World Cup 2018: 5 World Cup teams which should get better by Qatar 2022

#1 France

Champions!

Yes, the World Champions will be even better in 2022. Having gone with one of the youngest and most sprite teams in Russia, Les Blues’ young talented attackers will be entering their primes by the time Qatar comes along (with the exception of Kylian Mbappe who will still only be 23 years old).

The only regular French starters who were over thirty years old were Hugo Lloris, Blaise Matuidi and Oliver Giroud.

As a goalkeeper, Lloris could play well into his late 30s and may continue to captain Les Blues in Qatar. Otherwise, Giroud and Matuidi were arguably the least important players to France’s eventual victory in Russia.

Meanwhile, France had the best defense in Russia and that unit will only be better in Qatar as Benjamin Pavard, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane and Lucas Hernandez will be in their primes at that point.

Similarly, their brilliant midfield of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante will likely continue to be effective as both players will still be at the tail-end of their primes in Qatar.

Yet what makes Les Blues so scary is how the attack will look in 2022 - Mbappe will be 23 (imagine him with four more years of experience), Ousmane Dembele will be 25, Thomas Lemar will be 26 and Nabil Fekir will be 28. That core will be supported by those who were left at home like the mercurial Manchester United winger Anthony Martial.

This combination of a solid defence, a brilliant midfield and attacking dynamism made France champions in Russia.

Considering that all of these aspects will be better in Qatar, France will be favorites to win two consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Other teams better get their acts together, otherwise France could dominate international football for a generation.