Group A: Team previews and breakdowns

The FIFA World Cup is upon us and even if you’re a fan of the game and know the biggest players from across the world - you may still not fully know how certain teams play or how they tend to line-up on the field.

So, here in The Goal Club we are breaking down all 32 teams with projected starting line-ups and things you need to watch for every team. The goal is to give you a deeper understanding of some of the not so well known players and teams.

Group A

QATAR

Let’s begin with the host country. Since this is the first world cup for them, many people don’t know much about them.

For a long time Qatar has been one of the Asian teams that constantly made the final rounds of qualifying and were unable to breakthrough.

Team's Philosophy: Under Spanish head coach Felix Sanchez - the team has been able to adopt a philosophy of heavy ball possession and short passing, a similar style of play to that of Spain.

That philosophy allowed Qatar to win the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, compete better than expected in the Copa America that same year, reach the Semifinals of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and semifinals of the Arab Cup last year.

This is a tactical disciplined team that will not give you easy chances and have creative and speedy players up front that are capable of taking advantage of any defensive miscue from their rivals.

So let’s take a look and how this team could potentially look like in their opening game:

In recent games, Qatar has been playing with a 5-3-2, this setup allows the team to always have at least three in the back and have its wingbacks Ahmed and Ro-Ro initiate the attack.

Biggest Threat: Up front Almoez Ali is a pure goal-scorer, he’s scored 42 goals in 85 games for Qatar, alongside him Akram Afif is the most technically gifted player in the team, leaving open space for these two to exploit could be a problem.

Weakness: Despite being a very disciplined team that likes to play out of the back, the slow-tempo can often result in leaving their front two on an island as the midfielders are not great in the final third.

Player to Watch: Akram Afif.

Bench options: By far Hasan Al-Haydos is the biggest wildcard for Qatar, he is a natural Number 10 that could be the link between the midfield and the attack, he has the quality to start but in recent months he’s fallen out of favor to play from the start, but could be an intriguing piece to have available for a critical moment of the game.

What to expect: One of the biggest question for Group A is the status of Senegal’s Sadio Mane, if he’s not healthy to play then Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador could be in a three way battle for the second spot in the group behind the Netherlands. If Sane is healthy, Senegal will be favored to advance. Ultimately for Qatar the first game against Ecuador is the big chance to make some noise, they have the talent to beat the South American side, but both team defend well and struggle in the final third, a single goal could determine the winner of the opening match.

ECUADOR

Usually finishing fourth in South American qualifying means that you have a solid team that should be able to compete almost against anyone, however that is not the case with Ecuador. A good start in qualifying including a 6-1 thrashing of Colombia set them up for a good qualifying campaign, but in the past 12 months the team has struggled to show its best version.

Ecuador is another team that has good players across the field but no standouts. They’re disciplined and hard to break down but ‘La Tri’ also struggles to score.

In their last six games, Ecuador has scored two goals and didn’t concede any in games against Nigeria, Mexico, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iraq. The last three all 0-0 draws.

Team’s Philosophy: Ecuador likes to concede possession to its rivals and then seek to take advantage in the counter attack with speedy wingers.

Ecuador plays with a 4-3-3 - while they don’t have renown defenders is the job they do as a group that will determine how successful they are - a win against Qatar could give them a chance of stealing a point or more against Senegal and Netherlands to boost their chances of advancing.

This is how Ecuador could lineup in the World Cup:

The biggest question for Ecuador is up in the striker position, while Enner Valencia has been the leading scorer for the team in the last decade, in the last few games Michael Estrada has started more often, but I would still expect to see Valencia start on Day one.

Biggest Threat: There are two very different threats. The midfield trio of Carlos Gruezo, Moises Caicedo and Jose Cifuentes is very good defensively and specialize is disrupting the flow of the attack from the other team, and both Caicedo and Cifuentes are good on high-press and are good passers in the final third when they join the attack. The other threat is their wingers Romario Ibarra and Gonzalo Plata who are good at finding space in behind the defensive-line.

Weaknesses: Similar to Qatar, the team doesn’t have a player that connects the midfield to the attack, which is a common theme throughout the field. The other weak point is there is not a lot of quality in the bench either, which could meke it difficult for Ecuador if they have to chase a result.

Player to watch: Romario Ibarra / Jose Cifuentes

Bench options: While there isn’t much winger Angel Mena, Michael Estrada up front and Alan Franco in the middle seem to be the biggest possible contributors that could come off the bench.

What to Expect:

Ecuador shouldn’t be expected to advance unless Sadio Mane doesn’t play for Senegal, that injury could give them a chance to advance, but to have any realistic chance Ecuador needs a win against Qatar in hopes of being ahead of Senegal when they face them in their final game of the group stage.

