There was never really much doubt that Australia was entering Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup as underdogs, especially considering the Socceroos are scheduled to face the reigning champions in France during their very first match. But a viral infographic recently published by Fox Sports has only highlighted the sheer disparity between both national squads.
France 2022 World Cup Team Market Value
- Kylian Mbappe: $246 million
- Christopher Nkunku: $123 million
- Aurelien Tchouameni: $123 million
- Kingsley Coman: $92 million
- Ousmane Dembele: $92 million
- Jules Kounde: $92 million
- Theo Hernandez: $84 million
- Dayot Upamecano: $77 million
- William Saliba: $77 million
- Eduardo Camavinga: $77 million
Total: $1.66 billion
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By comparison, all 11 Australian players handpicked by Coach Graham Arnold are valued less than France’s lowest-ranked player at an aggregate figure of just $59 million – the most expensive of our homegrown footballers being Mat Ryan ($7.7 million), Harry Souttar ($6.9 million), and Aaron Mooy ($6.1 million).
Although France isn’t the only one rolling significantly heavier than Australia in Group D of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As Fox Sports points out, there’s also Denmark, which is reportedly valued at around $542 million, as well as Tunisia, which is reportedly valued at around $96 million.
Thankfully, the fate of the Socceroos won’t rest entirely upon their price tag. Nor their aggregate FIFA ratings – 69.7 (AUS) vs 82.8 (FRA), for those of you curious – and our boys seem very game for the challenging road ahead.
“We always dream of playing against these guys, watching the Champions League and watching the European leagues. You know, always wondering how it would be to come up against them and to have the opportunity now, I‘m just excited to see what will happen,” said defender Thomas Deng.
“It‘s going be a tough game playing the defending champions, but for us, as long as we focus on what we do best and we have full confidence in ourselves and we believe in our game plan, I think anything’s possible.”
Striker Mitch Duke added: “I‘m a true blue Aussie. I feel like the Aussie mentality is that not back down mentality. That we can beat anyone on our day and not to be scared. It doesn‘t matter who they are… at the end of the day, they‘re human. It’s 11 v 11.”
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According to SportingPedia, here’s the breakdown of footballing talent participating in Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup vis-a-vis league levels…
Pulling data for the clubs of all 829 footballers set to play for the 32 final teams in Qatar, there are a total of 52 represented leagues from 42 countries. English leagues account for almost 20% of all players, Spanish and German leagues account for 10.25% and 9.65% respectively.
English and Spanish leagues account for exactly 30% of all players in Qatar – 19.7% or 163 footballers are playing in the English Leagues and 10.3% or 85 players are employed by teams in the 1st and 2nd echelons of La Liga.
The numbers show that the English Premier League will be the club competition with the greatest presence in Qatar. The highest level of football in England is home to 134 players or 16.16% of all footballers selected to compete at the World Cup. With 83 players or 10% of the total number, the Spanish La Liga ranks second. In general, over half of the footballers in Qatar (50.4%) come from the Top Five European leagues:
1. Premier League (England)
2. La Liga (Spain)
3. Bundesliga (Germany)
4. Serie A (Italy)
5. Ligue 1 (France)
Had the reigning European champions from Italy not failed miserably in the qualifiers preceding the World Cup, then Serie A would undoubtedly have more representatives in Qatar than Germany’s Bundesliga.
| LEAGUE | NUMBER OF PLAYERS AT THE WORLD CUP 2022 | % OF ALL PLAYERS |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League (England) | 134 | 16.16% |
| La Liga (Spain) | 83 | 10.01% |
| Bundesliga (Germany) | 77 | 9.29% |
| Serie A (Italy) | 68 | 8.20% |
| Ligue 1 (France) | 56 | 6.76% |
| MLS (USA) | 36 | 4.34% |
| Pro League (Saudi Arabia) | 35 | 4.22% |
| Stars League (Qatar) | 33 | 3.98% |
| Championship (England) | 25 | 3.02% |
| Pro League (Belgium) | 24 | 2.90% |
| Liga MX (Mexico) | 23 | 2.77% |
| Super Lig (Turkey) | 19 | 2.29% |
| Eredivisie (Netherlands) | 19 | 2.29% |
| Primeira Liga (Portugal) | 18 | 2.17% |
| Liga FPD (Costa Rica) | 16 | 1.93% |
| Premiership (Scotland) | 13 | 1.57% |
| K League (South Korea) | 13 | 1.57% |
| Super League (Greece) | 13 | 1.57% |
| Super League (Switzerland) | 9 | 1.09% |
| Persian Gulf Pro League (Iran) | 9 | 1.09% |
| Ligue Profesionnelle 1 (Tunisia) | 8 | 0.97% |
| J1 League (Japan) | 8 | 0.97% |
| Superliga (Denmark) | 7 | 0.84% |
| HNL (Croatia) | 7 | 0.84% |
| Serie A (Brazil) | 7 | 0.84% |
| A-League (Australia) | 7 | 0.84% |
| Primera Division (Argentina) | 7 | 0.84% |
| Ekstraklasa (Poland) | 4 | 0.48% |
| Liga Pro (Ecuador) | 4 | 0.48% |
| Bundesliga (Austria) | 4 | 0.48% |
| Serie B (Italy) | 3 | 0.36% |
| Super Liga (Serbia) | 3 | 0.36% |
| Butola Pro 1 (Morocco) | 3 | 0.36% |
| Bundesliga II (Germany) | 3 | 0.36% |
| Primera Division (Uruguay) | 2 | 0.24% |
| League One (England) | 2 | 0.24% |
| League Two (England) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Premier League (Russia) | 2 | 0.24% |
| La Liga II (Spain) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Premier League (Kuwait) | 2 | 0.24% |
| J2 League (Japan) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Premier League (Ghana) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Ligue 2 (France) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Premier League (Egypt) | 2 | 0.24% |
| First Division (Cyprus) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Super League (China) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Elite One (Cameroon) | 2 | 0.24% |
| Pro League (UAE) | 1 | 0.12% |
| K League 2 (South Korea) | 1 | 0.12% |
| Otp Bank Liga (Hungary) | 1 | 0.12% |
| Categoria Primera A (Colombia) | 1 | 0.12% |
| Second Division (Belgium) | 1 | 0.12% |
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Looking to progress through the group stages for the first time since 2006, the Socceroos’ 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign kicks off next week on November 23rd at 6 AM [AEDT], when they face off against France at Al Janoub Stadium.
This will be followed by a match against Tunisia on November 26th at 9 PM [AEDT], then Denmark on December 1st at 2 AM [AEDT].
Catch every match live and free here in Australia on SBS + SBS On Demand.
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