TOPSHOT - Men walk past a FIFA World Cup trophy replica outside the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan on November 12, 2022, ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup football tournament. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
PITA’s 2022 World Cup predictions
Adam is backing William Saliba to shine in Qatar. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Adam Schultz
Winner: France – Loaded on every line with talent that now should include Saliba. An easy-ish group for the French and many people’s favourite for the title.
Golden Boot: Neymar – If Brazil are to go far at this World Cup, Neymar will need his shooting boots on. If they are, goals will flow at a rapid pace.
Dark Horse: Denmark – We saw exactly what this group of players is capable of at the Euros. There is nothing to suggest they can’t go further in Qatar.
Shock Early Exit: Germany – Not the usual strong German side of years gone by. A changing of the guard somewhat for the Germans and a tricky group could see them fail to progress out of the group stage.
Best Performing Arsenal Player: William Saliba – After his scintillating form for the Gunners, Saliba is the choice. Playing in a France side destined to go deep into the competition, the defender will be the best Arsenal player at the tournament.
Continued on the next slide…
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<p>— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/1592574399965630464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 15, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>James Cormack</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: Argentina –</strong> Look, I just want the Lionel Messi fairytale, okay? Is that too much to ask, football Gods?</p>
<p><strong>Golden Boot: Lionel Messi – </strong>See above. The greatest footballer we’ve ever seen enjoys his crowning moment.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Uruguay –</strong> Diego Godin may still be marshalling the defence at the tender age of 65 but this Uruguay side is well-balanced with its key players in excellent form.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: Belgium –</strong> Roberto Martinez’s side have been drawn into a pretty tricky group and I think they’re overly reliant on their midfield engine room. Who’s scoring the goals? Romelu Lukaku has barely kicked a ball since re-joining Inter.</p>
<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: Bukayo Saka –</strong> Saka’s enjoyed a stellar start to the season and he should play his way into Gareth Southgate’s starting XI in Qatar. England are poised for a deep run and the Arsenal starboy is set to play a pivotal role.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Adam's predictions </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130911" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244770992.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244770992.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244770992-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Adam is backing William Saliba to shine in Qatar. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Adam Schultz</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: France –</strong> Loaded on every line with talent that now should include Saliba. An easy-ish group for the French and many people’s favourite for the title.</p>
<p><strong>Golden Boot: Neymar –</strong> If Brazil are to go far at this World Cup, Neymar will need his shooting boots on. If they are, goals will flow at a rapid pace.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Denmark –</strong> We saw exactly what this group of players is capable of at the Euros. There is nothing to suggest they can’t go further in Qatar.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: Germany –</strong> Not the usual strong German side of years gone by. A changing of the guard somewhat for the Germans and a tricky group could see them fail to progress out of the group stage.</p>
<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: William Saliba –</strong> After his scintillating form for the Gunners, Saliba is the choice. Playing in a France side destined to go deep into the competition, the defender will be the best Arsenal player at the tournament.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Mitch's predictions </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130912" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1441767441.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1441767441.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1441767441-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Brazil are the pre-tournament favourites. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Mitch Peotter</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: Brazil – </strong>They’re a juggernaut of a team. Probably the most complete squad with heaps of quality at every position, I think this will be the one for them to win it.</p>
<p><strong>Golden Boot: Harry Kane – </strong>I know this looks bad on Pain in the Arsenal but in the interest of being fair and balanced I’ve got to go with Kane. He’s the scoring focal point of the England team who’ll make a run in this World Cup, he’ll score goals.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Canada – </strong>They’ve got a very underrated team and they’re in a tough group but I think they can make it out and if they do, they can make a run and make some noise.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: Spain –</strong> That group is a tough one with both Germany and Japan there with them, I could see this Spain team failing to exit the group.</p>
