The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is set to rekindle old rivalries as big names in the world of football will clash at the national team level.
The group stage in Qatar will be played from 20 November to 2 December, while the knockout stage will begin with the Round of 16 from 3 December to 6 December.
Players like Lionel Messi (35), Cristiano Ronaldo (37), Luis Suarez (35) and Diago Godin (36) are likely to bow out of the competition after Qatar 2022 on account of age.
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But they are set to collide at this year’s world cup and they would be the cynosure of all eyes. The group stage offers some initial showdown among the stars as we highlight below:
GROUP A: Sadio Mane Vs Virgil van Dijk
The Group A comprise of the host, Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands, but two outstanding former team mates- Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk- are set to face each other when their national teams meet on November 21.
Netherlands named their 39 provisional squad, with star names like Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven) and Memphis Depay (Barcelona)
Louis van Gaal’s squad will face Africa’s one-time Champion, Senegal, with Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich); Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea; Papa Abou Cisse (Olympiacos); Edouard Mendy of Chelsea and Papa Abou Cisse (Olympiacos) as likely line up.
Van Dijk, Liverpool defender narrowly missed out to Messi at the 2019 Ballon d’or award after helping his team to win the 2018-2019 Champions League title.
Mane on his part led his country to qualify for Qatar after scoring the decisive spot kick against Egypt. The Senegalese left Liverpool for Bayern in the summer after scoring 120 goals and 48 assists.
Mane was voted second best player at the just concluded 2022 Ballon d’or award in Paris. The forward’s form has not diminished as he scored 5 goals in 11 appearances for Bayern.
GROUP B: Harry Kane Vs Gareth Bale
England Vs Wales is likely going to be the most exiting match in Group B where England, IR Iran, USA and Wales are drawn.
England’s Harry Kane and Wales’ Gareth Bale are also old Tottenham team mates who will face each other in November.
England will announce their world cup squad on November 10, but the provisional squad features Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Ivan Toney, Jadon Sancho among others.
Wales will feature players like 33-year-old Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC (USA) with 108 caps; Daniel James (Fulham) and Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth).
Kane’s performance for Tottenham in the 2022/2023 season has been impressive, having scored 10 goals in 12 games for his team. He sits 7 goals behind City’s Erling Haaland in the season goal chat.
Bale left Madrid for Los Angeles FC, but has scored only two goals for Los Angeles Fc this season. The 33-year-old has made only 12 appearances and there are fitness concerns about the five times Champions League winner.
Group C: Messi Vs Lewandowski
Messi will lead Argentina, while Lewandowski will lead Poland in the Group C where Saudi Arabia and Mexico have been drawn alongside.
Both players will face each other on Wed, Nov. 30 at the Stadium 974.
Messi and Lewandowski are regular customers at club levels where they both clashed in the Champions League while playing for Barcelona and Bayern respectively.
Messi moved to Paris-Saint German in 2021 while Lewandowski signed for Barca last Summer.
Both players are maintaining impressive forms at their club and country levels. Lewandowski has played 15 games for Barca scoring 17 goals, while Messi has netted nine goals after 15 matches across all competitions so far.
Group D: Karim Benzema Vs Christian Eriksen
Defending champions France have been drawn with Denmark, Australia and Tunisia.
Madrid’s Benzema will face Manchester United’s Eriksen when France face Denmark as both teams battle for the top position in the group.
Benzema’ impressive form saw him crowned winner of the 2022 Balon d’ Or after lifting the Champions League for the fifth time.
Benzema scored 42 goals in 47 club matches last season, while he has scored five goals in Laliga this season.
But Erikson has not maintained a good form for United. He is yet to register a goal for the team this season.
Group E: Morata Vs Muller
Spain VS Germany will be a must watch in Group E where Costa Rica, Germany and Japan are all lined up.
On Sunday, November 27, Spain will face Germany at the Al Bayt Stadium. This will be a test for Alvaro Morata and Thomas Muller who are the key men for Spain and Germany respectively.
Atletico Madrid’s Morata will play alongside Marco Asensio (Real Madrid); Ansu Fati (Barcelona); Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) and Gavi (Barcelona).
Coach Hansi Flick of Germany will feature the likes of Thomas Muller; llkay Gundogan; Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry in his 26-man squad.
Morata has scored five goals for Atletico, while Muller has scored two Bundesliga goals and one in the Champions League.
Group F: Kevin de Bruyne VS Luca Modric
Belgium and Croatia will meet at the group stages of the World Cup.
The group is comprised of Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia.
Belgium’s Roberto Martinez will lead the Red Devils with stars like Kevin de Bruyne (Man City); Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan); Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) and Divock Origi (AC Milan).
Croatia boss, Zlatko Dalic, will lead Luka Modric (Real Madrid); Ivan Perisic of Tottenham and Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic among others.
Modric is one of Madrid’s finest players having helped them win five Champions Leagues trophies. He was named winner of Ballon ‘Or in 2018.
This season, he has two LaLiga goals and one in the Champions League, while De Bruyne has scored two goals in 10 matches.
Group G: Neymar Vs Xhaka
Brazil is in this group with Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon and the teams will fight for the first two positions.
Brazil and Switzerland are believed to be the though teams in the group with Neymar and Xhaka expected to show-off their strength.
PSGs Neymar will lead Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid); Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal); Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) and Thiago Silva of Chelsea among others in Qatar.
Murat Yakin’s Switzerland will play Granit Xhaka (Arsenal); Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire) and Noah Okafor (RB Salzbur) alongside other members of the squad.
Neymar’s form at PSG has taken new shape, particularly combining well with former Barcelona team mate, Messi. He has already netted 10 goals for PSG and was phenomenal in Brazil’s qualification.
Xhaka has been in fine goalscoring form for Arsenal. He has scored three goals so far for Arsenal, the highest since he joined in 2016.
Group H: Cristiana Ronaldo Vs Luis Suarez
Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and Korea Republic will battle for the top two spots in the Group H in Qatar.
But two old horses, Portugal’s Ronaldo and Uruguay’s Lius Suarez will meet again after years of rivalry in Spain.
Fernando Santos, the Portuguese team manager and Ronaldo are hoping to make an impact in Qatar.
Santos will be banking on Ronaldo, Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid, City’s Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United.
Uruguay’s new boss, Diego Alonso, will be lining up, Luis Suarez (Nacional); Darwin Nunez (Liverpool); Federico Valverde (Real Madrid); Ronald Araujo (Barcelona) and Edinson Cavani (Valencia) among others.
The five-time Ballon d’or winner, Ronaldo hopes to lift his first Word Cup, but his forms is deteriorating. He has faced a difficult start for United and has played only eight games so far this season.
Six of his ten appearances have come from the subs bench and he has managed to squeeze only one goal.
Suarez recently lifted the Uruguayan Primera Division title with Nacional, his boyhood club.
Since his return from Atletico, he scored five goals in 12 matches for Nacional.