In the imagination of Mexico‘s fans, players, coaching staff and officials, a much more comfortable Concacaf Qualifiers were on the horizon. Unfortunately for their cause, this was not the case and their qualification for Qatar 2022 was achieved until the last matchday.
El Tri is one of the most traditional teams in the history of FIFA World Cups. Only Brazil, Germany, Italy, and Argentina, all World Champions on more than one occasion, have participated in more editions. It is also the eighth country with the most matches played in this tournament with 57, one more than two-time world champion Uruguay.
However, Mexico’s importance has not been as great as the number of times it has played in the World Cup. In Qatar 2022, the Mexican team will try to overcome the stage in which it has stagnated in its last seven World Cups, the Round of 16. So far, Mexico’s best participation was in the second World Cup it hosted, in 1986, when it finished in sixth place.
Mexico’s outlook in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final Draw
The fate of the 32 national teams, 29 so far, that have qualified for Qatar 2022 will depend on luck to some extent. Although the groups for the upcoming FIFA World Cup will be drawn at random, everything depends on the position ofthe squadsin the FIFA World Ranking.
Thus, the Qatar 2022 Final Draw is based on the distribution of the qualified teams in 4 pots. Their placement depends on their position in the latest FIFA Ranking. Then, the first 7 places, plus the host country make up pot 1. The teams ranked from 8th to 15th place are the members of pot 2, from 16th to 23rd place go to pot 3, and from 24th to 28th place, plus the last 3 National Teams to qualify, will make up pot 4.
According to several media reports, the pots for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final Draw would be made up as follows, since the positions in the last FIFA Ranking, published in February, cannot vary too much, since only official matches have been played, from the Qualifiers for most of them, except for the European National Teams that got their direct ticket in advance.
Pot 1: Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal.
Pot 2: Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, the United States, Switzerland, Croatia, Uruguay.
Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia.
Pot 4: Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Canada, Inter-Confederation Playoffs 1 (Peru/ Australiavs theUnited Arab Emirates) and 2 (Costa Rica / New Zealand), UEFA Playoff 3 (Wales/ Scotland vs Ukraine).
Jesus Manuel Corona, Mexico National Team. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Mexico’s toughest group for Qatar 2022
If Tata Martino‘s team is unlucky during the FIFA World CupFinal Draw, they could face some truly powerful teams, which could even cut short their streak of eight consecutive World Cups advancing from the Group stage (1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018).
In an almost tragic scenario for El Tri, their group could be made up of Brazil (they have lost 4 and drawn 1 of their 5 World Cup matches), Robert Lewandowski‘s Poland, and the always complicated Ghana. Another complex scenario to overcome could include France, Japan, and any of the European teams fighting for the last ticket to Qatar for UEFA: Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine.
Neymar Jr, Brazil National Team. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
The best scenario for Mexico in the Final Draw
If luck takes El Tri by the hand and leads them to their group in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, they could face accessible opponents that would allow them to bet on qualifying to the Round of 16: Qatar, Serbia, and Ecuador.Or Portugal, Morocco, and, if they qualify, New Zealand or the United Arab Emirates.
see also
Qatar 2022: When will the Inter-Confederation Playoffs be held?
