FIFA World Cup 2022 Group E: Dates And Schedule of Matches, Who Is The Favorite?

The enthusiasm shown by football and betting lovers knows no bounds as the 22nd edition of FIFA football's biggest tournament hosted by Qatar draws closer. Each participating team has had just about six months to carefully understudy their group stage opponents since the draws were held on April first, 2022. For Group E teams, Costa Rica who had a surprise outing in the penultimate world cup hosted by Brazil topped a group that had England, Italy, and Uruguay and would seek to replicate that feat. Their 6th qualification and three consecutive world cup appearances will generate the momentum required to upturn bookmakers' odds of winning the title.  

Germany would hope to shake off their disappointment of failing to reach the last four of this year's UEFA Nations League. Having bagged the trophy on four different occasions, the Germans would surely approach this year's edition with the same finesse that landed them the biggest football prize four times in the past. Their history in the tournament would be vital and might serve as a fear factor for other teams in the group stage fixture. While Japan would be considered the group's underdog, positives can be drawn from past scenarios where supposed smaller teams have proven that no one should be written off in the game of football. Spain, another European giant, would be hoping to inflict pain on the rest of the teams in the group stage and beyond to add a second world cup to their trophy cabinet since their last success in South Africa in 2010.

Momentarily, the Schedule of the World Cup was fixed during the European season. This means that the European Champions League and top leagues across the globe will be kept on hold as Qatar 2022 is set to kick off from November 20th to December 19th this 2022 year.

Save these dates written in the table below for the scheduled matches of the teams in Group E in the forthcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup:

In fairness, it wasn't an easy qualification route for Los Ticos as they had to settle for an intercontinental playoff after finishing fourth in the CONCACAF qualifying stage. With the experience of the likes of Kaylor Navas and Bryan Ruiz, they managed to see off New Zealand by a lone goal, thanks to a third-minute goal from Arsenal's Joel Campbell. Having qualified for this prestigious tournament six times, Costa Rica would aim at replicating their performance in the 2014 edition, having surprisingly topped a group that had three giants against the run of play.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #34 (2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: North, Central America & Caribbean #3;
• How Many World Cups: #0;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): 6 (2018);
• How Qualified: Continental Play-off against New Zealand;
• Overall Records (Competition and Friendly): 2022: 9 Wins -1 Loss - 2 Draws (14 Scored Goals/Conceded 6), 2021: 5 Wins - 6 Losses - 7 Draws (14 Scored Goals /Conceded 18);
• Coach: Fernando Luis Suárez (COL) 2021 July till now;
• Star Players: Keylor Navas, Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, Celso Borges;

The Nationaleif would hope to avoid a repeat of the 2018 campaign where they failed to progress from the group stage, having been tipped as one of the favorites to win the trophy. Their dismal display in the 2022 UEFA Nations League would also give Hansi Flick a thing or two to worry about. Although, their history in the tournament would provide the momentum needed as they are the second team with the most world cup trophies, just one shy of Brazil. Their comfortable qualification route is yet another moral booster as the German National team will strive to add the 5th world cup to their archive.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #11(2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: Europe #9;
• How Many World Cups: #4;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): 19 (2018);
• How Qualified: Group Winner Group J winners UEFA FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Overall Records (Competition and Friendly): 2022: 2 Wins - 1 Loss - 5 Draws (14 Scored Goals /Conceded 10), 2021: 11 Wins - 3 Losses - 2 Draws (44 Scored Goals /Conceded 13);
• Coach: Flick Hansi (GER) 2021 July till now;
• Star Players: Thomas Müller, Leroy Aziz Sane, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz;

On Paper, Japan will be considered the underdogs of Group E as they have not gone beyond the round of 16 in their entire world cup outing. Their best performance was recorded in 2018 when they progressed to the round of 16 after beating Colombia. With a few talents like Takefusa Kubo, Takumi Minamino, etc., the Samurai Blue will be hoping to break the jinx in their seventh world cup appearance.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #24 (2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: Asia #2;
• How Many World Cups: #0;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): 7 (2018);
• How Qualified: Third Round Group winner;
• Coach: Hajime Moriyasu (JAP) 2018 August till now;
• Star Players: Takefusa Kubo, Takumi Minamino, Maya Yoshida, Shinji Kagawa;

The Spanish national team would seek to reproduce the culinary masterpiece that saw them secure the 2010 world cup trophy in between back-to-back European trophies. With a few potentials who have proven their worth in top European leagues and Morata's late goal against Portugal to send them to the last four of the UEFA Nations League, La Furia Roja will surely kick-start their Qatar 2022 campaign with their heads high.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #6 (2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: Europe #4;
• How Many World Cups: #1;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): 15 (2018);
• How Qualified: Group B winner, UEFA FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Overall Records (Competition and Friendly): 2022: 5 Wins - 1 Loss - 2 Draws (15 Scored Goals / Conceded 6), 2021: 10 Wins - 6 Losses - 2 Draws (Goals 35 Scored/14 Conceded);
• Coach: Luis Enrique (SPA) November 2019 till now;
• Star Players: Pedri, Rodri, Alvaro Morata, Aymeric Laporte, Ferran Torres;

The quest to top the fifth group of the world cup will surely lie between the two European giants, and this would be determined by the outcome of the match when they go head-to-head. Recent stats favor the Spanish side to come out top of Group E and Germany may have to settle for second place. Any other results from Costa Rica and Japan would surely be considered an "upset" which is what the joy of football is all about.