This year’s World Cup will feature its traditional 32 teams. On the other hand, seven teams return to the tournament which takes place in Qatar, between the months of November and December. Some of them have not appeared in the tournament for a long time, such as Canada (1986) and Wales (1958).

The European Netherlands, the Americans of Ecuador and the United States and the Africans of Cameroon and Ghana are also back in the tournament.

Clockwork Orange

The last official tournament organized by the Netherlands did not leave a good impression. Orange Mécanique fell in the round of 16 of the European Cup, after losing to the Czech Republic. Still, on paper, the team is seen as strong. In defense, the Selection has one of the best in the world, Liverpool defender Van Dijk. Midfielder Frenke de Jong (Barcelona) and striker Memphis Depay (Barcelona) appear to be good bets.

Cameroon

The Cameroonians will be on the road to the Brazilian national team in Group G, which also consists of Serbia and Switzerland. The Cameroonians put in a strong qualifier and managed to qualify in first place. The team was excluded from the 2018 World Cup, but has already played seven editions of the tournament. Cameroon’s best campaign dates back to 1990, when they reached the quarter-finals.

Canada

Exactly 36 years after its last World Cup, Canada’s team is back. The current generation is treated like gold, so much so that the country qualified top of the Concacaf qualifiers. The main highlights of the Canadian squad are left-back Alphonso Davies (Bayer Munich) and striker Jonathan David (Lille). On the eve of the World Cup, in June, the players went on strike, to demand from the federation a greater appreciation of the place in the World Cup.

United States

Team USA returns to football’s biggest tournament after missing the World Cup in Russia. The promise is of a well-structured team for the competition in Qatar. On the other hand, the team has several young players such as Wstan McKennie, Gio Reyna. But the biggest novelty will be on the bench, it will be the first time that an American will lead the team in the tournament and the challenge is issued by coach Gregg Berhalter, 49.

Ghana

The team from the African continent was absent from the tournament in 2018, but had already played three other consecutive editions (2006, 2010 and 2014). Highlights of the squad are Roma’s Felix Afena Ohene-Gyan and veteran Andre Ayew, ex-Olympique de Marseille, West Ham and Fenerbahce, currently at Al-Sadd.

Ecuador

After qualifying for the World Cup in the South American qualifiers, Ecuador almost missed out on the tournament. Indeed, the Federation of Chile sued the Ecuadorians alleging that Byron Castillo played the Qualifiers irregularly after using false documents in order to hide his real place of birth, Colombia. FIFA’s appeal committee rejected the procedure and confirmed the Ecuadorians in the competition. This will be Ecuador’s fourth participation in World Cups, having played in the 2022, 2006 and 2014 World Cups.

Wales

If it’s to talk about the Cups fast, the Welsh team has to be mentioned. After all, it was 64 years and 16 editions apart from a World Cup. In 1958, while playing the World Cup in Sweden, Wales stopped in Pelé’s Brazil. The Welsh secured the 2022 spot in the European draft by beating Ukraine 1-0. The star of the team is Gareth Bale, who is not at the peak of his career at 32.