With the 2022 World Cup finally getting under way in Qatar, all eyes will be on who can hit the ground running and give themselves an easy route through the group stages and into the knockout rounds. Brazil are currently favourites to lift the famous trophy with most bookies, but they haven’t actually won the World Cup for 20 years. Argentina are also high up in the favourites list, but they haven’t won the tournament for 36 years.
Reigning champions France have some injury concerns but will still be heavily fancied by some, and then you have other contenders such as Spain, England, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands and of course Germany. Get our brilliant 48-page Wales at the World Cup souvenir guide to the tournament.
So what will actually happen at the World Cup, and who is likely to face who as we progress beyond the group stage and into the second round, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final itself? Let’s take a look at the likely scenarios as we head through the tournament.
