World Cup 2022 FIFA World Cup - Group A - (Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands)
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Netherlands and Ecuador.
Ecuador Qatar
I'd be surprised if Holland don't win all three games. Senegal in second.
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
The Dutch should comfortably top it, but second place is open. I can see Qatar pinching it given the inevitable refereeing they will receive.
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- Dec 22, 2009
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Either that or Qatar will call up a few random Brazilllians / Africans by claiming that once upon a time their mothers were born in Qatar.
Netherlands and Senegal for me.
omgfridge
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Sadio Mane in big doubt is going to hurt Senegal's chances.
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I'd read he's been ruled out?
It's such a weird era for the Dutch - all our usual strengths are weaknesses and all our usual weaknesses are strengths.
The Dutch have always been a highly attacking team who want to play beautiful football. They've almost always had lots of world class strikers, wingers, attacking mids and goalkeepers.
However, they've almost always had a "no-name" defence, poorer structures and a bunch of infighting and egos in the dressing room that have thwarted the chances of very, very talented teams.
As an example of our wealth of attackers at times, I remember a period growing up where Patrick Kluivert was the main man at Barcelona and the Netherlands incumbent no 9. Bergkamp was at his peak and weaving his magic in Arsenals' dominant peak as our incumbent no 10. Problem was, Ruud van Nistelrooy was also the player of the year and golden boot winner in the premier league, banging them in for fun. Across the pond, Roy Makaay was La Liga's top scorer and the European Golden Boot winner at the same time. Hell, even Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also top 3 in the premier league scoring charts and Robin van Persie was the new kid on the block, having just won "dutch talent of the year" and having a hot start at Arsenal. We were trying to pick 2 players when we had arguably 5 of the most in form 7-8 strikers in the world. (not counting all the dominant wingers and attacking mids we had at the same time). The defence, however, was all just Eredivisie players.
This time round, we have Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Mathis De Ligt (Bayern Munich), Nathan Ake (Man City), Stefan DeVrij (Inter), Denzel Dumfries (Inter) and backups like Timber and Malacia to be well stocked defensively.
Up forward is relative slim pickings though with Memphis Depay (injured and missing game time at Barca) probably still the headline act with most of the forwards plying their trade in the Dutch league (Berghuis, Bergwijn, Gakpo) or having injury ineterrupted campaigns (Malen, Danjuma, etc).
The goalkeeping stocks is another major issue. Usually having to manage multiple worthy No 1's, the Dutch barely have a goalie in form. It seems likely that they either go back to Cillessen (yuck) or to old man Pasveer (just coz he is the Ajax No 1, even more yuck).
(The midfield looks fine - though I'm not sure how we'd go without Frenkie de Jong - who does a lot both ways)
The good news is structually and playing together wise, they still seem quite strong despite the lack of headline names across the park. They've been organised and flowing and have been getting the results for the last while, having lost only 1 game in their last 25 matches, including multiple wins over Belgium, Germany, etc.
The Dutch have always been a highly attacking team who want to play beautiful football. They've almost always had lots of world class strikers, wingers, attacking mids and goalkeepers.
However, they've almost always had a "no-name" defence, poorer structures and a bunch of infighting and egos in the dressing room that have thwarted the chances of very, very talented teams.
As an example of our wealth of attackers at times, I remember a period growing up where Patrick Kluivert was the main man at Barcelona and the Netherlands incumbent no 9. Bergkamp was at his peak and weaving his magic in Arsenals' dominant peak as our incumbent no 10. Problem was, Ruud van Nistelrooy was also the player of the year and golden boot winner in the premier league, banging them in for fun. Across the pond, Roy Makaay was La Liga's top scorer and the European Golden Boot winner at the same time. Hell, even Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also top 3 in the premier league scoring charts and Robin van Persie was the new kid on the block, having just won "dutch talent of the year" and having a hot start at Arsenal. We were trying to pick 2 players when we had arguably 5 of the most in form 7-8 strikers in the world. (not counting all the dominant wingers and attacking mids we had at the same time). The defence, however, was all just Eredivisie players.
