I agree that it will be very difficult for Qatar to win first or second place in the group, because Netherlands and Senegal are much better teams than them.
As for holding the World Cup in Qatar at such an unusual time, and in a country without a great football tradition, I think that it's a question of FIFA being an organization whose first priority is profit and the spread of influence, not just competition.
Even the decision for Qatar to host the World Cup was suspected due to possible corruption, but this was never proven, although suspicions remained.
I agree with you, the African national teams are very talented and have great players like Salah or Mane, but they clearly lack the discipline in the game and the tactical maturity to be able to achieve better results and play in the semi-finals or finals.