whilst both Canada and the host nation of Qatar have both been eliminated from the tournament. That makes Qatar not only the first World Cup host to lose their first game in many years but also the fastest to get eliminated in the history of the tournament.  

 Group Stage  

 Group A currently has the Netherlands and Ecuador qualifying, although Senegal still has a large chance to qualify. Qatar is already eliminated.  

 Group B currently has England and Iran qualifying, whilst the USA is close behind. It is also possible, whilst unlikely that Wales qualifies for the next stage. 

 Group C has Poland and Argentina in the top two spots whilst Saudi Arabia is close behind and Mexico at the bottom. Argentina’s next fixture is Poland, and they will need to perform in that game to avoid losing their spot to Saudi Arabia.  

 Group D has France guaranteed to qualify, followed by a close competition between Denmark and Australia. Things are not looking too good for Tunisia at the bottom of the table.  

 Group E is in high contention with Spain currently on top and Japan, Costa Rica and Germany fighting for that second spot. Germany may currently be at the bottom of the ladder but have a very strong team with a good chance to beat Costa Rica and qualify.  

 Group F has Croatia and Morocco on top with, surprisingly, Belgium in third and Canada at the bottom having already been eliminated. The main action in this group will be Belgium against Croatia which will determine which of them makes it into the next round. 

 Group G has a relatively obvious winner, that being Brazil. That title though is contested by Switzerland. Both Brazil and Switzerland will play each other and the bottom two teams of this ladder, those being Cameroon and Serbia, will also play in their next fixture. Group G does however have two more games to play rather than the one leaving the qualifiers of this group relatively unknown.  

 Group H has also only played one game and the results of that has left Portugal on top with Uruguay and South Korea tied for second place, with Ghana in last. Whilst there is still much to be determined in group H Portugal and Uruguay are definitely looking to be the stronger teams.   

 This World Cup may also be the last for many star players. It has been confirmed that this is both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup appearance. But other players such as Neymar and Lewandowski have also been rumoured to retire from this international competition. 

 No matter the outcome, the Qatar World Cup of 2022 will certainly prove to be an entertaining tournament. It has more than proved itself to be full of surprises and good football, and I am positive that there is more to come.