This time round, we have Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Mathis De Ligt (Bayern Munich), Nathan Ake (Man City), Stefan DeVrij (Inter), Denzel Dumfries (Inter) and backups like Timber and Malacia to be well stocked defensively.
Up forward is relative slim pickings though with Memphis Depay (injured and missing game time at Barca) probably still the headline act with most of the forwards plying their trade in the Dutch league (Berghuis, Bergwijn, Gakpo) or having injury ineterrupted campaigns (Malen, Danjuma, etc).
The goalkeeping stocks is another major issue. Usually having to manage multiple worthy No 1's, the Dutch barely have a goalie in form. It seems likely that they either go back to Cillessen (yuck) or to old man Pasveer (just coz he is the Ajax No 1, even more yuck).
(The midfield looks fine - though I'm not sure how we'd go without Frenkie de Jong - who does a lot both ways)
The good news is structually and playing together wise, they still seem quite strong despite the lack of headline names across the park. They've been organised and flowing and have been getting the results for the last while, having lost only 1 game in their last 25 matches, including multiple wins over Belgium, Germany, etc.
One thing I forgot to mention is that Daley Blind will probably start every game as one of our wing backs 
Yes, he's very experienced, tackles well and is an excellent distributor but if you thought he was too slow for that role in his Man Utd days, you should see him now. He's soooooooooo slow and an otherwise strong team can be easily picked apart before the whistle's even blown by putting a pacey winger on his flank. They'll just run past/around him with ease and have space and time to deliver crosses (or shots) under no pressure.
It's like the Maguire situation but much, much worse. At least Maguire can play well or might have a costly brain fade at an unanticipated moment that could cost the team (if the oppo pounce on his error). He can also have entire games of being solid without these errors. Blind is unable to be faster than he is. His slowness can be planned for and exploited. He can't suddenly have a game without being slow (like Maguire can have an error free game). It's a huge weakness to concede to opposition managers at the World Cup level.
Yes, he's very experienced, tackles well and is an excellent distributor but if you thought he was too slow for that role in his Man Utd days, you should see him now. He's soooooooooo slow and an otherwise strong team can be easily picked apart before the whistle's even blown by putting a pacey winger on his flank. They'll just run past/around him with ease and have space and time to deliver crosses (or shots) under no pressure.
It's like the Maguire situation but much, much worse. At least Maguire can play well or might have a costly brain fade at an unanticipated moment that could cost the team (if the oppo pounce on his error). He can also have entire games of being solid without these errors. Blind is unable to be faster than he is. His slowness can be planned for and exploited. He can't suddenly have a game without being slow (like Maguire can have an error free game). It's a huge weakness to concede to opposition managers at the World Cup level.
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
Netherlands World Cup squad
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Remko Pasveer | Ajax (NED) | 38 | 2 |
