An exploration of how the World Cup in Qatar 2022 reshaped life for LaLiga’s First Division clubs, and where reality stood after the tournament. The idea is simple: life often gets rearranged in the gap between tournaments, especially when a global event stirs so much emotion and focus around teams, players, and the grind of a long season. This mid-season World Cup brought a shift in dynamics that many clubs felt in training, schedules, morale, and performance. It is a snapshot of how the twenty First Division sides fared once the 2022 winter World Cup concluded and football resumed in Spain.
Real Madrid enters the discussion as a team that seemed set to chase Barcelona for the league crown in 2022-23. If one imagines a league table recalculated from after the World Cup break, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad would sit outside the traditional Champions League zone. In this hypothetical view, Real Madrid would stand fifth with twenty-one points from a total of thirty-six games, a reminder that the Madrid club faced a tougher climb in the immediate post-World Cup period than the eye-catching early form suggested. This is a thought exercise, not a forecast, highlighting how the World Cup can realign expectations mid-season. [Goal]
Atletico Madrid would likely present a real challenge to Barcelona’s title pace. In the same imagined recalculation, the Catalans would have thirty-one points while Atleti would hold twenty-seven, narrowing the gap to four rather than twelve. That shift would turn the title race into a tighter contest, with Madrid’s rivals pushing back more aggressively after the break. It underscores how the World Cup can influence momentum, confidence, and strategic decisions across a season. [Goal]
Celta, a contender in the imaginary standings
In the hypothetical post-World Cup ranking, Celta Vigo would be close to the top tier of the table. The Galician side would accumulate around twenty-two points, placing them just behind the leaders Barcelona and Atletico, and on par with Real Sociedad in the real standings. Celta’s position in this imagined table reflects how a late surge or a recovered squad could shift perception about European qualification chances and overall club momentum heading into the final stretch of the campaign. [Goal]
Betis also shows a quiet but important story after the World Cup. Pellegrini’s squad remained solid in the league, sitting in fifth place when the season paused, with a comfortable cushion toward the Champions League spots. In the post-Qatar frame of reference, Betis would find itself around sixth, just a point behind the teams chasing Europe, illustrating how the break can reset or reinforce ambitions for a squad balancing domestic duties with European ambitions. [Goal]
Relegation picture stays consistent at the bottom
When the numbers are adjusted for the World Cup break, the trio likely destined for the drop would still face a tough remainder. Almería, Elche, and Valencia appear in the same bottom three group in the imaginary table, mirroring the realities of the season. Elche, in particular, would continue to struggle near the relegation zone, with a small margin separating them from the safety line but a larger deficit behind the teams clawing toward survival. The exercise highlights how fragile safety margins can be when a season is squeezed by a major tournament. [Goal]
Sevilla would feel a different kind of pressure entirely. The club under Mendilibar had little to fear from relegation in the real standings, yet the post-World Cup recalculation shows a notable gap from the danger zone. The team would sit comfortably in mid-table, several points clear of the fight for European places. The opposite scenario unfolds for Athletic Bilbao. The Basque side, which found itself mid-pack in the standings, would see a modest points gain after the World Cup but still be at risk of slipping into the lower half, illustrating how a conservative climb can turn precarious if momentum fails to stay steady. [Goal]
Imaginary ranking after the World Cup
Across this fictional lens, the combination of renewed energy, adjusted schedules, and post-tournament fatigue creates a nuanced picture. The overall sense is that some clubs could have capitalized on the break to build a more robust run, while others faced challenges to regain rhythm after a demanding winter schedule. The exercise helps explain why leagues consider mid-season World Cups a potential disruptor and a potential catalyst for players and teams alike. The key takeaway is that the World Cup can subtly alter trajectories, even when the actual results prove to be more persistent than any hypothetical recalibration. [Goal]
Real classification of LaLiga 2022-23
In any true accounting of the season, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid feature prominently at the top of the league table, with the rest of the pack vying for European places and the fight to avoid relegation. The World Cup impact is visible in shifts of momentum, injury timeframes, and the way squads manage fatigue. While the most dramatic changes live in the imagination of recalculated points, the actual standings reflect how well teams adapted to post-tournament schedules, the resilience of squads, and the tactical adjustments made by managers in a compressed calendar. [Goal]
Source and note
Source: Goal