World Cup 2022 Group C – Players To Watch in Qatar

Carl Lewis and football writer Zach Lowy discuss players to watch in Group C of the World Cup in Qatar.

It begins on 22 November for Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni and millions of Argentines back home wearing white and sky blue. But it also begins in Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Most of the footballing world believes Argentina will progress through Group C, but who will join them? We look at the key players who will make the difference.

Here is the list below:

Argentina

World ranking: 3
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Confirmed 26-man squad:
Franco Armani (River Plate), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Lionel Messi (PSG), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan)

Saudi Arabia

World ranking: 51
Coach: Hervé Renard
Confirmed 26-man squad:
Mohamed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal), Nawaf Al-Aqidi (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Al-Yami (Al-Ahly), Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Madu (Al-Nassr), Hassan Tambakti (Al-Shabab), Sultan Al-Ghanam (Al-Nassr), Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal), Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal), Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal), Riyadh Sharahili (Abha), Ali Al-Hassan (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Malki (Al-Hilal), Sami Al-Najei (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Otayf (Al-Hilal), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (Ittihad), Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al-Shabab), Fahad Al-Muwallad (Al-Shabab), Haitham Asiri (Al-Ahly), Saleh Al-Shehri (Al-Hilal) Firas Al-Buraikan (Al-Fateh).

Poland

World ranking: 26
Coach: Czesław Michniewicz
Confirmed 26-man squad:
Bartlomiej Dragowski (Spezia), Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus), Jan Bednarek (Aston Villa, on loan from Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Matty Cash (Aston Villa), Kamil Glik (Benevento), Robert Gumny (Augsburg), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Jakub Kiwior (Spezia), Mateusz Wieteska (Clermont), Nicola Zalewski (Roma), Krystian Bielik (Birmingham City), Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens), Kamil Grosicki (Pogon Szczecin), Jakub Kaminski (Wolfsburg), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Al-Shabab), Michal Skoras (Lech Poznan), Damian Szymanski (AEK Athens), Sebastian Szymanski (Feyenoord), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Szymon Zurkowski (Fiorentina), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus), Krzysztof Piatek (Salernitana), Karol Swiderski (Charlotte FC).

Mexico

World ranking: 13
Coach: Gerardo Martino
Confirmed 26-man squad:
Guillermo Ochoa (Club America), Alfredo Talavera (Juarez), Rodolfo Cota (Leon), Jorge Sanchez (Ajax), Kevin Alvarez (Pachuca), Nestor Araujo (Club America), Johan Vasquez (Cremonese), Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Cesar Montes (Monterrey), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk), Jesus Gallardo (Monterrey), Andres Guardado (Real Betis), Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo), Charly Rodriguez (Cruz Azul), Erick Gutierrez (PSV Eindhoven), Luis Chavez (Pachuca), Edson Alvarez (Ajax), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Luis Romo (Monterrey), Alexis Vega (Guadalajara), Hirving Lozano (Napoli), Raul Jimenez (Wolves), Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Henry Martin (Club America), Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey).