World Cup draw: "Ideal group" for the Russian team. World Cup draw: "Ideal group" for the Russian team Final draw for the World Cup results
On Friday, the draw for the group stage of the final part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Russia for the first time in history, took place at the State Kremlin Palace.
32 teams participating in the World Cup, including Russia, had to find out their rivals, as well as the cities they would go to.
As a result of the draw, it became known that the Russians will play in Group A with the teams of Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The hosts of the World Cup will play the opening match on June 14 at Luzhniki with the Saudis, then on June 19 they will meet with the Egyptians in St. Petersburg. The wards of Stanislav Cherchesov will play with the representatives of Uruguay on June 25 in Samara.
It is curious that for the first time in the opening match of the world championships, the participants with the lowest rating will play - the Russians occupy 65th place in the world ranking table, and the Saudi Arabian team - 63rd.
The German national team, which will start the tournament as the reigning world champions, will play in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
The Portuguese team, the reigning European champion, is in Quartet B with Spain, Morocco and Iran.
The ceremony was broadcast on the Internet on the official website International Federation football (FIFA), as well as the First Channel of federal television.
It was watched in more than 200 countries around the world in different time zones. The draw was accompanied by a colorful show program hosted by the singer Alsou and Ivan Urgant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA head Gianni Infantino were the first to take the stage for a welcoming speech. The head of state assured the guests that Russia intends to hold the World Cup on the high level. Infantino, in turn, thanked the hosts for the excellent organization of the tournament.
"We will do our best to make the 2018 World Cup great sports holiday, but, most importantly, even more rallied a large and friendly international sports family- a family for which sport itself, friendship and fair fight are most important, the values of which are not subject to any current situation," TASS quoted the Russian leader as saying.
Gianni Infantino expressed confidence that football fans from all over the world will be convinced of the hospitality of Russia in the summer.
"In the summer of 2018, 1.5 million people will come here. They will see that Russia is a warm country, that its people are looking forward to the football holiday. I am sure that the experience of hosting the World Cup will be positive for Russia," the FIFA president said.
After the speech of the first persons, the delegate of the reigning world champions German Miroslav Klose presented the World Cup to the guests. Then the official draw ceremony began.
To get the balls from the baskets was entrusted to the famous football players, led by the Argentinean Diego Maradona.
The assistants to the draw were also a participant in the first World Cup for the USSR in 1958 Nikita Simonyan, Italian Fabio Cannavaro, Frenchman Laurent Blanc, Englishman Gordon Banks, Brazilian Cafu, Spaniard Carles Puyol and Uruguayan Diego Forlan.
Vladimir Putin spoke on the sidelines with guests who had come to Moscow to take part in the event. He met with the legends of world football, including Diego Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, raising glasses of champagne with the players.
Head coach Russian national football team Stanislav Cherchesov, in an interview with the official FIFA channel on YouTube, shared his expectations from the final draw of the 2018 World Cup in advance.
"Expectations are simple, a lot has been completed in football career. Therefore, there are no special expectations and desires. Absolutely no preference. Quietly we have to wait who will get us. The mood is very good," Cherchesov said.
After the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup finally ended with the intercontinental play-offs and all the participants of the group stage became known , the teams were divided into draw baskets according to the October FIFA rankings .
During the draw, eight groups of four teams were designated from A to H, with the teams from each pot divided into different groups.
The Russian team, as the organizer of the tournament, got into the first basket, although it occupies the lowest position in the ranking (65th place) among all participants. It was known in advance that the team of Stanislav Cherchesov would lead group A and avoid meeting with strong neighbors in the first basket at the group stage.
In one group there could be no more than two teams from Europe, as well as no more than one team from the following confederations: Asia, Africa, Oceania, North and Central America, South America.
The 2018 World Cup matches will be held from June 14 to July 15, 2018 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi and Saransk.
the most grandiose sporting event 2018 will be the FIFA World Cup, which will be held on the fields of Russia from June 14 to July 15. Before the start of "" there is still a lot of time, and at this stage, fans football game from all over the world are waiting for the end of the World Cup qualification games, and then the draw for the final stage.
32 teams will take part in the final part of the World Cup 2018, of which 31 will be determined by the results of the qualification and 1 team is the host of the tournament, that is, Russia. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, 210 teams took part in the qualification process. Debutants qualifying matches were the teams of Kosovo, Sudan, Gibraltar, Bunat and South Sudan. The qualifying round of the World Cup will end at the end of November 2017, according to the results of which the 31 best teams will receive tickets to Russia.
Where and when will the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw take place?
According to FIFA official data, the 2018 World Cup draw will take place December 1, 2017 in the Kremlin. The choice of this particular place emphasizes the importance of this event for the Russian government.
The draw will take place at the State Kremlin Palace, a building currently used as a concert hall.
According to the results of the draw, 8 groups of 4 teams each will be determined. The teams that took first and second places in the group will advance to the 1/8 finals of the World Cup.
World Cup matches will be held at 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities: Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk and Kaliningrad.
The Russian national team will play in the first match of the World Cup on June 14, 2018, since according to the rules, it is the tournament hostess who must play the first meeting. This will be the only game on the opening day of the tournament, but on other days, during group stage, will play 3 or 4 games.
Moscow. December 1. website - The Russian national football team recognized its rivals in the main stage of the 2018 World Cup, of which it is the host. As the holder of this status, she got into the first basket before the draw, for the same reason a place in group A was reserved for her.