SENEGAL

The defending champions of Africa arrive at the World Cup as one of the top 'Dark Horse' candidates. Led by Sadio Mane up front and Kalidou Koulibaly and Eduoard Mendy in the back this could be one of the most talented African nations that has evert played at the World Cup.

Their chances entirely rest on the shoulders of Sadio Mane who may miss the first game against the Netherlands after suffering an injury in his final game for Bayern Munich.

So the question is does the injury hurt the team enough to jeopardize their place in the next round or will it be an opportunity for someone like Ismailia Sarr to earn a chance and surprise their opponents, we'll find out soon enough.

Team's Philosophy

Senegal plays with a 4-3-3 formation. Sadio Mane tends to plays on the left side of the field and Krepín Diatta on the right. The two have a lot of speed to beat defenders one-on-one.

The midfield is stacked with good box-to-box midfielders - Idrissa Gueye is the disruptor in the midfield and they have a playmaker Ismailia Sarr who ussally plays on the wing for Watford, plays a more central role with the national team, or at least he's done so in recent games. Sarr could potentially take the place of Mane if he's not fit to play.

At at the back the team is solid defensively with Koulibaly the centerback from Chelsea and Pape Abou Cisse from Olympiakos and even have a good third option in Abdou Diallo from RB Leipzig - and of course in goal Edoaurd Mendy who started the season as the first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea.

The big question is how soon Mane will be fit to play, Senegal is the underdog against the Netherlands in the opening game, and favorites over Qatar in the second game - but it will be crucial for the Lions of Taranga to get their best player back for the final group game against Ecuador which could be a decider on who advances to the next round.

Biggest Threat: Sadio Mane by far, but AS Monaco winger Krepin Diatta is another players that can cause a lot of issues for any backline.

Weakness: The biggest concern is the Striker position with Boulaye Dia leading the charge, he plays for Serie A bottom side Salernitana. Dia has scored three goals in 19 games for Senegal and his likely backup Bamba Dieng of Marseille has 1 goal in 12 games. The main role of Senegal's front men is to open up space for their wingers rather than scoring themselves.

Player to Watch: Sadio Mane / Krepin Diatta.

Bench options: I'm intrigued about two young midfielders Iliman Ndiaye of Sheffield United and Pape Sarr from Tottenham.

What to Expect: Just based on talent Senegal should be able to advance to the knockout stage and there is no reason why they can't beat any team coming out of Group B.

So there is a path to the quarterfinals for Senegal, but they need Mane healthy and to be more consistent if they want to get that far in the tournament.

NETHERLANDS

After missing out on Russia in 2018, the Dutch are back with a solid team that can makes some noise. The team is made up of a combination of veterans and young promising players.

The Dutch were one of the best teams in the group stage of the Euro last summer before being knocked out by the Czech Republic in the Round of 16.

Team's Philosophy

For decades the Netherlands played with a 4-3-3 but in recent months Louis Van Gaal has implemented a 5-3-2, in theory the new setup allows the team to have a better defensive shape, gives freedom to the wing backs to join the attack.

The back will feature Virgil Van Dijk, one of the best center backs in the world. While Matthijs De Ligt is good center back he has not been a consistent starter.

Denzel Dumfries who had a great Euro is expected to constantly attack from the right flank, he is a strong player that is capable of defending and putting good balls into the box.

The rise of Teun Koopmeiners may make him one of the central midfielders along with Frenkie De Jong.

How the team could lineup:

The Netherlands have been one of the hardest teams to dissect because of how often them make changes to their starting XI.

But in the end the trends point to a back five, Van Gaal has recently favored Nathan Ake and Jurrien Timber over De Light and Stefan De Vrij who are another two great options at center back.

The big questions for the Dutch is who will start at goal and who will link the midfield with the attack.

39-year old Remko Pasveer has started the last two games for the team, the other goalies featured in the Nations League are not part of the 26-man roster, but keep an eye on Feyenoord Justin Bijlow on being a surprise starter against Senegal.

In the attacking midfielder position, Van Gaal has played Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaasen, but this could also be Memphis Depay to allow for a nominal striker to join Bergwijn in the attack.

Biggest Threat: The defensive side is the most stacked part of this team, but I'll put Denzel Dumfries as the biggest threat the team has.

Weakness: The two weak points for the team is at goal and up front, no clear striker to score the goals and not many great options for goalkeeper. I may also add left back with Daley Blind not being a great defender. Two emerging talents at the front in Myron Boadu from AS Monaco and Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund were not included in the team.

Bench options: I've already mentioned De Light and De Vrij as options at the back but in the midfield Marten De Roon could be an intriguing option. Tyrell Malacia could surprise in being selected ahead of Blind and the most intriguing of them all is the inclusion of wonderkid Xavi Simmons.

What to expect: This team is talented enough to win the Group and anything less than quarterfinals would be seen as a disappointment. But the Dutch have been in this position before in which they perform very well in the group stage only to fall short in the knockout stage.