With the launch of the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, attention is turning to the big teams that always seem to be candidates to compete for the title of the tournament, which will be held for the first time in the Arab region, specifically in the State of Qatar.

While most of the famous participating teams suffer from a scarcity of talent and stars, and do not dream of going far in the competition, the first-tier teams suffer in a different way, and the large number of stars turns into a headache in the heads of their coaches, who must choose 26 players before November 14, 2022 .

According to the American network, ESPN, this challenge that accompanies international football makes all participating teams, including the nine candidates to lift the cup in Qatar, not without flaws.

The problems faced by each of the nine teams are listed below, in ascending order of probability of winning.

Holland without strikers

After his embarrassing loss to the Czechs in the final price of "Euro 2020" and after coach Louis van Gaal replaced Frank de Boer, the Dutch Mills did not lose any game because they had the third best difference in "expected goals" among all teams.

In theory, it does not seem that the Netherlands will face any difficulty in the group stage, and in the final price, it will be on a date with either England, the United States, Wales or Iran.

The Netherlands is highly dependent on Depay (Reuters)

So, where is the problem?

In the past, the problem of the Dutch was the presence of a large number of strikers, but now they rely heavily on Memphis Depay, who has shined since Van Gaal took over, scoring 13 goals and assisting 5 others in 11 games.

However, with the lack of suitable alternatives on the one hand, and the scarcity of his participation with his team Barcelona, ​​doubts swirl about Depay's ability to carry the "mills" team on his shoulders to go far in the World Cup in Qatar.

Defense is Belgium's weak point

The idea that "defence is the champion" is familiar in almost any sport and this applies to the World Cup as well, but "defensive teams win does not mean that playing defensively increases the chances of winning" and this applies to Belgium.

All nine candidates have played between 11 and 13 competitive matches since last summer, and while Belgium conceded an average of 1.2 expected goals per game, the other eight were below 0.9.

And while she allowed 19.2 touches in the penalty area, none of the other eight allowed more than 14.1.

The "Red Devils" team also lacks the ability to pressure its opponents so that their defense weakens, because they push a lot of players forward.

Only France has a lower pressing rate than Belgium, perhaps due to the age of most of the Belgium defenders.

Ronaldo's dilemma threatens Portugal

Portugal has a star-studded squad in most positions, and the “Brazil of Europe” may be in a better position than any other team after France and perhaps England, as it has at least one player in its squad who plays for one of the best teams in the world in almost every position.

Fernando Santos has coached Portugal for 8 years and already led them to their first international title, but it seems he doesn't have the strength or the internal support to put superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench if necessary.

Ronaldo is currently suffering from a lack of participation with his team Manchester United, while since the European Championship last summer, he has played more competitive minutes for Portugal than any other player, including goalkeepers.

Germany fails in front of adults

In the last World Cup 2018, Germany tried to play in a way of advanced pressure and possession of the ball more than its rivals, but the players of the "Manchesft" collapsed when they lost the ball and could not recover it immediately, so Germany bid farewell to the tournament in a humiliating manner.

As for the European Championship, the Germans turned to playing with three at the back to find some solidity and achieved slightly better results, as they lost in the group stage against France, beat Portugal and drew with Hungary, before the "Mannchchaft" fell to England in the final price.

After the tournament, coach Joachim Loew left and was replaced by his former assistant Hansi Flick, who prefers a risky 4-2-3-1 play, causing Germany to press harder than the other eight contenders and win possession in an often offensive third place.

This renewal gave the best difference in "expected goals" between all these teams, but in front of the stronger teams the flaws appear, and this was evident in Germany's six Nations League matches against Italy, England and Hungary.

Spain is slow

Spain coach Luis Enrique relies on possession, but what is wrong with this method is the apparent slowness of the ball's movement.

During the participation in the 2018 World Cup, "El Matador" played the same way as Enrique, and despite the complete possession of the ball, he barely created chances to score, and bid farewell to the tournament against the home team of Russia, and applied the same method in the last European Championship against Italy.

Although the Spanish national team has not played any bad matches clearly since the European Championship with Enrique, it did not achieve any special victory either, with the exception of its recent victory at home to Portugal in the Nations League.

Argentina and fear of pressure

Before every previous World Cup in which Argentine star Lionel Messi participated, the pressure on the best player in the world 7 times reached its climax, with the result in the end a new failure to crown.

In the World Cup in Qatar, it looks relatively different, and Messi has removed the burden from his shoulders that he "will not win anything with the national team" after winning the Copa America.

By the age of 35, Messi has become a more creative passer than a goal scorer, and coach Lionel Scaloni seems to have agreed as he surrounded him with a group of young midfielders and forwards whom the captain could select with his pinpoint passes.

On the other hand, and among the nine supposed candidates to win the 2022 World Cup, the Tango team has the least difference between the touches of the penalty area for him and against him, because the way to play depends on the search for the spaces that come with the move and all the angles that open to Messi, but will the defense be able to deal with This increased pressure?

With Nicolas Otamendi turning 34, he has played more competitive minutes than any other Argentine player since last summer.

The coach is England's problem

England (the cradle of football) has a lot of distinguished players, but it seems that coach Gareth Southgate does not make the best use of them, and has always chosen to stabilize the performance of the "Lions / Three Lionesses" team and not take risks rather than raise the ceiling of expectations and potential.

Instead of trying to find a way to match Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass, he chose not to put in too much effort, not trying to make much use of Fikayo Tomori, who was one of the world's best central defenders for AC Milan over the past year.

Despite having plenty of attacking talent at his disposal, he chose a system that sacrificed one of the traditional attacking roles, giving less space to his best players.

France..injuries and disputes

Despite having the most talented team elements in the World Cup, the many differences within the French national team could lose him his title.

With Karim Benzema, who recently won the Ballon d'Or, in addition to Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and many others, the "Rooster" team also has a distinguished list of players in various positions.

But the team does not appear in its best condition before the 2022 World Cup, especially with Mbappe's dispute with the local Football Association and its president due to image rights, and injuries to a number of prominent names, most notably Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante.

Brazil without show

Since signing with Tite in 2016, Brazil has been the most enjoyable team, playing 75 matches, winning 56 of them, compared to 5 defeats and 14 draws, with a large number of attackers that the coach finds very difficult to choose the required number of them.

But there are influential positions that lack stars, especially at the level of full-backs, and it seems that it is not yet time to find a successor to the duo Dani Alves and Marcelo.

"Samba" is now the favorite to win everything just days before the start of the first matches of the World Cup, but like any other team on this list, they are nowhere near perfect.