The 2022 World Cup is at hand. There is an essential tradition in the build-up to every world cup that we must always adhere to – that of delineating the World Cup “group of death.” Following the April 1st group stage draw in Doha and the completion of a few pending playoff matches, we now officially have eight groups of four teams each. In the days leading up to Qatar, what’s your “group of death”?
What’s a World Cup “Group of Death”?
Experts, pundits, and fans have different bases for designating a group. However, we believe we have more effective criteria that give us a better yardstick for this. An actual “group of death” should feature a set of teams so competitive that it’s easy for any one team to trounce the other. Group F at the 2002 World Cup – which threw Argentina, England, Sweden, and Nigeria together – is a classic example. On that occasion, they knocked out giants Argentina, while England could only advance as the second-best team after Sweden won the group.
So a “group of death” is not necessarily because two or three teams are ranked very high. Based on recent results, it has to be such that there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut, obvious winner in most of the group match-ups. For us, it eliminates Group E (Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, and Japan), the candidate for most people. Germany and Spain being historically stronger than Japan or Costa Rica, seem primed to clinch the top two spots.
Above is how world cup Group H looks. Portugal can trouble Uruguay and vice versa. South Korea can upset Portugal, or Portugal can prove their mettle. Ghana and Uruguay already have an intriguing recent history – a tight, titanic World Cup contest in 2010 by a blatant handball by Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. South Korea vs. Ghana Head to Head reads nine games with four wins for each team and one draw. The stats don’t lie. Group H is our official 2022 World Cup “group of death.”
Portugal To Slog Their Way To Group H Apex
The other crucial World Cup custom we must not disregard is forecasting each group’s likeliest winner. As inconsistent as world cup Group H appears, Portugal seems to be the side most likely to be sitting at the top come December. Of the quartet, they are the team ranked highest (#9), but that’s not solely why we’re giving them that consideration. It’s more because of one man: Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese striker captains his country and is their all-time leading goalscorer. He is officially the most proficient goalscorer in the history of men’s soccer, with over 800 goals. And the 37-year-old is not done yet.
Despite being well into the twilight stages of his career, he thrives on proving people wrong and has done it repeatedly. CR7 has won many accolades in his astonishing career, but there’s nothing he’d love more than to lead his home country to 2022 World Cup glory. He knows that Qatar will likely be his last major international tourney. What a way to sign off that would be! Putting him aside, head coach Fernando Santos has assembled a stellar team. The likes of Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota, and Joao Cancelo are competent supporting cast for Ronaldo. They will supply the most efficient striker in world football with the ammunition he needs to make Portugal shine. The Portuguese were not at their best in qualifying, having to sneak in via the playoffs. That has, regardless, not prevented major bookies from rightly recognizing their strength, offering 8/15 (-190) for Portugal to tame the 2022 “group of death.” You can also back Santos’ men to blaze it to the finish line with 12/1 (+1200) for CR7 and co. to Win the 2022 World Cup.
