SAUDI ARABIA
20/1 To Win Group | 750/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 51
How They Qualified
Finished as the winner of Asia’s Group B which featured Japan, Australia, Oman, China and Vietnam.
Coach
Herve Renard – The 54-year-old is the only coach to have led two different national teams to African Cup titles: Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast three years later.
Key Player
Salem Al-Dawsari – The 31-year-old Al-Hilal star scored key goals in the qualifying campaign.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Mohamed Al-Yami
Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Madu, Hassan Tambakti, Sultan Al-Ghanam, Mohammed Al-Breik, Saud Abdulhamid
Midfielders: Salman Al-Faraj, Riyadh Sharahili, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohamed Kanno, Abdulelah Al-Malki, Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Otayf, Nasser Al-Dawsari , Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, Salem Al-Dawsari, Hattan Bahebri
Forwards: Haitham Asiri, Saleh Al-Shehri, Firas Al-Buraikan
MEXICO
5/1 To Win Group | 150/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 13
How They Qualified
Finished second in the CONCACAF qualifying stage.
Coach
Gerardo “Tata” Martino – A back-to-back Copa America finalist with Argentina in 2015 and 2016, although defeated twice, the Argentinean coach celebrates his 60th birthday when the showpiece kicks off on November 20.
Key Player
Raul Jimenez – A 6-foot-3 target forward who scored 54 goals over his first four seasons with Premier League side Wolverhampton, ‘The Pirate’ also routinely finds the net for his country.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera, Rodolfo Cota
Defenders: Kevin Alvarez, Nestor Araujo, Gerardo Arteaga, Jesus Gallardo, Hector Moreno, Cesar Montes, Jorge Sanchez, Johan Vasquez
Midfielders: Edson Alvarez, Roberto Alvarado, Uriel Antuna, Luis Chavez, Andres Guardado, Erick Gutierrez, Hector Herrera, Orbelin Pineda, Carlos Rodriguez, Luis Romo
Forwards: Rogelio Funes Mori, Raul Jimenez, Hirving Lozano , Henry Martin, Alexis Vega
POLAND
9/2 To Win Group | 125/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 26
How They Qualified
After going 6-2-2 in Group I of UEFA’s World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing second to England, Poland got a free pass through the playoff semi-finals (when Russia was disqualified because of the nation’s invasion of Ukraine), then earned a 2-0 win over Sweden to punch its ticket to Qatar.
Coach
Czeslaw Michniewicz – The two-time Polish title winner replaced the Portuguese Paulo Sousa, who terminated his contract with the Polish Football Association (PZPN) at the end of 2021, after just 11 months in office.
Key Player
Robert Lewandowski – Lewa has enjoyed an excellent start to his life in Barcelona. The forward has performed well on the pitch while becoming a real leader in the dressing room. He is far and away Poland’s all-time leading scorer, with 76 goals in 134 caps.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny, Bartlomiej Dragowski, Lukasz Skorupski
Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Kamil Glik, Robert Gumny, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Jakub Kiwior, Mateusz Wieteska, Bartosz Bereszynski, Matthew Cash, Nicola Zalewski
Midfielders: Krystian Bielik, Przemyslaw Frankowski , Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jakub Kaminski, Michal Skoras, Damian Szymanski, Sebastian Szymanski, Piotr Zielinski, Szymon Zurkowski
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piatek, Karol Swiderski
ARGENTINA
4/10 To Win Group | 13/2 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 3
How They Qualified
Finished as the runner-up in the CONMEBOL qualifying tournament, remaining unbeaten in qualifying with 11 wins and six draws in 17 games.
Coach
Lionel Scaloni – The former Lazio and Deportivo La Coruna defender only had seven caps for Argentina in the 2000s, but as coach the 44-year-old has turned around the national team since replacing Jorge Sampaoli after Russia 2018. He steered Argentina to winning the 2021 Copa, beating hosts Brazil in the final.
Key Player
Lionel Messi – The team will be led by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. With 90 goals in 164 appearances, he is both Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player. At 35 years of age, it’s the last chance for the Argentinean maestro to emulate Diego Maradona and lead his country to World Cup success.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Franco Armani.
Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Juan Foyth.
Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodriguez, Papu Gomez, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios.
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Paulo Dybala, Nicolas Gonzalez, Joaquin Correa.