Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C, Team Facts, Matches And Predictions
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, two of the best strikers in the world, will face off in Group C of the World Cup in Qatar. Argentina and Poland are in the same group.
Messi will be going to the Middle East for what will be his last World Cup. He wants to add the world team trophy to his already impressive collection of individual trophies, which includes an amazing seven FIFA Ballon d’Or awards.
Argentina and Poland will both think they have a good chance of moving on, and they will play each other in the last group game on November 30. However, this is not an easy group, as Mexico is likely to be a tough opponent after qualifying from CONCACAF.
Saudi Arabia, which is one of the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament, will be hoping to surprise the other teams, but they will have a lot of work to do.
READ ALSO: Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Group A, Team Stats & Predictions
World Cup Group C fixtures and match schedule
Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
Tues, Nov. 22 | Argentina vs. S. Arabia | 5 a.m. | Lusail Stadium |
Tues, Nov. 22 | Mexico vs. Poland | 11 a.m. | Stadium 974 |
Sat, Nov. 26 | Poland vs. S. Arabia | 8 a.m. | Education City Stadium |
Sat, Nov. 26 | Argentina vs. Mexico | 2 p.m. | Lusail Stadium |
Wed, Nov. 30 | Poland vs. Argentina | 2 p.m. | Stadium 974 |
Wed, Nov. 30 | S. Arabia vs. Mexico | 2 p.m. | Lusail Stadium |
The four teams picked for the group will play each other three times in the round style. The standings in each group are based on the points earned in these three games. A win gives three points, a tie gives one point, and a loss gives no points.
The two teams with the most points in each group move on to the single-game knockouts. If two teams have the same number of points, the difference in goals scored is the first way to break the tie. A different set of tiebreakers are used if teams are also tied in these areas.
World Cup Group C teams
Argentina
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, one of the tournament’s traditional powerhouses, Argentina, could return to being a major force to contend with. Still, it will also be the last tournament for one of the game’s greatest players.
Lionel Messi is now 35 years old, and he has already won a lot of trophies. Qatar will be his last chance to win the World Cup and cap off a great career, as he has already said it will be his last tournament.
He will be the standout player for the South Americans, who are going to the Middle East as Copa América champions after beating Brazil in last year’s final. However, Lionel Scaolini’s team has a lot of other talents, including Angel Di Maria, who scored the game-winning goal in that Copa final victory.
- Current FIFA world ranking: No. 3 (August 2022)
- Regional ranking: 2nd (CONMEBOL)
- World Cup titles: 2
- World Cup appearances (last): 17 (Russia, 2018)
- How qualified: CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification runners-up: 11W-0L-6D
- Coach: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) since August 2018
- Key players: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain / France), Angel Di Maria (Juventus / Italy), Giovanni Lo Celso (Villarreal / Spain)
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has been to the World Cup four times and has always been knocked out in the group stages. It seems unlikely that they will do better in Qatar.
The team led by Herve Renard deserves credit for coming in ahead of Australia in qualifying, but it seems like things could get much harder for them when they have to do harder things.
The whole Saudi Arabia team is currently playing in their home country. However, they have a coach, Renard, who has been in charge of Morocco, Ivory Coast, Zambia (twice), and Angola, so he knows a lot about international football. Saudi Arabia only scored two goals at Russia 2018, so Renard will be praying that striker Saleh Al Shehri can get back to full health and lead them this time. Al Shehri scored four goals in the qualifiers.
- Current FIFA world ranking: No. 53 (March 2022)
- Regional ranking: 6th (AFC)
- World Cup titles: —
- World Cup appearances (last): 6 (Russia, 2018)
- How qualified: AFC Third Round Group B runners-up 7W-1L-2D)
- Coach: Herve Renard (France) since July 2019
- Key players: Saleh Al Shehri (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia), Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia), Salman Al Faraj (Al Hilal / Saudi Arabia)
Mexico
Since 1994, Mexico has been to every World Cup. In the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, Canada won, but Mexico came in second because of their goal difference.
El Tri is made up of players who are well-known in Europe and North America. Raul Jimenez, a striker for the Wolves, and Hector Herrera, a veteran for the Houston Dynamo, will be asked to do a lot to help the World Cup bid. The injury to Jesus “Tecatito” Corona, on the other hand, is a big loss.
Mexico doesn’t score or give up many goals. In their qualification games, they averaged just over one goal per game, and they’ll hope that their tight game plan, which was created by the smart former Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino, will be enough to stop their group opponents.
- Current FIFA world ranking: No. 12 (August 2022)
- Regional ranking: 1st (CONCACAF)
- World Cup titles: —
- World Cup appearances (last): 16 (Brazil 2018)
- How qualified: (CONCACAF qualifying runners-up: 7W-2L-4D
- Coach: Gerardo Martino (Argentina) since January 2019
- Key players: Raul Jimenez (Wolves / England), Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo / USA), Hirving Lozano (Napoli / Italy)
Poland
With a 2-0 win over Zlatan Ibrahimović, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski won the battle of the superstars against Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimović. This put Poland in the finals through the playoffs. Poland had been given a bye to the final game because their first-round opponent, Russia, was banned from the tournament because their country invaded Ukraine.
Aside from their 34-year-old Barcelona striker, Poland has a lot of experienced players who play in their home countries across Europe. Piotr Zielinski, a midfielder for Napoli, should give Lewandowski good chances to add to his great number of international goals.
The team led by Czeslaw Michniewicz has done well at the World Cup in the past, finishing third twice. They will be confident of getting out of the group stage, as they only lost twice in qualifying.
- Current FIFA world ranking: No. 26 (August 2022)
- Regional ranking: 15th (UEFA)
- World Cup titles: —
- World Cup appearances (last): 8 (Russia, 2018)
- How qualified: (UEFA playoff winners: (2-0 vs. Sweden)
- Coach: Czeslaw Michniewicz (Poland) since January 2022
- Star players: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona / Spain), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli / Italy), Matty Cash (Aston Villa / England)
We tip Argentina and Poland to qualify in this group. What are your top two teams to qualify in this group? Drop your predictions below in the comment section.
The four teams picked for the group will play each other three times in the round style. The standings in each group are based on the points earned in these three games. A win gives three points, a tie gives one point, and a loss gives no points.
The two teams with the most points in each group move on to the single-game knockouts. If two teams have the same number of points, the difference in goals scored is the first way to break the tie. If teams are also tied in these areas, a different set of tiebreakers are used.