<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: Bukayo Saka – </strong>He’s made his mark on the England team and will be playing a lot and as we’ve seen every time he plays for them, England is a better team.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Kenneth's predictions </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130913" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1237814421.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1237814421.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1237814421-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Could Thomas Partey’s Ghana spring a surprise or two? (Photo by DANIEL BELOUMOU OLOMO/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Kenneth Daly</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: Brazil –</strong> An obvious choice. Brazil are the favourites for World Cup glory and are blessed with an incredible squad that should thrive in the Qatari heat. But they do face a potentially difficult route to the final….</p>
<p><strong>Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappe – </strong>The Frenchman is leading the way in Ligue 1 with 12 goals in 14 matches and will play in a group that France should easily top. He also has a track record at the World Cup so I expect them to deliver the goods once again.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Ghana – </strong>Probably not a scenario Mikel Arteta would wish for, but Ghana have availed of dual nationality to recruit stars including Tariq Lamptey and Inaki Williams and might have enough quality to sneak through the group phase. However, the prospect of facing the winners of Group G suggests they may not get much further.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: Argentina – </strong>While the premature end of Messi’s World Cup dream would be lamentable, Argentina are likely to get a difficult draw if they progress to the round of 16 – possibly identical to their 2018 fate – and could exit the tournament in early December.</p>
<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: William Saliba – </strong>Although this choice is somewhat influenced by the amount of game time our representatives will get, it is primarily motivated by Saliba’s outstanding contributions at Arsenal to date. Deschamps’ conservative style could result in him being put to the test this winter, but Wilo plays without fear and will shine at the heart of the French defence.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Toby's predictions </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130914" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244661093.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244661093.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244661093-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Toby doesn’t hold out much hope for England. (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Toby Hill</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: Brazil –</strong> Brazil are heading into the tournament with an extremely exciting squad. Their attacking output mixed with an experienced defence puts them as the winners for me.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p><strong>Golden Boot: Neymar –</strong> As just mentioned, I think Brazil are going to go far in this tournament and Neymar is going to play a huge goalscoring role in that.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Senegal –</strong> Senegal have a stronger squad than most are led to believe. The AFCON winners are in Group A, which is made up of Ecuador, Holland, and hosts Qatar. This should see Senegal progress through and become a real force in the knockout stages.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: England –</strong> Now, England are likely to make it through the group, but the knockout games don’t feel me with confidence. I can see a round of 16 exit for Southgate’s men.</p>
<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: Granit Xhaka –</strong> Arsenal’s Swiss midfielder has been an integral part of Arsenal this season, and I expect this to carry over to the World Cup. An honourable mention has to be made for Gabriel Jesus.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Aasif's predictions </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130915" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/16/pitas-2022-world-cup-predictions/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244804456.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244804456.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244804456-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Watch out for Uruguay. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Aasif Rahman</h2>
<p><strong>Winner: Brazil –</strong> I just think it’s finally Brazil’s year, with their exciting attack and balanced midfield. The pace they have on the break could be crucial especially in the KO rounds to get them through. And, of course, they have Neymar. That guy.</p>
<p><strong>Golden Boot: Darwin Nunez –</strong> This might be a surprise choice to a few and will link to the next choice on the list but Nunez has been in great form coming into the World Cup, which is only going to benefit him and his team. They’ll play to his strengths and even though he has Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in front of him, I feel like this could be his breakout competition.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Horse: Uruguay – </strong>Can you call two-time winners Uruguay a dark horse? Well, I don’t hear much talk of them and I have no idea why. Their attack is stacked, Federico Valverde is in the form of his life and Rodrigo Bentancur can’t stop scoring. They could make it deep into the competition and it wouldn’t surprise me if they make it all the way.</p>
<p><strong>Shock Early Exit: Belgium – </strong>The golden generation of Belgium has ended and when I look at the team, I see an ageing team. Their defence still has the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. Romelu Lukaku has struggled with injury this season, and this team isn’t as exciting as it was in 2018.</p>
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<p><strong>Best Performing Arsenal Player: William Saliba – </strong>He’s arguably been Arsenal’s best-performing player and it would be no surprise to me if he performs at that elite level for France, too. It’s already been rumoured he’s set to start for Les Bleus and his ability is set to be seen by the world after this tournament. If there’s one player to watch from this Arsenal team at this World Cup it’s definitely William Saliba.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
