Which Latin American teams have the best chances at the 2022 World Cup?

Despite the controversies, surrounding the Qatar 2022 World Cup, much of the world was eagerly waiting for the ball to start rolling.

Perhaps Latin America especially, as it is one of the world’s region that is most passionate about  international soccer.

It’s been 20 years since a Latin American country won the World Cup, when Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in Japan and Korea in 2002. Since then, Europe has dominated, with the victories of Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014 and France in 2018.

The Latin American teams that qualified for Qatar 2022 were Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Mexico and Costa Rica. However, not all of them made it to Round 16 and some have better odds than others at getting further.

All eyes point to Brazil as one of the favorites for this World Cup. They came first in their group, with 6 points, having won two out of their three matches.

One of the things that makes Brazil the favorite is the defensive strength they have shown in recent times, being a team that concedes very few goals. They have players like Casemiro or Militao in defensive duties.

On the other hand, ‘the cariocas’ have a spectacular offensive line with Neymar and Vinicius Junior. Unfortunately, Neymar continues his recovery from an ankle injury sustained in their opening win over Serbia.

In Argentina’s case, there was a very big expectation from the fans, especially given the fact that it will be Messi’s last World Cup.

However, many fans were disappointed with the team, who lost to Saudi Arabia on their first match, and disappointed by Messi also, who missed a penalty against Poland.

Nevertheless, Argentina managed to win the match and made it through to Round 16.

Right now, Uruguay is at the bottom of its group, which includes South Korea, Ghana and Portugal.

However, they still have a chance. If Uruguay beats Ghana, and South Korea draws or loses to Portugal, it will qualify for round 16. However, a draw or loss would eliminate Uruguay from the World Cup.

The Ecuadorian team surprised everyone since the inauguration match at the World Cup, when it won against the team host, Qatar.

They won one match and drew in the other, making it through to Round 16 with the same amount of points as The Netherlands.

After scoring two goals in their last match against Saudi Arabia, everyone thought that they would make it through to Round 16. However, they were one goal short and got eliminated from the World Cup.

After loosing brutally with a score of 5-0 against Spain, no one had hopes for Costa Rica,

However, to everyone’s surprise, they managed to beat Japan 1-0. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to make it through to the next round.

Brazil and Argentina are undoubtedly the two Latin American candidates with the best odds, as indicated by the bookmakers. However, Uruguay cannot be ruled out, as they usually stand out for their great performance in the World Cup.

Though unlikely, World Cups tend to give the audience surprises once in a while, and the victory of a Latin American team could be it for Qatar 2022. We’ll wait and see.