World Cup Stats and more!

What can previous World Cups tell us about what to expect in Qatar?

Is this year's World Cup tougher? Should teams who qualified through the play-offs be written off now? Does playing in Asia suit certain countries?

We look at these factors - as well as many others - to see which teams could be well placed for a successful World Cup.

There have been six previous tournaments having the same format of 32 teams sorted into eight groups of four and it is these six tournaments that have provided 384 games to look at and see if any patterns emerge.

In the analysis below we will be looking at these six tournaments - from 1998-2018 - unless otherwise noted.

How much impact does location have on the performance of travelling teams?

In the past three tournaments to be played in Europe, there were European nations filling 10 of the 16 knockout places. When the finals have taken place outside Europe this figure drops to an average of seven.

South American teams benefit the most from this drop, while twice the number of Asian teams reach the knock-outs when the finals aren't in Europe.

Is there a link between qualifying and how far teams progress in the finals?

Five of the past six World Cup winners were European - and with the exception of 1998 champions France, who made that tournament automatically as hosts, all had excellent qualifying campaigns.

The other four champions - Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014 and France in 2018 - either went unbeaten or lost only once in 10 qualifying games. These win percentages (with draws counting half a win) were 80% and above.

In qualification for this year's event, a whole host of European nations have met the 80% threshold: Denmark (95%), England and Germany (90%), Serbia and Belgium (87.5%), Spain, Switzerland and France (all 81.3%) and Croatia and the Netherlands (both 80%).

How 'strong' is this year's line-up based on world rankings compared to earlier tournaments?

Using the Fifa world ranking of teams at the start of a tournament, we can get a feel for how competitive a tournament could be. Here are the rankings spreads for the 32 teams for each tournament:

Ranking spread19981-7420021-5020061-6120101-10520141-6220181-6720221-61

Because of Fifa rules dictating the number of teams from each continent, there are teams not at the finals that rank higher than some that are.

The most obvious absentees this time are Italy - sixth in the world - but Colombia (17), Peru (23), Sweden (25), Ukraine (27), Chile (29) and Nigeria (32) would all have been involved if world rankings decided qualification irrespective of location.

While seven lower-ranked teams taking part this time might seem like a large proportion, it is actually the lowest number during the 32-team era. Some finals have had as many as 11 teams from outside the top 32.

So this time it is a tough tournament to succeed in.

And the combined rankings suggest England and Wales are in the toughest group in Qatar - it's the only one where every team are in the world's top 20 as of 30 October.

2022 World Cup groups and world rankings (as at 30 October)

A - Netherlands (8), Senegal (18), Ecuador (44), Qatar (50)

B - England (5), USA (16), Wales (19), Iran (20)

C - Argentina (3), Mexico (13), Poland (26), Saudi Arabia (51)

D - France (4), Denmark (10), Tunisia (30), Australia (38)

E - Spain (7), Germany (11), Japan (24), Costa Rica (31)

F - Belgium (2), Croatia (12), Morocco (22), Canada (41)

G - Brazil (1), Switzerland (15), Serbia (21), Cameroon (43)

H - Portugal (9), Uruguay (14), South Korea (28), Ghana (61)