The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is so close and the countdown is well and truly on ahead of the first-ever World Cup tournament to be held in the Middle East.
32 nations have qualified and all eyes will be on them for 29 days from mid-November to mid-December, as a truly unique tournament will take place across Qatar.
Over the last 12 years Qatar have been planning to host the world and this tournament will be unlike any other.
Below are some of the top gaffers who will be set to impress the world with their tactics in the 2022 World Cup.
Gareth Southgate (England)
An atypical case, as his experience in the dugout is limited to England’s youth teams. He came to the Senior team as an interim after Sam Allardyce’s dismissal due to a corruption scandal. He led the Three Lions to fourth place at Russia 2018, so Qatar 2022 will be his second FIFA World Cup in charge. He was runner-up at the 2020 European Cup.
Louis van Gaal (Netherlands)
The oldest coach to coach in Qatar 2022. Van Gaal is going for his second World Cup with the Netherlands, in the previous one, Brazil 2014, he led the Oranje to third place. His National Team hopes that his experience and winning inertia will finally make them take the step they were unable to take in 1974, 1978 and 2014. It is her third stint in the Dutch bench.
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
Another case of an interim that turns into senior management. Lionel Scaloni retired just in 2015 and in 2018 he was the manager of Argentina’s U20. After the dismissal of Jorge Sampaoli he took charge of the senior team and his good results made him stay on the bench. The expectation on him and his team increased after breaking 28 years of title drought of the Albiceleste with the conquest of the Copa America 2021. He played the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006.
Southgate on FIFA’s request not to talk about political issues: ‘It’s highly unlikely’
Gareth Southgate said in his press conference that it was ‘highly unlikely’ to comply with FIFA’s request not to comment on political issues.
Didier Deschamps (France)
The longest-serving manager of his National Team that will compete in Qatar 2022. Deschamps is one of 3 people who have been champions both as a player and as a coach. He manages an exceptional group of players that could lead him to equal Vittorio Pozzo as the only coach to win the World Cup twice.
Luis Enrique (Spain)
Overall, this will be his fourth appearance in a FIFA World Cup, after playing in USA 1994, France 1998 and Korea-Japan 2002. A multi-champion with FC Barcelona, he coached Spain for 8 months but stepped down due to family problems and took over again in November 2019.
Hans-Dieter Flick (Germany)
He is part of the German trend of assistant coaches taking over after the departure of managers. Flick served as Joachim Low’s assistant for eight years, including winning the World Cup Brazil 2014. After a winning spell at Bayern Munich he took over as head coach of Germany. Qatar 2022 will be his third experience in this tournament, after taking part in South Africa 2010 and the aforementioned 2014 edition. The curious fact is that as a player he was never selected for the German national team.