| Goalkeeper | Andries Noppert | Heerenveen (NED) | 28 | 0 |
| Goalkeeper | Justin Bijlow | Feyenoord (NED) | 24 | 6 |
| Defender | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool (ENG) | 31 | 49 |
| Defender | Nathan Ake | Manchester City (ENG) | 27 | 29 |
| Defender | Jeremie Frimpong | Bayer Leverkusen (NED) | 21 | 0 |
| Defender | Stefan de Vrij | Inter (ITA) | 30 | 59 |
| Defender | Daley Blind | Ajax (NED) | 32 | 94 |
| Defender | Matthijs de Ligt | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 38 |
| Defender | Tyrell Malacia | Manchester United (ENG) | 23 | 6 |
| Defender | Jurrien Timber | Ajax (NED) | 21 | 10 |
| Defender | Denzel Dumfries | Inter (ITA) | 26 | 37 |
| Midfielder | Frenkie de Jong | Barcelona (SPA) | 25 | 45 |
| Midfielder | Davy Klaassen | Ajax (NED) | 29 | 35 |
| Midfielder | Xavi Simons | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 19 | 0 |
| Midfielder | Steven Berghuis | Ajax (NED) | 30 | 39 |
| Midfielder | Marten de Roon | Atalanta (ITA) | 31 | 30 |
| Midfielder | Kenneth Taylor | Ajax (NED) | 20 | 2 |
| Midfielder | Teun Koopmeiners | Atalanta (ITA) | 24 | 9 |
| Forward | Memphis Depay | Barcelona (SPA) | 28 | 81 |
| Forward | Steven Bergwijn | Ajax (NED) | 25 | 24 |
| Forward | Cody Gakpo | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 23 | 9 |
| Forward | Wout Weghorst | Besiktas (TUR) | 30 | 15 |
| Forward | Vincent Janssen | Royal Antwerp (BEL) | 28 | 20 |
| Forward | Luuk de Jong | PSV Eindhoven (NED) | 32 | 38 |
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
Senegal World Cup squad
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Edouard Mendy | Chelsea (ENG) | 30 | 25 |
| Goalkeeper | Alfred Gomis | Rennes (FRA) | 29 | 14 |
| Goalkeeper | Seny Dieng | Queens Park Rangers (ENG) | 27 | 3 |
| Defender | Kalidou Koulibaly | Chelsea (ENG) | 31 | 63 |
| Defender | Pape Abou Cisse | Olympiacos (GRE) | 27 | 12 |
| Defender | Abdou Diallo | RB Leipzig (GER) | 26 | 18 |
| Defender | Fode Ballo-Toure | AC Milan (ITA) | 25 | 14 |
| Defender | Formose Mendy | Amiens (FRA) | 21 | 2 |
| Defender | Ismail Jakobs | Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 1 |
| Defender | Youssouf Sabaly | Real Betis (SPA) | 29 | 24 |
| Midfielder | Idrissa Gueye | Everton (ENG) | 33 | 95 |
| Midfielder | Cheikhou Kouyate | Nottingham Forest (ENG) | 32 | 82 |
| Midfielder | Nampalys Mendy | Leicester City (ENG) | 30 | 18 |
| Midfielder | Pape Gueye | Marseille (FRA) | 23 | 11 |
| Midfielder | Pape Matar Sarr | Tottenham (ENG) | 20 | 8 |
| Midfielder | Mamadou Loum | Reading (ENG) | 25 | 3 |
| Midfielder | Moustapha Name | Pafos (CYP) | 27 | 6 |
| Midfielder | Pathe Ciss | Rayo Vallecano (SPA) | 28 | 0 |
| Forward | Sadio Mane | Bayern Munich (GER) | 30 | 92 |
| Forward | Ismalia Sarr | Watford (ENG) | 24 | 47 |
| Forward | Boulaye Dia | Salernitana (ITA) | 25 | 18 |
| Forward | Bamba Dieng | Marseille (FRA) | 22 | 12 |
| Forward | Iliman Ndiaye | Sheffield United (ENG) | 27 | 14 |
| Forward | Famara Diedhou | Alanyaspor (TUR) | 29 | 24 |
| Forward | Krepin Diatta | Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 25 |
| Forward | Nicolas Jackson | Villarreal (SPA) | 21 | 22 |
8 caps between the 3 Dutch keepers. Must be very, very slim pickings for GKs over there.
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
Apparently Krul declined to take part in penalty-saving practice which is why LVG decided to exclude him from the squad. Not sure what's happened to Cillissen though?
