Group G of the 2022 World Cup features the five-time defending champions Brazil, World Cup veterans Cameroon, and two possible European dark horses in the shape of Serbia and Switzerland.
When determining who will go on to the round of 16, we look at the predictor numbers to see who will advance through the group stage.
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The Predictions Made by Opta
One illustrious name stands out like a footballing salmon from Group G, and that is Brazil. Brazil is the only country to have ever won the World Cup title five times, making them the favorites to do so again this year. However, it has been 20 years since they last accomplished this, and the desire to add a sixth crown has reached a fever pitch in what many people consider to be the spiritual birthplace of football.
Brazil is the only country that has competed in all of the World Cup tournaments to date, and they have finished first in their group and advanced to the round of 16 or better in each and every World Cup since 1982. The previous time Brazil did not advance out of their group was in 1966 when they were subjected to severe anti-football abuse throughout the tournament. Since those days when anything might happen, the game has luckily evolved, and now our supercomputer predicts that Brazil has an incredible 88.5% probability of advancing to the round of 16, as well as a 67.6% likelihood of finishing in first place in their group.
Do you think the Brazilians will end up winning the whole competition (you should)? As of right now, there is a probability of 16.3% that Neymar, Vinicius Junior, and what seems like the whole of the Premier League will be the ones to hoist that illustrious trophy on December 18.
Group G of the World Cup
The remaining matches in Group G seem to be decided by the slimmest of margins. If all three teams lose to Brazil, then it’s basically a two-game playoff to reach the second round, and that could play into the hands of Serbia who boast the battering ram that is Aleksandar Mitrovic up front, a man having a great season in the Premier League and the scorer of his nation’s most recent goal at a World Cup tournament, which was back in 2018. If all three teams lose to Brazil, then it’s basically a two-game playoff to reach the second round Dragan Stojkovic, a Yugoslavia-era icon who contributed classily to both the 1990 and 1998 World Cups, is Serbia’s manager. Despite the fact that Serbia has never advanced beyond the group stage in any of its three World Cup appearances as an independent country, they are coached by Stojkovic. Our powerful algorithm predicts that Serbia has a 42.8% probability of advancing to the second round of the competition. This is a respectable likelihood, but it is not good enough to declare them the group’s favorite team.
Therefore, Switzerland are now in the lead with a barely superior 48.9% probability of advancing from Group G with Brazil. The Swiss were involved in the most goal-filled game in the history of the World Cup, which was a 7-5 quarter-final loss to Austria on home soil in 1954. However, in recent years they have made defending stoutly their key performance indicator, and they are famous for conceding zero goals in the 2006 World Cup. However, they were eliminated from the tournament by Ukraine on penalties. You probably did not see this coming, but Switzerland is one of just three European teams – the others being Belgium and France – to have progressed to the knockout rounds in each of the last four major international championships. This is a fact that you probably did not anticipate. Theoretically, they are aware of how to slip away from groups, and the supercomputer is also aware of this information.
Cameroon, who were standouts in the 1990 World Cup and are now competing in their eighth World Cup, the most of any African team, rounds up the group. Fans of a particular age may have fond memories of Roger Milla and others, but the present side can score goals as well; in the 2021 African Cup of Nations earlier this year, they scored 14 goals, which was five more than any other team. In addition to that, they have the improbable Champions League hero Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who is now in good form. However, despite this, our win prediction model still assigns the Indomitable Lions just a 19.8% probability of advancing out of Group G at the 2022 World Cup. Despite this, Group G is still one of the more competitive groups in the tournament, with the exception of the Brazilians.
My Prediction for the Group G
To go up against Brazil would need bravery on one’s part, and I do not consider myself to be courageous. Tite’s star-studded team will breeze through this group with three wins out of three and will be involved in an early intra-squad struggle to grab the lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
After suffering a loss to Brazil in their first game of the tournament, I have high hopes that Serbia will win their remaining two group matches and finish in second place. Cameroon will finish in third place in the group if they are victorious against Switzerland, while Switzerland would fall to the very bottom of the standings despite their strong performance in previous tournaments.
