The 2022 World Cup is finally here – it opens on Nov. 20 in Qatar – and many SFU students are waiting with bated breath for the upcoming games.

“I think France and Brazil have a great shot,” said Tom Schellbach, a German native and member of the Red Flash men’s soccer team. “They are complete teams with no holes in their games.”

Schellbach predicted that France’s forward Kylian Mbappé would score the most goals.

“France is so stacked,” said Schellbach. “They have a bunch of guys that the other team will need to focus on and that will open up the field a lot for Mbappé.”

Stefan Zagorski of Johnstown is looking forward to watching top-seed Brazil in the World Cup.

“Neymar is definitely my player to watch,” said Zagorski. “When you have a guy on a great team like Brazil who’s in his prime, it’s set up for him to do something special.”

Zagorski believes that soccer holds a special place in the world of sports.

“It’s such a strategic game,” said the junior Finance and Accounting double-major. “It really does bring a lot of people together.”

The United States will play its first World Cup match on Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. versus Wales.