10 Players To Watch Out For In Qatar

The FIFA World Cup 2022 will kickstart on November 20 with the host nation, Qatar, taking on Ecuador in the opening fixture. Since the tournament is being held in the middle of the 2022 football season, the jam-packed schedule has already ruled out many players due to injury. However, like every other World Cup, there will always be expectations about some players who one should keep an eye on. We list 10 such players, including the top six bookie favourites scoring the highest number of goals at the tournament

Neymar, Brazil

Neymar is striking all the right chords at the right time, having scored 11 goals, and providing nine assists for the PSG in the French Ligue 1. Despite all the media circus surrounding his theatrics, the Brazilian star has silently proved this season that he still remains one of the world's greatest - a thrilling, unpredictable footballing genius, a perfect man to build your team around. And there is no doubt that Brazil's World Cup campaign will be centred around him. His famous back injury against Colombia in the quarter-final match disrupted the seemingly perfect campaign for Brazil in their home World Cup in 2014. The country suffered a humiliating 7-1 humiliating defeat by Germany in the semifinal. Four years later, in Russia, he wasn't in the best shape, and came directly to the tournament after a three-month-long absence due to a fractured foot, and Brazil just about reached the quarterfinals. This time, though, he is in great shape, and will be coming off the back of an incredibly productive season with his club. Usually deployed at left wing by PSG coach Christophe Galtier, Neymar will be playing in a slightly different role for his country. "Neymar's role now is in that (inside) pocket just to the left, where he has greater space to construct, utilise his movement, and create. Out wide is no longer for him," Brazil's coach, Tite, was quoted saying recently.

Kevin de Bruyne, Belgium