World Cup preview: Brazil the team to beat in Group G

There are some groups at the 2022 FIFA World Cup that could witness a keen tussle for second place quite as much as Brazil's Group G. Going by the ranking and form, the Selecao are expected to progress to the last 16 without any fuss. Group G also features Switzerland and Serbia, who were drawn in Brazil's group in the previous edition of the tournament as well, and African heavyweights Cameroon, who will be returning to the showpiece event after 2014.

Here's our preview of the teams drawn in Group G.

Brazil

FIFA ranking: 1

Head coach: Tite

Brazil have been on a brilliant run in the South American qualifiers. They won 14 of their 17 matches and scored 40 goals while conceding only five. They are the only country to have played in every tournament since it began in 1930, and are the most successful nation, having lifted the prestigious trophy five times. Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002 in South Korea/Japan, and with Asia hosting the tournament for the second time, they will be hoping to end their World Cup drought in Qatar.

Strengths

Brazil have plenty of strength up front. Neymar, Richarlison, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Antony, Gabriel Jesus, Pedro… Tite has so many attacking options that he can hardly fit half of them into his team.

Weaknesses

Brazil do not have a solid full-back in their ranks. The likes of Danilo, Eder Militao, Alex Sandro, and Alex Telles are yet to prove their mettle in national colours.

Serbia

FIFA ranking: 21

Head coach: Dragan Stojkovic

In Russia 2018, Serbia crashed out in the group stage after going down to Brazil and Switzerland. In Qatar, they will be looking to to break the habit of going home after the first round. Currently, Serbia are riding high on confidence, having qualified directly for the World Cup finals as the group winners ahead of Portugal. They fight hard and do not give up till the last moment, irrespective of who their opponents are.

Strengths

Serbia's midfield and attack combine to form a strong well-organised unit. Led by Ajax captain Dusan Tadic, their midfielders are capable of accurately feeding the ball to the forward line-up consisting of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Luka Jovic, and Dusan Vlahovic.

Weaknesses

The poor and passive defence is an obvious chink in their armour. Centre-back Nikola Milenkovic does not have a trustworthy partner. Although they topped their qualification group, they could maintain a clean-sheet in only one game.

Switzerland

FIFA ranking: 15

Head coach: Murat Yakin

Inconsistency is Switzerland's biggest problem. In the 2010 edition, they beat the eventual champions Spain in the group stage, but failed to advance to the pre-quarterfinals. In the 2018 edition, they held Brazil to a 1-1 draw, but lost to Sweden in the round of 16. They knocked France out of Euro 2020 on penalties before losing in the quarterfinals to Spain in a shootout. Switzerland have the ability to beat anybody on their day, but lack the consistency to win a tournament.

Strengths:

Switzerland have some of the finest defenders in world football. Rival forwards will find it difficult to get past the backline marshalled by the trio of Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Nico Elvedi. At one stage of their qualification campaign, they conceded only two goals in eight games. They also have a world-class goalkeeper in Yann Sommer.

Weaknesses

Absence of a striker who performs consistently. In the first eight matches of qualifiers, Switzerland scored as many as 15 goals, but could not score more than one in their next six matches.

Cameroon

FIFA ranking: 43

Head coach: Rigobert Song

This will be Cameroon's eighth World Cup appearance, more than any other African team. They qualified for the quadrennial event four times in a row between 1990 and 2002. However, the Indomitable Lions have made it out of the group stage only once, at Italia 1990. If Cameroon's legendary striker and former captain Samuel Eto'o is to be believed, this team could be giant-killers and become the first African nation to win the World Cup. They qualified for the finals on away goals with the last kick of the match against Algeria to win 2-1.

Strengths

Cameroon always have had good goalkeepers. This time around, cousins Andre Onana and Fabrice Ondoa will be manning their goal. They have a versatile attack comprising Bayern Munich's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Lyon's Karl Toko Ekambi, and Al Nassr's Vincent Aboubakar.

Weaknesses

Cameroon may struggle against tactically superior teams. They have always found it difficult to get past teams from Europe guided by astute managers.