The qualifying teams who will take part in the great World Cup festival of football to take place in Qatar in November (timed to avoid the searing heat), are all but decided.

Let’s take a look at the groups, which teams made it through and which ones might progress to the second round.

Group A
Qatar
Ecuador
Senegal
Netherlands

This group is interesting because the hosts have to deal with Senegal and Netherlands. It looks relatively easy for the Dutch especially after their amazing qualifying run.

Group B
England
Iran
USA
Ukraine/Scotland or Wales

Iran have a tall mountain to climb to try and get some points in this group. England and USA seem like the teams to beat in this group.

Group C
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Poland

I like this group because of the presence of Argentina. Everyone trying to make life for Messi and co. Really hard. We can’t downplay Poland especially with the form that Lewandoski has been on this past football calendar year. He will surely want to carry it to the world cup, because it might be his last.

Group D
France
Australia/UAE or Peru
Denmark
Tunisia

The reigning champions, France, have a target on their back. They have a squad full of talent and are ready to try and keep the trophy. This group seems like every other nation will fight for second place spot to go through.

Group E
Spain
New Zealand OR Costa Rica
Germany
Japan

My money is on Spain and Germany to go through as obvious favorite’s. New Zealand and Costa Rica together with Japan have some work to do. If anything, the dark horse of this group is Japan who have a good team full of experience and energy, they are a team to watch.

Group F
Belgium
Canada
Morocco
Croatia

I love this group because all of the teams in it are full of potential. None of them have won the sacred trophy, but are full of amazing talent all round. I can’t even predict who could end up 1st or 2nd. It’s just full of dark horses in my book. Belgium can upset and do some real damage, but so can the rest.

Group G
Brazil
Serbia
Switzerland
Cameroon

Brazil are surely firm favorites in Group G, with the tantalizing possibility of Neymar and co working their magic. Anything could happen though, especially with Cameroon on the wings. An exuberant team on the sidelines, hoping for redemption after the Afcon disappointment. The Swiss will hope to make life tough for everyone, especially after their qualifying path.

Group H
Portugal
Ghana
Uruguay
South Korea

The former European champions, Portugal, have an uphill task of getting past Uruguay and Ghana. As we have seen before they have a habit of making life tough for themselves. Ronaldo and his whole will have to take the assignment from game 1 seriously if they are to go far. Uruguay on the other hand would be my favorites for one of the qualifying spots from the group stages. They have a good squad full of youth and experience at the same time.