2022 World Cup preview: Group G

The World Cup is just four days away! To prepare for the matches and drama that will play on the world stage, Philly Sports Network is previewing the eight groups and 32 nations competing to be champions of the world! Group G has the top-ranked nation in the world, Brazil, an AFCON semifinalist, Cameroon, a surprising UEFA nation Serbia, and another solid European nation, Switzerland!

Group G: A favorite to win, and three other nations full of fight!

Group G has one of, if not the major favorites to win the 2022 men’s World Cup. It also has two European nations that are often overlooked and a semifinalist from the African Cup of Nations!

Brazil (1st)
Cameroon (43rd)
Serbia (21st)
Switzerland (15th)

Brazil is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2022 men’s World Cup; they are the deepest team in the tournament and are ready to go on a run. Cameroon may have lost the AFCON semifinal on their home soil, but that only motivates them to go for glory on the world stage. Serbia is a European nation often overlooked, but winning at a World Cup will change that! Switzerland tends to be overrated, but if they can go on a run, that stigma will leave them.

Brazil sets sights on being champions of the World!

Brazil had an amazing qualification round in South America. They won 14 matches and drew three en route to a first-place finish. They are looking for more of that at the 2022 men’s World Cup. Brazil is the only nation to win five World Cups; however, it’s been 20 years since they lifted the trophy. Can they make it a sixth time in 2022?

Brazil has the best odds of any team to make it out of the group stage (88.5%). They are also the favorite to win the whole tournament with 15.81% odds to do so, the next closest being Argentina, at 12.58%, and France at 12.22%. This nation is deep, and made for a deep run, is it really looking like Brazil’s year yet again?

Brazil has been favorite before and came up short, but they haven’t failed to make the knockout stage since 1966. They’ll need to make sure they come out strong against Serbia on the fifth day of the tournament to keep that crazy streak alive.

Cameroon looks to avenge AFCON loss at the 2022 World Cup.

Cameroon may be seen as the weakest side in Group G, but their ability to go on runs in tournaments should not be overlooked. At the beginning of the year, Cameroon hosted and went on a crazy run in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). They came up just short in the AFCON semifinals, but now they can avenge their team’s performance.

With the strategy and collectedness that comes with a tournament-savvy team like Cameroon, nothing is impossible. They do, however, have the worst odds to get out of Group G with just a 19.8% chance to make the round of 16. This will not deter the Indomitable Lions one bit though as they ready for the World Cup.

Cameroon begins their play on the fifth day of the tournament against Switzerland. If Cameroon can find a way to edge out a victory their percentage of making the knockouts could skyrocket. Losing, however, would make their chances plummet.

Can Serbia show they belong by getting out of the group?

Serbia made a shock run in UEFA qualifying. They put up a six-win, two-draw, and zero-loss record to best the likes of Portugal who were favorites in that group. This gave Serbia an automatic qualifying spot in the 2022 men’s World Cup; now, they’ll be looking to go on to the last 16.

Despite being a bit of a surprise, Serbia’s strong play is making them a pretty decent favorite to get out of Group G. Serbia has a 42.8% chance of making the knockout rounds. This is likely because of their ability to score more than they allow. They are the strongest defense, but their attack scored 18 goals in eight matches in qualifying.

To open their 2022 men’s World Cup, Serbia takes on mighty Brazil on the fifth day of the tournament. Chances are we will know if Serbia is a giant slayer then, or if they fall to the best team in the game.

Switzerland will try to get out of the group for a third-straight World Cup!

Switzerland was also able to top their European qualifying group over a nation everyone thought would win. After winning five matches, drawing three, and losing none, Switzerland finished in first ahead of the favored Italy who failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after falling in a playoff match.

The Swiss are just edging out Serbia in the chances to get out of Group G. Switzerland has a 48.9% chance to get out of the group stage. This would be their third straight World Cup doing that. Being able to advance from a group with Brazil, a closely ranked euro team Serbia, and AFCON semifinalist Cameroon would make the team believe they can go on a run.

Switzerland opens its 2022 World Cup on the fifth day of the tournament against Cameroon. Finding a way to get three points will go a long way to securing a spot in the knockouts for the Swiss.