World Cup 2022 Schedule - Group C Prediction: Argentina is the Champion Candidate

Jenny Lee November 15, 2022 | 07:44

Commenting directly on Group C of the World Cup 2022, Messi and his teammates are aiming for the championship in the most prestigious tournament on the planet.

World Cup 2022 Schedule - Group C Prediction

Contents
World Cup Group C Teams: Prediction and Preview Argentina Saudi Arabia Mexico Poland Table Prediction World Cup Group C Fixtures and Match Schedule (ET) World Cup 2022 Group C - Start time, Dates, TV Channels ♦ Check our the Group C Schedule in Every Time Zone Around the World!

World Cup Group C Teams: Prediction and Preview

In Group C of the World Cup 2022, Argentina has many opportunities to continue when the opponents are only Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Argentina

Argentina is the leading candidate for the World Cup 2022. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are rated the highest in Group C.

In terms of reputation and squad quality, Argentina proved to be superior to Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The first place in the table seems to be a mandatory task for Lionel Scaloni's teachers and students.

Currently, Argentina is on a 35-match unbeaten streak, 2 matches behind Italy's record. Meaning, if they win in the group stage, Lionel Messi and his teammates will break the Azzurri's record.

According to the assessment, Argentina has a 90% chance of passing the group stage - the highest in the tournament, and a 69.3% chance of winning the group. However, when the ball has not rolled, any surprises can happen.

If Argentina cannot top Group C, it is highly likely that Argentina will meet France right from the round of 16. That will be the scenario many neutral fans expect, but is it too soon?

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), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreral / Spain)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is not appreciated in Group C with only 13.38% chance of progressing. Although they are unbeaten in the last 4 matches, they have only scored 2 goals. More importantly, for nearly a year, they could not score more than 1 goal per game. Therefore, the chance for the Asian representative to surprise in this group is very low.

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)

Check: How To Watch Live Argentina vs Saudi Arabia for FREE in Any Country

Mexico

Mexico is a familiar name in World Cups. In the last 7 consecutive periods, from 1994 to 2018 they all qualified to enter the round of 16. At the 2018 World Cup, El Tri also defeated Germany to rank first in the group. If including the 1986 World Cup as a host, they reached the quarterfinals, it must be 8 consecutive times (in 1990 Mexico was banned from playing and did not participate in the tournament in Italy).

Compared to the force, Mexico in Qatar this time is not equal to the tournament 4 years ago in Russia. Only a few faces that have attended are Hirving Lozano, Ochoa, Osorio, Jorge Sanchez, Guadardo etc., but the current form is not good or affected by age. Coach Tata Martino also shocked when he decided not to call two bright stars, Chichario and Carlos Vela. Instead, he put his hopes on young faces. Without the above two names, Mexico's offensive power will decrease significantly.

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

The fall of Mexico will be a prospect for Poland. Compared to the force, Poland is slightly better. With Lewandowski in good form, the satellites around the Barcelona striker also have a high cohesion when they have fought together for many years.

The irony for both Poland and Mexico is that they will meet in the opening match of both. The meaning of the match is extremely important because whichever team wins, will create a great advantage for winning tickets to the next round. Poland must win because in the second match Lewandowski is a teammate who only has to meet Saudi Arabia, while Mexico will have to struggle with Argentina. According to Opta's analysis, if Poland soon won 4-6 points after the first two matches, they will have a great chance to advance.

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)

Table Prediction

If playing in the right form, Argentina will win all 9 points and top Group C. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is likely to be at the bottom of the table with 3 losses.

Mexico and Poland will be cautious in the direct confrontation and will most likely draw goalless. Every mistake, even the smallest, has to pay dearly!