SPAIN
83/100 To Win Group | 17/2 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 7
How They Qualified
With relative ease, winning six of their eight matches, conceding just five goals and taking 19 of the 24 points on offer.
Coach
Luis Enrique – The former Barcelona manager will lead his country at the Qatar World Cup, his second major tournament after he took the nation to the semi-finals of the European Championships last year.
Key Player
Pedri – The Barcelona star, who was named Young Player of the Tournament at Euro 2020, has the skills to be La Roja’s most influential player.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez, David Raya.
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Hugo Guillamon, Pau Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba, Jose Gaya.
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Rodri, Gavi, Carlos Soler, Marcos Llorente, Pedri, Koke.
Forwards: Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Yeremi Pino, Alvaro Morata, Marco Asensio, Pablo Sarabia, Dani Olmo, Ansu Fati.
JAPAN
14/1 To Win Group | 250/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 24
How They Qualified
Finished second in Group B, a point behind Saudi Arabia, in their AFC qualifying campaign. They won seven of their 10 group matches to finish seven points clear of third-placed Australia, impressively winning away from home against the Aussies, Oman, China and Vietnam without conceding a goal.
Coach
Hajime Moriyasu – The 54-year-old has been in charge of Japan for four years, stepping up from his dual role as assistant boss and Under-23 manager after previous coach Akira Nishino left in the wake of their World Cup 2018 last-16 stage exit.
Key Player
Takumi Minamino – The Monaco playmaker has 17 goals from 42 caps and is Japan’s best-known player following a two-and-a-half year spell with Premier League outfit Liverpool.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt, Eiji Kawashima.
Defenders: Miki Yamane, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Shogo Taniguchi, Ko Itakura, Hiroki Ito, Yuto Nagatomo.
Midfielders: Wataru Endo, Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Gaku Shibasaki, Kaoru Mitoma, Daichi Kamada, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Takefusa Kubo, Yuki Soma.
Forwards: Daizen Maeda, Takuma Asano, Shuto Machino, Ayase Ueda.
GERMANY
11/10 To Win Group | 10/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 11
How They Qualified
Won Group J in decisive fashion, with nine wins in 10 games, and slipped up in only a home game against North Macedonia which they lost 2-1.
Coach
Hansi Flick – The 57-year-old, who succeeded the long-reigning Joachim Low last year, led Bayern Munich to the treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the Champions League for only the second time in their history in 2019/20.
Key Player
Kai Havertz – The 23-year-old, whose goal won Chelsea the UEFA Champions League in his debut season, has emerged as one of the brightest talents in European football and now looks ready to showcase his creative and goal-scoring abilities on the biggest stage.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp
Defenders: Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck, Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Christian Gunter
Midfielders: Ilkay Gundogan, Jonas Hofmann, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller, Julian Brandt, Mario Gotze
Forwards: Kai Havertz, Youssoufa Moukoko, Niclas Fullkrug, Karim Adeyemi
COSTA RICA
50/1 To Win Group | 800/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 31
How They Qualified
Beat Oceanian play-off winners New Zealand 1-0 to make it to Qatar.
Coach
Luis Fernando Suarez – Qatar 2022 will be Suarez’s third FIFA World Cup. His previous two World Cup appearances have been with Ecuador in Germany in 2006 and with Honduras at Brazil in 2014.
Key Player
Keylor Navas – While the keeper has fallen behind in the pecking order at PSG, he is an absolute stalwart for the national team with 107 caps and two previous World Cup appearances.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Esteban Alvarado, Patrick Sequeira.
Defenders: Francisco Calvo, Juan Pablo Vargas, Kendall Waston, Oscar Duarte, Daniel Chacon, Keysher Fuller, Carlos Martinez, Bryan Oviedo, Ronald Matarrita.
Midfielders: Yeltsin Tejeda, Celso Borges, Youstin Salas, Roan Wilson, Gerson Torres, Douglas Lopez, Jewison Bennette, Alvaro Zamora, Anthony Hernandez, Brandon Aguilera, Bryan Ruiz.
Forwards: Joel Campbell, Anthony Contreras, Johan Venegas.