Qatar's potential winners and losers: we make our picks

With the World Cup kicking off on Sunday when hosts Qatar take on Ecuador (6pm SA time), our football writers select their favourites to claim the honours in the much-anticipated tournament.

Nkareng Matshe

What I expect : As this is a World Cup like no other, in the middle of the season and just a week after leagues have taken a pause, I expect disjointed performances from many teams as they’ve hardly had friendlies. The first week could well be used by coaches to find rhythm, but knowing this is the highest stage, we should see free-flowing football. High-scoring games should be a feature.

African team to go furthest: Senegal, but only if Sadio Mane is 100% fit.

Winners: Argentina. This is Lionel Messi’s last World Cup and after coming close in 2014 and finally winning an international competition with the national team in 2019, this is the time for the greatest footballer ever to win football’s grandest prize.

Flops of the tournament: France. They have just not been the same since the 2018 triumph and missing Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante will mean they are severely short on experience.

Player of the tournament: Messi (Argentina)

Top scorer: Lautaro Martinez (Argentina)

Sihle Ndebele

What I expect: I anticipate lackadaisical displays from many countries in the first few matches, given the fact that they only assembled for a week before the start of the tournament. Teams should hit top gear from their last group stages games onwards. I expect the first few games to end in draws because players will still be trying to find rhythm.

African team to go furthest: Cameroon. The Indomitable Lions should manage to beat Switzerland and Serbia to finish behind Brazil in Group G. The hope is that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s sudden blistering form at Bayern Munich, where he scored 11 goals from 16 games before the break, could spill into the World Cup.

Winners: Brazil. They boast a talented and balanced squad. That Neymar has grown to be a team player instead of trying to do it all by himself should aid Seleção. Neymar has racked-up 14 assists in as many games for PSG this term.

Flops: Spain. Luis Enrique's squad lacks experience after seasoned-campaigners such as goalkeeper David de Gea and centre-back Sergio Ramos were omitted. 

Player of the tournament: Neymar (Brazil)

Top scorer: Neymar (Brazil)

Neville Khoza

What I expect: This could be the World Cup for young players to shine following several top players who have been ruled out by injuries. Players like Jude Bellingham [England], Jamal Musiala [Germany], Takefusa Kubo [Japan], Gavi [Spain], Nuno Mendes [Portugal], Enzo Fernandez [Argentina], Aurelien Tchouameni [France] and Josko Gvardiol [Croatia] are some of the players who are likely to shine.

African team to go furthest: Senegal. From all the African teams in the World Cup, Senegal have enough depth.

Winners: Brazil. They haven't won the World Cup since 2002 and there is a strong chance Qatar 2022 could be their year. Up front, the South American side have improved so much that their attacking saw them not even including Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino.

But the likes of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, Barcelona’s Raphinha, Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison will be leading the attack in Qatar.

Flops of the tournament: France. No team has been able to retain the World Cup title since 1962 and the fact that they will be without Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku may see them struggle in this competition.

Player of the tournament: Messi (Argentina)

Top scorer: Neymar (Brazil)

Athenkosi Tsotsi

What I expect: With the political and human rights controversy surrounding Qatar hosting this World Cup, it will be interesting to see how the players will go about it. Will they solely focus on football or have a voice in the matters at hand? Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes has already questioned the timing of it and the deaths of the construction workers who helped build the new stadiums.

African team to go furthest: Morocco. They have assembled a good team and they will surprise many.

Winners: The Netherlands. The team’s coach Louis van Gaal has put together a system that makes all his players tick, which is hard to do in international football. Outside of Brazil, they are the most settled team and they can go all the way.

Flops of the tournament: Belgium. This is the last chance for the Belgian golden generation of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to win the World Cup. There’s a feeling they will choke again.

Player of the tournament: Memphis Depay (The Netherlands)

Top scorer: Harry Kane (England)