Two of the competition heavy hitters will do battle with some of the best from South America and Asia in World Cup Group E. Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, and Japan will play to earn a spot in the last-16.
FIFA World Cup Group E Preview
Spain’s World Cup squad is here 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/vBgObfSw2v
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 11, 2022
Can Spain Follow Up Solid Euros Campaign with World Cup Run?
Spain waltzed their way through their qualifying group, finishing with 19 points of a possible 24. On the surface, they look very strong, but their qualification group was one of the weakest in Europe.
Despite being ranked seventh in the world by FIFA the national team is in an interesting position. There’s a lot of great young talent in the squad, and some strong older talent, but very few players could claim to be in their prime.
Read More: 2022 World Cup Group A Preview and Prediction
Can Germany Return to Their Best Form?
For a long time running Germany were one of the elite teams in international football. Between 2002 and 2014 they didn’t finish any lower than third in the World Cup but faced a humiliating group-stage exit in 2018 as defending champions.
The growing strength of domestic teams like RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund has helped the squad recover since 2018 and they enter this tournament as one of the biggest mysteries.
There is oodles of talent in their World Cup squad, but questions will remain about how cohesive things will be on the pitch.
𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 🇩🇪
Here it is – our 26-man squad for the 2022 @FIFAWorldCup in Qatar 🏆 pic.twitter.com/U3KGoU5lnz
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 10, 2022
Can Costa Rica Surpass Expectations?
After winning their way into the World Cup through a play-off with New Zealand the central American side will be hoping to get the best out of Keylor Navas in order to survive.
Defensive resistance is the name of the game for the team, especially as they’re lacking in pure talent. This could make them one of the least fun watches of the tournament but they could seemingly trip up any overconfident opponents.
Read More: The Issues Behind the 2022 Qatar World Cup
Is Japan Asia’s Best Hope?
Japan stand out as one of the more interesting teams in the World Cup Group E. Since their last appearance in the tournament in 2018, they have a new manager and a new vision in place. They’ve taken chances on some of their younger stars and it has paid off with names like Junya Ito breaking out as star players for the side.
If they go down, they’re going to go down swinging, and boy will it be fun to see.
Prediction for FIFA World Cup Group E
It’s hard not to see the two European sides advancing. While questions hang over the heads of both teams there’s just too much quality in the individual squads to fall to Costa Rica and Japan. That’s not to say that these teams aren’t in a position to cause upsets, it’s just not very likely.
Last Word on Football recognise the human rights abuses and instances of corruption taking place throughout Qatar and in the background of the World Cup. Learn more about some of the issues surrounding the World Cup here.
