FIFA World Cup 2022 | France gets a comfortable draw; Spain, Germany in same group

Messi’s Argentina draws Lewandowski’s Poland and Mexico; Ronaldo’s Portugal has to contend with Uruguay, South Korea

April 02, 2022 05:23 am | Updated November 01, 2022 12:09 pm IST - Doha

European heavyweights Spain and Germany will clash in an exciting Group ‘E’ affair.

European heavyweights Spain and Germany will clash in an exciting Group ‘E’ affair. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Defending champion France has been placed in a relatively easy group for the FIFA World Cup 2022, alongside Denmark, Tunisia and the Inter-confederation playoffs (1) winner. The draw ceremony was held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center here on Friday. The World Cup will commence on November 21 at Qatar.

European heavyweights Spain and Germany will clash in an exciting Group ‘E’ affair. Japan and the Intercontinental playoff 2 winner are the other two sides in the group.

Fan favourite and UEFA Euro 2020 runner-up England received a favourable draw, placed with Iran, USA, and the European playoff winner in Group ‘B’. England coach Gareth Southgate will believe that his side has a good chance to progress to the knockout rounds, by finishing in the top two.

A potential banana skin could be Gareth Bale’s Wales, if it qualifies as the European playoff winner.

Iran and USA, who have engaged in politically charged World Cup outings in the past, are set to meet again.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina faces two tricky opponents in Robert Lewandowski’s Poland and Mexico. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will not have it easy either, with Luis Suarez’s Uruguay and South Korea for company. Both Messi and Portugal are likely to feature in their last World Cups.

Making the draw

Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthaus (Germany), Adel Ahmed MalAllah (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinovic (Serbia/Mexico), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Rabah Madjer (Algeria) and Tim Cahill (Australia) were among the former players who made the draw.

USA’s two-time women’s World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, former England player Jermaine Jenas and British-Jamaican sports presenter Samantha Johnson hosted the draw.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.