Qatar 2022 - World Cup Group A

Hosts Qatar, the Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador make up Group A at the World Cup.

Confederation: AFC FIFA ranking: 51Team nickname: The MaroonPrevious World Cup appearances: NoneHonours: Asian Cup (1): 2019Head coach: Felix SanchezStar players: Akram Afif (Al-Sadd), Hassan Al-Haydos (Al-Sadd), Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail)

Having never previously qualified for the World Cup, Qatar will become the 18th different nation to host/co-host the finals, the first Arab nation to do so and the smallest by area after Switzerland in 1954. Excluding Uruguay in 1930, they are just the second nation to be named as World Cup hosts without having played at the finals after Japan in 2002 (who qualified for the 1998 World Cup after being selected as co-hosts in 2002). Spaniard Felix Sanchez, who spent 10 years in the coaching setup at Barcelona between 1996 and 2006, has been with the Qatar national team since 2013, initially with the U19s and U23s, before being appointed to the senior side in July 2017. He went on to lead them to their first major honour, lifting the 2019 Asian Cup in Abu Dhabi following a 3-1 final win v Japan. All of the current squad play their club football in Qatar.

Head-to-head v Canada: The nations have never previously met.

Confederation: UEFAFIFA ranking: 10Team nickname: OranjePrevious World Cup appearances: 10Honours: European Championship (1): 1988Head coach: Louis Van GaalStar players: Memphis Depay (Barcelona), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Frenkie De Jong (Barcelona)

Following their third-place finish at the 2014 World Cup, the Netherlands have struggled to make their mark at major tournaments – they failed to qualify for both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, before a 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic saw them