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Now coming to Qatar, there is a chance that they can be the dark horses.
I also think there are some slim chances for Qatar to qualify in the next round. Odds are against them, by bookies Ecuador and Senegal are favorites, but they are playing at home and they invested a lot in their team. I guess we will see are ready for big competitions.
I checked the odds and the favorites from Group A are Netherlands, followed by Ecuador and Qatar. Senegal is at the 4th position, which is surprising considering their current form. All four teams are quite capable of staging a few upsets. And among them, I would rate Netherlands and Ecuador as the favorites. The battle for topping the group will be between these two teams. But then, you can't discount the chances of the other two teams as well. Senegal is in exceptional form recently, and Qatar enjoys the home advantage.
Qatar's only advantage in this world cup is as the home team, nothing more.
while Senegal, has several players who play in the European league competition. apart from Sadio Mane who became the mascot of their squad, there are several other names who also have important positions in their respective clubs. such as, Edouard Mendy who became the main goalkeeper in the Chelsea team, Kalidou Koulibaly who became this player in the Chelsea defense, and several other names who played in the European league. in terms of strength, it is clear that Senegal has more depth than Ecuador and Qatar. the FIFA rankings are also quite far apart.
Clearly, Senegal's probability is greater as a team that is certain to qualify for the next round than the other two candidates. However, in football it is teamwork that determines a victory. for the Netherlands, I've covered it in many previous posts.