Will there be a revenge match between Germany and Brazil in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup?
On 8 July 2014, the German national football team beat Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals of the World Cup in front of their fans. Six days later, they followed up with a 1-0 win over Argentina at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro and claimed their fourth World Cup title. The hosts, on the other hand, failed to bounce back from that shock, losing 0-3 to the Netherlands in the third-place match.
Brazil can’t be left out of pot one, Germany most likely to be in pot two
Almost eight and a half years later, a revenge match could take place in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Because: The draw will take place in Doha on 1 April and after the publication of the FIFA ranking on 10 February, it is certain that Brazil will be in the first pot.
Germany, in first place in Group J, also already punched their ticket to the finals, but Hansi Flick’s team is in eleventh place. And that means that the DFB squad will again most likely be in pot two.
With Portugal and Italy, two teams fighting for a ticket in one of the paths in the European qualifiers, are in the top10. If the last two European champions to date both will fail to beat Turkey and Northern Macedonia, it would be a fist-pumping sensation. The opponents are 39th and 67th in the FIFA rankings.
Behind them, Denmark and the Netherlands have the best chances of making it into pot one
But even if that were to happen, Germany would only make it into pot one by a miracle. With Denmark and the Netherlands, two other group winners in the European qualifiers are in ninth and tenth place. At most, the friendly matches in March could change this.
Thus, based on the current constellation, Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, and Portugal or Italy would most likely be in pot one. Thereafter, pot two would consist of Denmark, Holland, Germany, Mexico, the USA, Switzerland, Croatia, and Uruguay. However, the Celeste itself isn’t yet a confirmed participant, and even if it were, it couldn’t play against Brazil and Argentina in the group stage.
Will Senegal finish in the top two?
And that in turn means that newly-crowned African champions Senegal could move into pot two. The Lions of Teranga are 18th in the FIFA rankings. Between Uruguay and Senegal, Sweden lie in 17th place. And the Scandinavians will face 28th-placed Poland, 31st-placed Czech Republic as well as 35th-placed Russia in another path of European qualifiers.
Furthermore, Senegal must first compete in the African play-offs. There, they will play a rematch of the Africa Cup final against 34th-placed Egypt. Among the other duels, there will be the one between Ghana and Nigeria. Here, the number 61 and the number 32 in the world will compete. Uruguay, on the other hand, are fourth in the South American qualifiers, one point ahead of 22nd-placed Peru. As things stand, the latter would take part in the intercontinental play-off.
