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.
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. So, she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at very close quarters. And that sparked her enthusiasm for football. Since she loved to write since childhood, Alice began to engage in journalism while still at school....
Latest posts by Alice Kopp
(see all)
By Alice Kopp
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football. Since she has loved writing since childhood, Alice began to study journalism while still at school. It was very convenient for her that her class took part in a project of a German daily newspaper. She was also allowed to write for the children's pages of an Austrian daily newspaper and to get a taste of the sports department of the same medium. This is how she received her first press accreditations, which was of course anything but a matter of course for the then 18-year-old.
Although she was partly advised against it, Alice decided to study journalism and communication sciences. After a few years, she decided to use the exams she had taken as an elective. Nevertheless, she applies the knowledge she has acquired in her further professional life. The same applies to her language skills. In addition to her mother tongues German and Italian, Alice is also proficient in English and Spanish. She also understands French and can use this language in research.
During her studies, Alice was involved in an Austrian football club. At the same time, she wrote for a total of three Austrian portals and worked as an Austria correspondent for an Italian-language online medium. This collaboration started during Giovanni Trapattoni's era at Red Bull Salzburg and continued during EURO 2008. This gave her the opportunity to interact with Trapattoni as well as with Italian journalists.
From the following year, Alice initially worked with a Swiss portal before discovering sports betting content for herself. On the one hand, this kept her in sports journalism, and on the other, it broadened her horizons. And that both in the context of the sports betting industry and with other sports as well as countries. In the field of sports journalism, she focused in particular on football from around the world, volleyball and beach volleyball.
In addition, she naturally wrote several guides, bookmaker profiles, bonus articles and other content for betting enthusiasts. She did this for the same company for about ten years, writing articles in German and Italian. She also built the Italian-language website together with the managing director. Meanwhile, Alice started working with another Austrian football club. Furthermore, she joined the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) in 2016. This gives her the opportunity to watch teams and athletes on the ground relatively often.
Not only sports betting, but also radio
In January 2019, the next step in her professional development followed. For: she started creating premium content on the topic of sports betting. In the process, she finally put out feelers to almost all countries and all continents. And this was not least due to the fact that both German and English-speaking users subscribed to her content. Nevertheless, Alice continued to use her knowledge of Italian, among other things. On the one hand, because she regularly exchanges ideas with Italian colleagues, and on the other, because she works with a web radio station.
The Corona crisis had a strong impact on the sports world and on interest in sports betting, primarily in the early days. Therefore, a fresh start was necessary and, on balance, Alice found the fields of activity that suited her best. She also writes articles for an agency on almost all disciplines as well as on eSports and content for a German online medium.
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football.
View all of Alice Kopp's posts.
