Affordable opponents or group of death? This Friday at 6 p.m., the world of football will be fixed with the 2022 World Cup group draw made from Doha in Qatar. From Tokyo to Buenos Aires, from Ottawa to Dakar, the supporters of the 29 qualified nations (out of 32) will have their eyes riveted on the famous balls divided into four hats of prestige and decreasing sporting level.
For Qatar, host country which is playing its first World Cup, defending champion France and the six other best nations in the FIFA rankings (England, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Portugal), being in the top hat is the guarantee of not clash. But, in hat 2, a number of scarecrows lurk: the reborn Germany of coach Hansi Flick, the Netherlands of Virgil Van Dijk, the still eye-catching Uruguay of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, or even vice Croatia. -World Champion.
France, fallen from above after the early elimination at the Euro last summer but conquering a few months later in the League of Nations, could find Croatia for a revenge of the 2018 final: Europe, with its 13 representatives , is the only confederation whose teams can compete in the group stage.
Unusually for this quadrennial high mass, three participants are still missing in Pot 4. In June, for a match in Qatar, two tickets will be awarded: Peru will face the winner of the Asian play-off United Arab Emirates-Australia and New Zealand will challenge Costa Rica. Finally, it will remain to be determined who from Wales or the winner of Scotland-Ukraine, postponed due to the Russian invasion in this country, will win the last European ticket.