The FIFA World Cup is a celebration of the 32 best soccer nations on the planet. There are no truly bad teams at the tournament, but we all know that not all squads are created equal. We can debate among ourselves which team is better and which team is worse, but opinions will always be biased, unlike numbers.
That’s why we turned to FIFA 23 to settle the argument. Who is the best team at the 2022 World Cup? Who is the worst team at the 2022 World Cup? Who is the most average team at the 2022 World Cup? Some of these questions have a more clear answer than others, but it’s the best we got.
Who is the best team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?
FIFA 23 is clear here. The best team at the World Cup is Brazil. The five-time world champions have an average rating of 85 on their FIFA 23 World Cup squad, which is at least one OVR point higher than any other squad.
This unofficially means that EA Sports is giving Brazil the best odds of winning the trophy in Qatar. It’s a prognosis that looks as stable as a rock currently. The Brazilians have been impressive in the group stage and will hope to keep that form going into the elimination rounds.
Second place in FIFA 23’s World Cup pantheon is shared between three nations with wildly varying performances in Qatar: France, Argentina, and Germany. The defending world champions from France have guaranteed their place in the round of 16. Argentina has a chance of winning its group with a victory over Poland but could be eliminated if it fails to win. Germany is at the bottom of Group E and in need of Spanish assistance in the final round of the group phase to advance.
Two out of these three nations could be eliminated at the start of the tournament, which isn’t great for FIFA 23’s assessment of their strength. In all fairness, though, there are very few people who expected Argentina or Germany to have so much trouble in their respective groups, let alone both. They are still very much in with a chance to make it through, and it’s not like previous champions haven’t struggled in the group stage before, so the jury is out on this one.
Who is the worst team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?
The reason why most folks couldn’t call Argentina’s woes, in particular, is that their opening match was against what FIFA 23 calls the worst team at the 2022 World Cup: Saudi Arabia. The men who took Lionel Messi and crew down have an average rating of 71 in FIFA 23, which is tied for worst at the tournament.
The nation sharing this dubious record is the host, Qatar. We expected Qatar to hold this “honor” alone and we swear this isn’t only in hindsight of Saudi Arabia’s sensational win vs. Argentina, but EA thinks otherwise. We’ll call it respect toward the host on EA’s part and move on.
Who is the most average team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?
With 16 teams advancing from the group stage and as many being eliminated, the difference between being ranked 16th and 17th in theory is the difference between playing in the round of 16 or going home. Luckily, FIFA 23’s ratings draw a fine line right between teams No. 16 and 17.
The nations that just squeezed into the top 16 are Mexico and Senegal. They share an average rating of 78, which is the bare minimum for advancing beyond the group stage, FIFA 23 says. This claim could turn out to be correct. Senegal already qualified and Mexico could do the same, albeit their job is much more difficult.
Falling just below the imaginary dividing line are Poland, Wales, Morocco, and the U.S., all ranked at 77 OVR. This lineup shows how difficult these assessments can be. FIFA 23 ratings suggest all four of these nations should be clinging on to dear life and barely missing out on the next stage. Their true fate could hardly be any more different.
Poland and Morocco are in prime positions to move on, the U.S. simply needs to beat Iran to do the same in a group that also contains Wales. The Dragons are in a much more desperate position but are still technically in with a shout. Three out of these four teams could very easily end up on the right side of the average line despite FIFA 23 predicting otherwise. Being bang-average doesn’t sound like the worst deal in the world—the World Cup that is. We’ll see ourselves out.
Before we do that, we have to keep our promise of ranking all of the teams at the 2022 World Cup from best to worst. There’s a 14-point OVR difference between the best nation, Brazil, and the worst, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. That may not sound like much, but in the world of FIFA 23, it’s the difference between Erling Haaland and Ashley Young.
Every team at the 2022 World Cup ranked from best to worst in FIFA 23
- Brazil – 85 OVR
- Argentina – 84 OVR
- France – 84 OVR
- Germany – 84 OVR
- Spain – 83 OVR
- Portugal – 83 OVR
- Netherlands – 83 OVR
- Belgium – 83 OVR
- England – 83 OVR
- Croatia – 80 OVR
- Uruguay – 80 OVR
- Denmark – 80 OVR
- Serbia – 79 OVR
- Switzerland – 79 OVR
- Senegal – 78 OVR
- Mexico – 78 OVR
- Wales – 77 OVR
- Poland – 77 OVR
- Morocco – 77 OVR
- USA – 77 OVR
- Japan – 76 OVR
- South Korea – 76 OVR
- Ghana – 75 OVR
- Cameroon – 75 OVR
- Ecuador – 75 OVR
- Canada – 75 OVR
- Costa Rica – 74 OVR
- Iran – 73 OVR
- Australia – 72 OVR
- Tunisia – 72 OVR
- Saudi Arabia – 71 OVR
- Qatar – 71 OVR
Saudi Arabia has a one-time opportunity to throw the credibility of this list out the window, especially if its advancement is at the cost of Argentina. That wouldn’t necessarily be a testament to FIFA 23’s ratings being inaccurate, however, more so additional proof that being better in theory doesn’t guarantee success.
