The tournament will include 32 teams and will be played out in 64 matches over the course of 28 days, featuring host country Qatar and defending champions France. Who will get their hands on the famous gold trophy this time? Who are the main contenders? We look at some of the nations that are likely to get their hands on the most coveted trophy in the World.

France: They are the current holders and have arguably got the best forward line with Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele. It's not an exact science but when you think of France at World Cups, they are either all in or all out. This time? They will be all in since they want to become the second nation in history to win a back-to-back World Cup after Brazil in 1958 and 1962. If the squad clicks as they did in Russia, they might just be up to the task. Overall they are a really well-balanced side with so much quality up front, and the biggest problem for manager Didier Deschamps is to find the best system and decide on his starting XI. 

Argentina: They are arguably the team that are most likely to dethrone France as the world champions. Argentina boasts of Lionel Messi, the greatest player ever to grace a football pitch and he is the biggest driving force in the team. All football fans know his situation and that this has to be his moment to claim glory on the global stage. The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup is a defining moment for Messi who is probably the most talented and skilled player with a mixture of genius that the world has ever seen. The only thing that stands between Messi and the likes of Maradona and Pele when comparisons are made is that he has never won the World Cup. If he wins this one, that would pretty much be the end of that debate, and what a story it would be? Argentina reached the world cup final in the 2014 Brazil World Cup but succumbed to a late extra-time goal and Germany ended up lifting the trophy. Messi has got more than three-quarters of the human population rallying behind him to lift the world cup trophy. His teammates are ready for a fierce battle to see him emerge victorious on the 18th of December on the global platform. Argentina is going to Qatar to win the World Cup and every Messi fan on the globe believes they will. 

England: They reached the World Cup semifinal in the Russian 2018 edition but were surprisingly eliminated by Croatia who advanced to the final. They went ahead to right their wrongs and reached the Euro 2020 finals but were defeated by Italy in a dramatic penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium. They last won the world cup in the year 1966 which is a very long time ago for a team of its caliber. The England squad is under pressure to prove their space and position amongst the ‘big boys’ and they will be heading to the World Cup to do exactly that. They have a leader in Harry Kane who captains the team and will propel the team to go as far as they can and probably even all the way to lift the trophy. 

Brazil: They are the only nation in the world to have ever lifted the world cup trophy back-to-back in 1958 and 1962. Brazil is a football-mad country that goes crazy with just the mention of the name. They have got depth in their squad and experience too. They have some young exciting talents to go with that experience of winning. The depth of their attackers is the best out of all the squads, in short, they have got a wealth of attacking options. Neymar, their star player is in great form and he will be playing on the frontline alongside players like Vinicius Jr. This is very good for the squad because there are some games that will require individual brilliance to settle, and having an option in attacks just solves the matrix. They are the nation to have won most world cups and they will be looking for their sixth trophy having won it last in the 2002 South Korea/Japan edition when Ronaldinho and Ronaldo were at the height of their careers and they will be looking to quench their 20-year dry spell. 

Other teams that will be in contention for the FIFA World Cup trophy are Germany who have won several world cups the last one being in 2014, Spain who won the South African 2010 world cup and boast of a classic squad, especially in the attacking line, Netherlands who have reached several semifinals and were in the 2010 final, and Belgium who have got a golden generation with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard leading the pack. Portugal can as well pull a surprise if they will be playing with a motivated Cristiano Ronaldo.