World Cup Group G guide: Serbs and Swiss in battle for runners-up spot
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World Cup Group G guide and odds
The 2022 World Cup is under way and Ladbrokes have produced guides on all eight groups to put you in the picture for the tournament.
You can read all the latest on England and Wales as we provide odds and features on the two nations and also have the latest World Cup winner odds.
Our World Cup Group G guide covers Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon as we take a look at all four nations, dark horses, players to watch and a prediction on where they will finish in the group.
Brazil are the 11/4 favourites to win the tournament for a sixth time, but let’s look at their prospects and those of their rivals.
Brazil
Remarkably, Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia were in the same group at the last World Cup when the South Americans topped the group with seven points, two clear of the Swiss and four ahead of the Serbs who had just a win against Costa Rica to their name.
Tite’s side coasted through qualifying unbeaten as group winners with 14 wins and three draws although they did not complete their fixtures after their matchday six clash with Argentina was abandoned after Brazilian health officials entered the pitch five minutes into the game, claiming four Argentina players should have been isolating for Covid.
Brazil have lost just two of their 48 competitive matches since Tite took charge six years ago, a 2-1 quarter-final defeat against Belgium at the 2018 World Cup and a 1-0 loss to arch rivals Argentina in last year’s Copa America final, a run which has seen the Selecao overtake the Red Devils as the world’s top-ranked team.
The likes of Raphinha and Richarlison have been staking their claims to be in the starting line-up for their opener against Serbia with a healthy return of goals, but the depth of Tite’s squad means he has plenty of attacking options at his disposal.
Brazil have also conceded just eight goals in their last 26 matches, including friendlies, so they also look strong defensively and will be the team to beat in Qatar.
Head coach: Tite spent all of his playing and coaching career in his native Brazil, where he has won just about everything, including the Copa America in 2019, so winning the World Cup would be a logical step.
Players to watch: Neymar, Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison, Vinicius Jr, Lucas Paqueta – the list goes on and on. But Tite can’t pick them all in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, so it will be interesting to see who gets the nod on the big day. Casemiro looks like he has nailed down one of the defensive midfield roles, but will it be Paqueta, Fred or Bruno Guimaraes that accompany him? Twelve members of their 26-man squad play in the Premier League.
Fixtures:
Serbia: Nov 24, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, BBC
Switzerland: Nov 28, 16.00, Stadium 974, Doha, ITV
Cameroon: Dec 2, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, ITV
World Cup Group G winner odds: 4/11
Verdict: Switzerland and Serbia will prove tough to beat, so this group is not a cakewalk by any means, but finish top and one from Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea awaits.
Prediction: A first World Cup triumph in 20 years looks a possibility, but anything can happen in the knockout stage when European nations have had their number in recent editions.
Serbia
Serbia came through qualifying as group winners ahead of favourites Portugal and in September were promoted to the top tier in the Nations League, but there are injury concerns surrounding their twin strike force of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic.
Mitrovic scored a last-minute winner in Portugal to ensure automatic qualification and fourth spot for the Fulham striker in the top scorers’ list, behind only Harry Kane, Memphis Depay and Robert Lewandowski, but he has missed the Cottagers’ last two games with an ankle injury.
A groin injury has ruled Vlahovic out of Juventus’ last five matches, so there are concerns heading into their opener against Brazil.
The Serbs scored 18 times in qualifying but conceded nine times, the most of all the group winners, and the lack of a quality right-back means head coach Dragan Stojkovic prefers to deploy a three-man defence.
Head coach: Stojkovic favours an attacking style of play which obviously leaves them open to the counter-attack but Serbia should prove one of the most entertaining teams at the World Cup.
Players to watch: Mitrovic scored eight goals during qualifying and was joint top scorer with Erling Haaland in the Nations League with six. Only Ciro Immobile scored more Serie A goals than Juventus striker Vlahovic last season and although he has yet to fire on all cylinders in the current campaign, his partnership with Mitrovic will be crucial to their chances of success. Ajax’s Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic is also a major threat in attack.
