Though Brazil lost out on their tenth Copa America title in 2021 when they lost 1 - 0 in the Final to Argentina, Tite’s men look the most likely to go all the way in Qatar.
Brazil currently sit at the top the Fifa Men’s Rankings, above both 2018 World Cup winners France and Euro 2020 winners Italy.
As Neymar closes in on Pele’s Brazil scoring record, only three goals adrift from Pele’s 77 goals for his country, he and Brazil will be looking likely to win Brazil’s sixth World Cup.
France go to Qatar as defending World Champions and with a point to prove after a slightly disappointing Euros run, where Les Bleus crashed out on penalties to Switzerland in the Round of 16.
France came out victorious in 2018, where their young team ran riot in Russia and will be looking to do the same in Qatar, especially the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Aurélien Tchouameni and Christopher Nkunku, the latter two having had standout 2021/22 seasons for Monaco and RB Leipzig.
However, the potential return of Karim Benzema to World Cup football could be the biggest factor in a potential back-to-back World Cup win for France.
Gareth Southgate’s England team reached their first major final since the Three Lions won the World Cup back in 1966 when they faced Italy at Wembley in the Final of the 2020 Euros, and will be looking to repeat that success in Qatar.
Last time out in the World Cup, England managed to reach the semi-finals where they eventually lost 2 - 1 after extra time to Croatia and then lost again in the third-place play-off to Belgium.
The penalty heartbreak in the summer of 2021 will have Southgate’s young team eager to make amends and take the final step to get their hands on a trophy.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be Argentinian talisman Lionel Messi’s last major tournament in his international career.
Argentina crashed out of the 2018 World Cup at the Round of 16 stage, losing 4 - 3 to eventual champions France. Though, since this disappointing tournament, Argentina have gone on to win the Copa America against Brazil and beat Euros winners Italy in the recent Finallisma.
However, both Messi and Argentina will be focused on avenging their loss in the 2014 World Cup Final, where they lost 1 - 0 to Germany with a goal in the final minutes of extra time from Mario Gotze.
Spain’s recent international squads have had a big mix of both young and old, with the likes of veterans like Sergio Busquets and Cesar Azpilicueta playing alongside Pedri and Ferran Torres.
La Roja reached the Semi-finals of the 2020 Euros, where they lost out 4 - 2 on penalties to champions Italy after the game finished 1 - 1 after extra time.
However, Spain have won the biggest trophy in world football before, when they won the 2010 World Cup, which they then backed up by winning the 2012 Euros. A massive history in international football means that La Roja can never be counted out.
Germany had a disappointing run in the 2018 World Cup, where under Joachim Low, the defending champions failed to make it out of the group stages, finishing bottom with only three points behind South Korea, Sweden and Mexico.
Germany won the World Cup back in 2014 at the expense of Argentina, with the Final going to extra time before a Mario Gotze goal took the Cup back to Europe.
The younger German team, now under former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick, failed to make it past the Round of 16 at the 2020 Euros after losing 2 - 0 to England. However, the team now looks more than promising to make a big impact in Qatar under their new management.
The golden generation of Belgium football looks to build from their last time at a World Cup, where the Belgian Red Devils reached the Semi-finals in Russia but only reached the Quater-finals in the 2020 Euros.
The likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku will want some silverware to show for their time at the top of the FIFA rankings, though they have recently been pipped by Brazil for the top spot.
With a third-place all that Belgium have to show for their time at the top, they’ll want to and will be likely to be a big challenge in Qatar.
The Netherlands didn’t make an appearance in the 2018 World Cup after they finished third in their qualifying group behind both Sweden and France.
The Oranje also had a slightly anticlimatic Euros, where they crashed out in the Round of 16 after a shock 2 - 0 defeat to the Czech Republic.
The Netherlands have made a Final in the years since the last World Cup, the Nations League Final where they lost 1 - 0 to Portugal. But, their stacked team and the return to the top for Virgil Van Dijk will be greatly welcomed by the Dutch team who look to take the trophy back to the Netherlands.
The 2022 Qatar World Cup may also be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last major tournament with Portugal. As Portugal’s top scorer, Ronaldo has won the Euros with Portugal back in 2016, but will want to go out with a bang with a win in Qatar.
Their last tournament win came in 2019 when they won the inaugural Nations League against the Netherlands as Valencia man Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the game.
Portugal’s 2021 Euros were somewhat disappointing as they couldn’t make it past the Round of 16 stages, with a 1 - 0 loss to Belgium.
They also bowed out at the same stage last time out in the 2018 World Cup, this time to a 2 - 1 defeat to Uruguay. Ronaldo and Portugal, though a little less likely, will want to win World Cup glory in their top scorer’s potential last tournament appearance.
