The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be a World Cup like no other and its unique nature could well make it the year of the dark horses. The likes of Ecuador, Canada, Senegal, Denmark and Qatar could be huge surprises in the most awaited competition of football in November as they go head-to-head against the biggest countries in the world. Here are five dark horses to keep an eye on.
Ecuador EC
It took Ecuador until 2002 to qualify for their first World Cup but they’ve been a regular fixture at the tournament since then and as a footballing nation, their growth has been impressive.
La Tri have arguably never had a more exciting crop of young players than those that will be heading to Qatar, with the likes of Pervis Estupiñán, Moisés Caicedo and Piero Hincapié making up something of a golden generation on the equator.
We will get a very early look at them when they face hosts Qatar on matchday one, and they will be aiming to at least get past the group stage for only the second time in their history.
Denmark
Despite the trauma of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest, the Danes performed brilliantly at last summer’s European Championship, making it all the way to the semi-finals before they were eliminated by England.
Since then they have built on those foundations, qualifying for the World Cup by winning nine of their 10 qualifying fixtures, scoring 30 goals and conceding just three.
Eriksen will be back for the World Cup and there will be quality throughout the squad, with the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Andreas Christensen, Joakim Maehle, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Mikkel Damsgaard to name just a handful of the talent at coach Kasper Hjulmand’s fingertips.
This will be their sixth appearance at a World Cup and their aim will be to match or better the quarter-final berth they achieved in 1998.
Canada
2022 will be only the second time Canada have appeared at a World Cup and their first since 1986. They didn’t get a single point or even score a goal last time they made it to the tournament proper.
Yet there is a sense of genuine excitement about Les Rouges, and it isn’t just coming from Canadians.
In Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Lille striker Jonathan David, they have two of the hottest young players in European football and a coach in John Herdman who has formed a strong bond in the camp while playing an exciting brand of fast, counter-attacking football.
Their qualification for the tournament for the first time in 36 years was a heartwarming story in itself, and it will be fascinating to see how they perform on the big stage.
Senegal
When you think of Senegal, the first player that probably pops into your head is Sadio Mané, and he alone would make them worth keeping an eye on in Qatar.
But there is of course more to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations winners than just Mané, with the likes of Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gueye and Ismaïla Sarr making up the team’s extremely strong spine.
Coach Aliou Cissé is a canny operator too, and was part of the very first Senegal team to appear at a World Cup in 2002, when they stunned holders France in the opening game.
They have come a long way in the intervening 20 years and if 2022 will be the first year that the World Cup is won by an African nation, Senegal probably have the strongest chance of them all.
Qatar
Featuring Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, Group A may not be the Group of Death at the 2022 World Cup, but it is certainly the Group of the Dark Horses.
It has been 12 years since Qatar were awarded the chance to host the World Cup and in those 12 years, they have risen a remarkable 64 places in the FIFA World Rankings and continued their development as a footballing nation by winning the 2019 AFC Asia Cup and reaching the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021.
Their squad may not be comprised of the most household names in the game but in Spanish coach Félix Sánchez they have a former Barcelona youth coach with an attractive footballing philosophy.
And as we saw with the likes of Russia in 2018 and South Korea in 2002, underestimate the tournament hosts at your peril.
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