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
Qatar World Cup squad
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Saad Al-Sheeb | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 80 |
| Goalkeeper | Meshaal Barsham | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 15 |
| Goalkeeper | Yousuf Hassan | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 26 | 9 |
| Defender | Pedro Miguel | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 78 |
| Defender | Musaab Khidir | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 29 |
| Defender | Tarek Salman | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 54 |
| Defender | Bassam Al Rawi | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 24 | 51 |
| Defender | Boualem Khoukhi | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 99 |
| Defender | Abdelkarim Hassan | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 120 |
| Defender | Ismaeel Mohammad | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 66 |
| Defender | Homam Ahmed Al Amin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 23 | 27 |
| Defender | Jassim Jabir | Al-Arabi (QAT) | 20 | 0 |
| Midfielder | Ali Asad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 56 |
| Midfielder | Assim Madibo | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 43 |
| Midfielder | Mohammed Waad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 23 | 20 |
| Midfielder | Salem Al-Hajri | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 26 | 23 |
| Midfielder | Mustafa Meshaal Tarek | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| Midfielder | Karim Boudiaf | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 108 |
| Midfielder | Abdulaziz Hatim | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 32 | 96 |
| Forward | Naif Al-Hadhrami | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| Forward | Ahmed Alaaeldin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 29 | 45 |
| Forward | Hassan Al-Haydos | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 31 | 160 |
| Forward | Akram Afif | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 25 | 83 |
| Forward | Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 82 |
| Forward | Mohammed Muntari | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 28 | 41 |
| Forward | Khalid Muneer | Al-Wakrah (QAT) | 24 | 3 |
royboy2
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Qatar a chance to be the only squad being made up entirely of home league players, maybe the Saudis too?
Edit: yes and the Saudis
Edit: yes and the Saudis
TubbsFarquhar
TheBrownDog
Ecuador World Cup squad
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Alexander Dominguez | Deportes Tolima (ECU) | 35 | 67 |
| Goalkeeper | Hernan Galindez | Aucas (ECU) | 35 | 12 |
| Goalkeeper | Moises Ramirez | Independiente (ECU) | 22 | 2 |
| Defender | Robert Arboleda | Sao Paulo (BRA) | 31 | 32 |
| Defender | Xavier Arreaga | Seattle Sounders (USA) | 28 | 17 |
| Defender | Pervis Estupinan | Brighton (ENG) | 24 | 28 |
| Defender | Piero Hincapie | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | 20 | 21 |
| Defender | William Pacho | Royal Antwerp (BEL) | 21 | 0 |
| Defender | Diego Palacios | LAFC (USA) | 23 | 11 |
| Defender | Jackson Porozo | Troyes (FRA) | 22 | 5 |
| Defender | Angelo Preciado | Genk (BEL) | 24 | 25 |
| Defender | Felix Torres | Santos Laguna (MEX) | 25 | 16 |
| Midfielder | Moises Caicedo | Brighton (ENG) | 20 | 25 |
| Midfielder | Jose Cifuentes | LAFC (USA) | 23 | 10 |
| Midfielder | Alan Franco | Talleres (ARG) | 24 | 23 |
| Midfielder | Carlos Gruezo | Augsburg (GER) | 27 | 45 |
| Midfielder | Jhegson Mendez | LAFC (USA) | 25 | 31 |
| Midfielder | Ayrton Preciado | Santos Laguna (MEX) | 28 | 27 |
| Midfielder | Jeremy Sarmiento | Brighton (ENG) | 20 | 9 |
| Forward | Michael Estrada | Cruz Azul (MEX) | 26 | 36 |
| Forward | Romario Ibarra | Pachuca (MEX) | 28 | 24 |
| Forward | Angel Mena | Club Leon (MEX) | 34 | 45 |
| Forward | Gonzalo Plata | Real Valladolid (SPA) | 21 | 29 |
| Forward | Djorkaeff Reasco | Newell's Old Boys (ARG) | 23 | 3 |
| Forward | Kevin Rodriguez | Imbabura SC (ECU) | 22 | 0 |
| Forward | Enner Valencia | Fenerbahce (TUR) | 33 | 74 |
The Dutch will go far, they have a lot of ground to make up having faltered last event!
Bradesmaen
TheBrownDog
They have no top class striker and only one quality midfielder, don't see them doing anything
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Mane is confirmed as being out for the whole tournament, which is a shame for all football lovers.
www.theguardian.com
I still think Senegal have a good squad, so I reckon they'll progress from the group. But without Mane, round of 16 is probably their limit.
Senegal’s Sadio Mané ruled out of World Cup despite ‘successful surgery’
Sadio Mané will not play in the World Cup in Qatar with Bayern Munich confirming the forward had undergone ‘successful surgery’
I still think Senegal have a good squad, so I reckon they'll progress from the group. But without Mane, round of 16 is probably their limit.
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Luuk De Jong getting a run is telling. Garbage.
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