✋ things to look forward to in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ | OneFootball

It was another difficult year across the globe in 2021.

We can only hope for better, at least on the footballing front, next year.

And here are five things to get excited about …

The World Cup

The main event of 2022’s footballing calendar is the World Cup in Qatar.

It promises to be one of the most unusual of all time, taking place in winter due to the extreme and hostile weather conditions in the host country, who are holding it for the first time.

That in itself promises to make it a unique event, with the majority of domestic seasons grinding to a halt midway through as 32 nations descend on the Middle East seeking glory.

As holders, France are the team to beat, although Copa América winners Argentina will be hoping to finally end Lionel Messi’s wait for a world title.

Although either European champions Italy or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will miss out, it will be a must-watch regardless from November 21 until December 18.

Women’s European Championship

After being postponed from last summer due to COVID-19, we finally have the Women’s European Championship to enjoy from England.

It is the second edition of the competition since it was expanded to 16 teams and may just be the best yet.

As hosts, England will be a formidable outfit but dangerous defending champions the Netherlands will have a big say, along with Germany and the ever-fearsome Scandinavian sides.

The tournament will also see Northern Ireland compete at a women’s Euros for the first time in their history.

It begins on July 6 before the final at Wembley on July 31.

Nail-biting title races

For this, we will be keeping a particularly close eye on the top of the table in England and Italy.

As things stand, we have three-horse races in both and it is impossible to predict a winner with any great confidence in either.

In the Premier League, Manchester City lead the pack but it could only take a couple of slip-ups for Liverpool and Chelsea to get right back in it.

Serie A sees Inter currently out in front, with AC Milan, Napoli and Atalanta all not too far behind.

They look like going down to the wire.

Stars on the move

Who doesn’t love the madness of the market? And some big names look like they could be on the move either in January or during the summer.

Kylian Mbappé is the headline act and with just six months left on his PSG deal, he looks set to move on – with Real Madrid an interested party.

He may not be the only young hotshot to swap scenery as Erling Haaland continues to be strongly linked with a Borussia Dortmund departure.

Paul Pogba’s contract is into its final months at Manchester United too, while wingers Ousmane Dembélé and Lorenzo Insigne will also be in high demand.

And that’s without even considering unexpected deals – we’re sure there will be plenty of surprises too.

Breakthrough youngsters

There are some talented teenagers who are on the edge of announcing their arrival in the game – and 2022 could just be the year for them.

Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi has shown glimpses of his quality on the international stage and could explode if he moves to greater heights – but they already have another huge talent and ready made replacement waiting in the wings in Slovenia starlet Benjamin Šeško.

Adeyemi’s compatriot Jonny Burkardt has enjoyed a superb start to the season at Mainz and it is only a matter of time before he steps up to the international senior side, with Hansi Flick a huge public fan of his after he played his part in the Under-21 side’s European glory last summer.

At Rennes, attack-minded duo Lovro Majer and Jérémy Doku both need to find the consistency to match their undoubted talents and could light up Ligue 1 for years to come.

While La Masia have spoiled us over the past two decades, the future remains bright at Barcelona and although it will take Xavi time to rebuild, players like Gavi, Ez Abde and Alejandro Balde point to better times ahead. However, Real Sociedad winger Ander Barrenetxea may be the pick of LaLiga.

Conor Gallagher has grabbed all the headlines at Crystal Palace but watch out for Michael Olise and Marc Guéhi who are also impressing and Tino Livramento at Southampton is set for a big year too.

But you don’t have to be young to finally have things click and that looks to be the case in Italy where Giovanni Simeone (26) and Bremer (24) at Verona and Torino respectively are really on the road to putting things together in their game.