Group A of the World Cup is a fascinating quartet in every way.
Host Qatar and Ecuador square off Nov. 20 to open the tournament. Senegal, the African champion, has its best team ever, while the Netherlands is looking to make yet another deep run after missing out on the 2018 tournament.
Here’s a look at all four teams:
ECUADOR
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro
Highest finish: Round of 16 (2006)
2018 finish: Did not qualify
FOX Bet odds: +20000
Key players: Pervis Estupiñán, Gonzalo Plata, Enner Valencia
What we’re excited to watch: How they perform in the opener against the hosts will tell us plenty about Ecuador’s chances of advancing to the knockout stage.
What success looks like: Surviving group play.
X-Factor: Valencia is the captain and all-time leading scorer for Ecuador. He’s 33 now but will arrive having scored 12 goals in 12 Turkish league games this season.
NETHERLANDS
Coach: Louis van Gaal
Highest finish: Second (1974, 1978, 2010)
2018 finish: Did not qualify
FOX Bet odds: +1400
Key players: Matthijs de Ligt, Memphis Depay, Virgil van Dijk
What we’re excited to watch: When the Dutch actually qualify, they’re always a title threat. Van Gaal coached the Oranje to a third-place finish in 2014. Is this the year the best team never to win a World Cup finally goes all the way?
What success looks like: There are no consolation prizes for a nation that is 0-3 in World Cup finals. For the Netherlands, only a title will do.
X-Factor: Van Dijk. The colossal central defender has struggled at times for club side Liverpool this season. Van Gaal needs him to be at his all-world best.
QATAR
Coach: Félix Sánchez
Highest finish: This is Qatar’s World Cup debut
2018 finish: Didn’t qualify
FOX Bet odds: +50000
Key players: Almoez Ali, Abdelkarim Hassan, Hassan Al-Haydos
What we’re excited to watch: With the entire roster based in the Qatari league and employed across just a handful of clubs, the hosts should be one of the most cohesive teams in the tournament.
What success looks like: Surviving the group stage. Every previous World Cup host, with the exception of South Africa in 2010, has advanced to the tournament’s knockout phase.
Achilles’ heel: Inexperience.
X-Factor: Their counterattack. With Ali, Al-Haydos and Akram Afif, Qatar is deadly in transition moments.
SENEGAL
Coach: Aliou Cissé
Highest finish: Quarterfinals
2018 finish: Group stage
FOX Bet odds: +8000
Key players: Kalidou Koulibaly, Sadio Mané, Édouard Mendy
What we’re excited to watch: With a spine of elite players and a free-flowing attack, Senegal should be one of the most entertaining teams in Qatar.
What success looks like: As much as getting to the knockout round for just the second time would be celebrated, Senegal’s dream is to make history as the first African team to reach a semifinal.
X-Factor: Mané’s injury. Senegal’s best player is in a race against time after getting injured playing for Bayern Munich on Nov. 8. At his best, the winger’s relentless defensive pressure unbalances foes, and when he has the ball in the attacking third of the field, Mané is capable of winning a match all by himself.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter ByDougMcIntyre.
Here’s a full the schedule for the World Cup and how to watch each match live:
GROUP STAGE
Sunday, Nov. 20
Qatar vs. Ecuador, 11 a.m. ET on FS1
Monday, Nov. 21
England vs. Iran, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Senegal vs. Netherlands, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
United States vs. Wales, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Tuesday, Nov. 22
Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Denmark vs. Tunisia, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Mexico vs. Poland, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
France vs. Australia, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Wednesday, Nov. 23
Morocco vs. Croatia, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Germany vs. Japan, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Spain vs. Costa Rica, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
Belgium vs. Canada, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Thursday, Nov. 24
Switzerland vs. Cameroon, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Uruguay vs. South Korea, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Portugal vs. Ghana, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
Brazil vs. Serbia, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Friday, Nov. 25
Wales vs. Iran, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Qatar vs. Senegal, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Netherlands vs. Ecuador, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
England vs. United States, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Saturday, Nov. 26
Tunisia vs. Australia, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Poland vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
France vs. Denmark, 11 a.m. ET on FS1
Argentina vs. Mexico, 2 p.m. ET on FS1
Sunday, Nov. 27
Japan vs. Costa Rica, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
Belgium vs. Morocco, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Croatia vs. Canada, 11 a.m. ET on FS1
Spain vs. Germany, 2 p.m. ET on FS1
Monday, Nov. 28
Cameroon vs. Serbia, 5 a.m. ET on FS1
South Korea vs. Ghana, 8 a.m. ET on FS1
Brazil vs. Switzerland, 11 a.m. ET on FOX
Portugal vs. Uruguay, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Tuesday, Nov. 29
Netherlands vs. Qatar, 10 a.m. ET on *FOX
Ecuador vs. Senegal, 10 a.m. ET on *FS1
Wales vs. England, 2 p.m. ET on FS1
Iran vs. United States, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Tunisia vs. France, 10 a.m. ET on *FOX
Australia vs. Denmark, 10 a.m. ET on *FS1
Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico, 2 p.m. ET on *FS1
Poland vs. Argentina, 2 p.m. ET on *FOX
Thursday, Dec. 1
Croatia vs. Belgium, 10 a.m. ET on *FOX
Canada vs. Morocco, 10 a.m. ET on *FS1
Japan vs. Spain, 2 p.m. ET on *FOX
Costa Rica vs. Germany, 2 p.m. ET on *FS1
Friday, Dec. 2
South Korea vs. Portugal, 10 a.m. ET on *FOX
Ghana vs. Uruguay, 10 a.m. ET on *FS1
Serbia vs. Switzerland, 2 p.m. ET on *FS1
Cameroon vs. Brazil, 2 p.m. ET on *FOX
ROUND OF 16
Saturday, Dec. 3
1A vs. 2B, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
1C vs. 2D, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Sunday, Dec. 4
1D vs. 2C, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
1B vs. 2A, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Monday, Dec. 5
1E vs. 2F, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
1G vs. 2H, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Tuesday, Dec. 6
1F vs. 2E, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
1H vs. 2G, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, Dec. 9
W53 vs. W54, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
W49 vs. W50, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Saturday, Dec. 10
W55 vs. W56, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
W51 vs. W52, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
SEMIFINALS
Tuesday, Dec. 13
W57 vs. W58, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
Wednesday, Dec. 14
W59 vs. W60, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
THIRD-PLACE MATCH
Saturday, Dec. 17
RU61 vs. RU62, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
FINAL
Sunday, Dec. 18
W61 vs. W62, 10 a.m. ET on FOX
*Subject to change
SOURCE : foxsports