Fixtures:
Brazil: Nov 24, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, BBC
Cameroon: Nov 28, 10.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, ITV
Switzerland: Dec 2, 19.00, Stadium 974, Doha, ITV
World Cup Group G winner odds: 11/2
World Cup group qualifying odds: 10/11
Verdict: The Serbs did not have much to offer in Russia, but optimism is high they can go on a decent run this time if their strikers recover from injury.
Prediction: Serbia could face Portugal – the team they beat to qualify automatically for Qatar – in the round of 16 if they finish runners-up, so a quarter-final appearance must be on their radar.
Switzerland
The Swiss are making their fifth successive appearance at the World Cup and reached the round of 16 in all but one of those tournaments, 2010 when they finished behind Spain and Chile in South Africa.
Murat Yakin’s side are expected to be fighting it out with Serbia for the runners-up spot behind Brazil which is where they finished when the three nations met in Russia.
They were unbeaten in qualifying (W5 D3), although they had Northern Ireland to thank for a goalless draw with Italy in the final group match which consigned the European champions to a doomed World Cup play-off with North Macedonia in March.
The Swiss eliminated favourites France in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 and this year beat both Spain and Portugal in their elite Nations League group but finished in third spot, so they should feel confident they can compete against Serbia and World Cup favourites Brazil, the team they drew with in the opening group game four years ago.
Head coach: Yakin made 49 appearances for Switzerland and has coached many of the top teams in his country, including Basel with whom he won the Super League in back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014, but this is his first international role.
Players to watch: The Swiss don’t really have too many star players, but Monaco’s injury-prone striker Breel Embolo is expected to score the goals in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Defender Manuel Akanji has made an impression at Manchester City since his move from Borussia Dortmund. Granit Xhaka is enjoying an excellent season with Arsenal, while former Liverpool attacker Xherdan Shaqiri still has a few tricks up his sleeve despite moving to the MLS with Chicago Fire.
Fixtures:
Cameroon: Nov 24, 10.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, ITV
Brazil: Nov 28, 16.00, Stadium 974, Doha, ITV
Serbia: Dec 2, 19.00, Stadium 974, Doha, ITV
World Cup Group G winner odds: 11/2
World Cup group qualifying odds: 10/11
World Cup odds: 100/1
Verdict: It took a penalty shoot-out against Spain to knock them out of the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, but it’s 50-50 whether they can get the better of the Serbs.
Prediction: It’s a toss of the coin, but we suspect the Swiss may not make it through the group stage.
Cameroon
It’s been 32 years since Cameroon became the first African country to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, but we’re not expecting something akin to Roger Milla’s iconic jigs at the corner flag from Italia ‘90.
The Indomitable Lions are appearing at the finals for an eighth time – an African record – but they needed the away goals rule to beat Algeria and seal their place in Qatar, having lost the first leg at home.
Former Liverpool defender Rigobert Song has been around the national set-up for the last six years, but was given his first coaching job by Cameroon Football Federation president Samuel Eto’o in March as a replacement for Toni Conceicao.
Cameroon have been handed a tough draw and have only once made it out of the group stage in seven attempts, so Song has a difficult task on his hands in his first managerial role.
Head coach: Song was fighting for his life when he suffered a brain aneurysm six years ago and was in a coma for two days, but recovered to resume coaching duties in 2017. Song led Cameroon at the 2018 African Nations Championship where they finished bottom of their group with just one point from three games.
Players to watch: Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana is their star player and he should see plenty of action against three tough teams.
Fixtures:
Switzerland: Nov 24, 10.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, ITV
Serbia: Nov 28, 10.00, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, ITV
Brazil: Dec 2, 19.00, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, ITV
World Cup Group G winner odds: 16/1
World Cup group qualifying odds: 7/2
World Cup odds: 250/1
Verdict: An inexperienced coach taking charge of a team with limited abilities is not a good combination.
Prediction: Fourth in the group
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
