It has been 20 years since Brazil last won the World Cup. As the No. 1-ranked team in the world, it is certainly a favorite to win it all in Qatar. Four years ago, Seleção relied too much on Neymar and lost to Belgium in the quarterfinal, but with a deep roster of stars who play in the world’s top leagues, Tite’s team is expected to make it out of the group unscathed.
However, you can’t overlook competitive European sides in Switzerland, which Brazil tied in the 2018 group stage, and Serbia, which beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal during qualifying. Cameroon is also an experienced group and battle-tested following a playoff win over Algeria.
Here’s a look at all four teams in Group G:
Everything you need to know about Cameroon:
Coach: Rigobert Song
Highest finish: Quarterfinals (1990)
2018 finish: Did not qualify
FOX Bet odds: +35000
Key players: Vincent Aboubakar, Karl Toko Ekambi, Andre Onana
What we’re excited to watch: How will 26-year-old goalkeeper Andre Onana, who starts for Inter Milan, fair against top goalscorers in this group such as Neymar, Vinícius Jr., Aleksander Mitrović and Xherdan Shaqiri?
What success looks like: Getting out of the group
Achilles’ heel: Song’s side doesn’t have quite the roster of European stars as other teams, so Cameroon will need some magic akin to what they found in the final round of World Cup qualifying.
X-Factor: Cameroon will lean heavily on veteran Aboubakar to deliver. Aboubakar, the team captain, scored the most goals (eight) of any African player at this year’s Cup of nations.
Three things you need to know about Cameroon
Alexi Lalas provides three things you need to know about Cameroon ahead of the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Full roster
Goalkeepers: Devis Epassy, Simon Ngapandouetnbu, Andre Onana
Defenders: Jean-Charles Castelletto, Enzo Ebosse, Collins Fai, Olivier Mbaizo, Nicolas Nkoulou, Tolo Nouhou, Christopher Wooh
Midfielders: Martin Hongla, Pierre Kunde, Olivier Ntcham, Gael Ondoua, Samuel Oum Gouet, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar, Christian Bassogog, Eric-Maxime Choupo Moting, Souaibou Marou, Bryan Mbeumo, Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu, Jerome Ngom, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, Jean-Pierre Nsame, Karl Toko Ekambi
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.