The World Cup of 2022 is now less than two months away and so we’ve decided to take a look at which nations have the best attacking arsenal available to them.
It’s no secret that Brazil and France are both heavy favourites for the tournament thanks to the quite frankly terrifying amount of attacking stars within their rosters.
But Argentina can lay claim to having the great Lionel Messi in their ranks. Whilst England can boast Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and several other high-profile European stars that could make them a tricky prospect for any team to handle.
And let’s not forget the mere presence of Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo is often enough to give most defenders sleepless nights.
Which nations, however, are the most threatening of all? We’ve ranked the 10 most formidable attacks at the 2022 World Cup.
10. Poland
Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piatek, Nicola Zalewski, Jakub Kaminski
As ever, Poland’s team is heavily reliant upon its two star strikers in Lewandowski and Milik.
They don’t usually get too much service, but manager Czesław Michniewicz will know that changing that will be key if the nation is to achieve any success in Qatar.
Lewandowski has banged considerably more goals than anyone else in Europe across the past five years, and so he alone ensures the Poles are good enough for 10th place.
9. Uruguay
Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Darwin Nunez, Maxi Gomez, Facundo Pellistri, Brian Ocampo
An impressive Uruguayan team will be spearheaded by both the old guard and the new order in unison.
Suarez and Cavani have led the line for the South Americans to great effect throughout the past decade or more, whilst Nunez looks like a real handful for any opponent and Liverpool’s £67 million show of faith in him suggests he could be a huge talent.
We know the Uruguayan national team will always be a tough nut to crack defensively. But if Suarez and Cavani have got one last bark left in them, they could be a respectable force at both ends of the pitch.
8. Spain
Ferran Torres, Marco Asensio, Alvaro Morata, Yeremy Pino, Pablo Sarabia, Inaki Williams, Borja Iglesias
One thing Spain still lack is a world class striker. Gone are the days of Fernando Torres and David Villa, instead they’re forced to rely upon Morata to finish off his chances – and so it’s no real surprise that they often play without a recognised number nine.
They do have some useful wingers, though, in the form of Torres, Pino and Sarabia.
Not to mention Asensio who is more than capable of a magical moment.
It’s eighth place for Spain simply due to the decent level of attacking depth in their squad.
7. Belgium
Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Thorgan Hazard, Dries Mertens, Yannick Carrasco, Divock Origi, Leandro Trossard, Michy Batshuayi
It’s looking more and more like the ‘Golden Era’ of Belgian football could end up trophyless.
For what once looked like an outrageous attack is now looking more like a spent force.
Lukaku and Hazard, whilst both brilliant in their pomp, have been out of form for a good while now.
And although Mertens poses a serious problem for many defenders, at 35, one could argue his powers are beginning to wane.
Still, they do have better line-ups than most along with a solid amount of squad depth.
And if a couple of their stars can return to their old fiery selves, the Red Devils might be a real force once again.
6. Germany
Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Lukas Nmecha
Ah, ze Germans. The World Cup specialists. You can probably bet your bottom dollar that Germany will go far in Qatar, even if it isn’t their most vintage team of all time.
Muller will certainly help in that; the Bayern Munich legend has notched an impressive 10 goals at World Cups throughout his illustrious career.
Gnabry and Sane provide plenty of directness on the wings, whilst Musiala has also been tearing it up for Bayern and is now one of the hottest prospects in Europe.
5. Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Rafael Leao, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Goncalo Ramos
We’re not sure if you’ve heard, but Portugal could be a real problem at the World Cup.
Ronaldo will likely be shooting his last shot at earning football’s most coveted prize, and fortunately, he’ll be supported by his best team to date.
Leao has been an absolute revelation on the left-wing for AC Milan and has already bagged nine goal contributions across eight matches this season.
Whereas Premier League fans will know how lethal Jota can be given the Liverpool forward scored 15 times last campaign.
And then you have the small matter of Felix. A genius at times, although there’s certainly room for growth in the young star. Qatar could be his breakout moment.
An example of how Portugal could line up:
4. Argentina
Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Paolo Dybala, Angel Di Maria, Angel Correa, Julian Alvarez
But Ronaldo won’t be the only all-time great enjoying his last World Cup hoorah in Qatar because his arch-rival is also making a last bid for glory.
And much like Portugal, Argentina are looking particularly strong too.
Besides the wonderful Messi, the South American outfit can also lay claim to Di Maria, Martinez and Dybala within their ranks.
Not too shabby, ey? Argentina also won the UEFA Cup of Champions earlier in 2022 so they’ve got plenty of positive momentum behind them.
3. England
Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Jarrod Bowen, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka
The Three Lions are once again very well equipped to go deep into this upcoming international tournament.
They reached the semi-finals in Russia, the final at the European Championships last summer – could they go one better in Qatar?
We feel like it’s going to be a much stiffer task for them this time given some of the improved competition, but you never know.
The ever-reliable Kane is sure to bring the goals. Whilst Sterling and Grealish are certainly more than capable of bringing enough creativity to proceedings.
2. France
Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Christopher Nkunku
What an absolute outrage of a team the French will have this upcoming World Cup.
Benzema will no doubt have claimed the Ballon d’Or by the point. Meanwhile Mbappe has been in scintillating form so far this campaign and the duo could be set to form a lethal partnership in Qatar.
Nkunku also proved a revelation at RB Leipzig in 2021/22 chipping in with a total of 49 goal contributions to his team.
Just take a look at how France could line up:
1. Brazil
Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Raphinha, Rodrygo Goes, Mattheus Cunha, Richarlison, Roberto Firmino
Brazil are in a rare position in that their attack is so good nobody actually knows how best to fit them all in.
To help matters further, Neymar has been the form player in the world so far this season. The PSG man has scored and assisted a ridiculous 15 times across his opening eight appearances in the league – which is Ballon d’Or form and some.
Vinicius has recently blossomed into one of the world’s finest, whilst Jesus is in the form of his life at Arsenal.
Even Richarlison, who likely won’t even be able to secure a starting berth in Qatar, is playing out of his skin for Spurs.
Check out how Brazil, the most formidable attacking team at the 2022 World Cup, could line up:
That’s just scary. And nearly every single player – except Neymar – could be swapped out for a teammate of similar calibre.
Watch out, Qatar, Brazil are coming for the lot.