During the draw, it became known that in the group stage Russian team will play against Uruguay (second pot), Egypt (third) and Saudi Arabia (fourth). And the opening match of the 2018 World Cup on June 14 in the capital's Luzhniki will be a confrontation between Russia and Saudi Arabia. On June 19, the Russians will play with Egypt in St. Petersburg, and on June 25 with Uruguay in Samara.
What Mutko said
The results of the draw gave chances to all teams, said Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, President of the Russian Football Union Vitaly Mutko.
"The draw gives chances to all teams," Mutko told reporters on Friday.
In his opinion, the group, which included Russia, "smooth, strong team." "It's better for us to accelerate during the tournament, often the first round we play worse than the second," he said.
"We have the top team from Uruguay in our group, strong team Egypt, Saudi Arabia, which we know less, but in general there are no weak teams at the World Cup, we must prepare for each and not count who is stronger and weaker, otherwise surprises are possible. This will be a challenge for the team," he said.
Mutko expressed his satisfaction with how the draw ended. "Teams in the subgroups are exactly matched, it's a good thing, each region is given the opportunity to see the teams. I think that these matches will allow our fans to see world-class stars in their cities. This is what we were striving for," the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
The reaction of the head coach
The head coach of the Russian national team Stanislav Cherchesov said that he had not yet studied the rival teams with whom he would have to play in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
“You can’t say whether I’m happy or not. The group is the way it is. I don’t know any of these teams, I have never met with them, I didn’t follow them, and I know that Salah plays in the Egyptian team, he plays in the Uruguay team Suarez, Cavani. All these are names, but what the teams are, I don’t know yet," Cherchesov told reporters.
Introducing rivals. Uruguay
The Uruguay national team is one of the leading teams in South America. Now it is in 21st place in the FIFA rankings. She is the winner of the first World Cup in history, in 1930. 20 years later it repeated its success. After that, her highest achievement at the world championships was fourth place, in 2010.
At the 2018 World Cup, the Uruguay team made it through, confidently speaking in the South American qualifying tournament. This team finished second in the group.
The Russian national team played with the Uruguay team once - in 2012 in a friendly match. The meeting was held in Moscow and ended with the score 1:1.
Egypt
The Egyptian national team is one of the leading representatives of the African continent. It is ranked 31st in the FIFA rankings.
She does not have a rich experience of playing at the world championships, in Russia this will be the third world championship for her. But she is a seven-time winner of the Cup African nations, and now has the status of the current silver medalist of this tournament.
In their group in the African tournament, the Egyptians confidently took first place, thanks to which they became the owners of a ticket to the 2018 World Cup.
The Egyptian team has not yet played against the Russian national team
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabia national team in the FIFA ranking is not far from the Russian team - in 63rd place (Russians - in 65th). Among the Asian teams, it is located below Iran, Australia (the national team of this country belongs to the Asian Football Confederation), Japan, South Korea, and China.
At the World Cup, Saudi Arabia will perform for the fifth time, its highest achievement at the World Cup - reaching the 1/8 finals, in 1994. The Saudi Arabia national team is a three-time winner of the Asian Cup.
In the qualifying group for the 2018 Asian tournament, the team took first place.
The team of Saudi Arabia played with the Russian national team once, but that was a long time ago, in 1993. It was friendly match who passed on the field of the Arabians. The meeting, rich in goals, ended with the score 4:2 in favor of the Saudi Arabia national team.
The full composition of the groups:
Group A - Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B - Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C - France, Australia Peru, Denmark
Group D - Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E - Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F - Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G - Belgium, Panama Tunisia, England
Group H - Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
The 2018 World Cup matches will be held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Saransk. The beginning of the tournament in Russia on June 14, the final - on July 15. Russia is hosting the World Cup for the first time.
Yesterday, all 32 participants of the Russian world championship recognized their rivals in groups.
Results of the draw for the final part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup
In one article it is difficult to give a detailed assessment of the chances of all the teams, I will do it later for each of the groups, but for now the general results and preliminary forecasts.
Group A
- Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay.
“If you don’t leave such a group, then which one to leave at all!” - Approximately such moods reign now among the majority of Russian fans. I would be glad to succumb to them, but memory does not allow.
After all, we already went through all this in 2002, when we got to compete with the relatively weak Belgian team at that time, the weakest of the African teams (Tunisia) and the weakest team from the first basket (Japan). How it all ended, we remember.
Therefore, we will consider this a working option, giving us a good chance of qualifying from the group. The only thing that can be said more or less confidently is that, most likely, will take one of the first places in the group.
Group B
- Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran.
Here, not everything is as clear as it seems at first glance. Both Spain and Portugal are currently experiencing better times, despite the fact that the latter reigning champions Europe.
If, for example, in starting match Spain will beat Portugal, then I do not rule out the possibility that it could be in second place in the group. And with Iran it will not be easy for anyone.
Although, of course, both European teams must solve the problem of getting out of this group.
Group C
- France, Australia, Peru, Denmark.
Here, the French are seen as clear favorites, although this team is not without problems and each of the remaining teams can take points in a match with them. But at a distance, even at such a short distance, it is unlikely that he will stumble more than once.
I see the Danes as the favorites in the fight for second place in the playoffs - a strong organized team with leaders in each line.
Group D
- Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria.
The most mysterious quartet for me, a kind of variant of the “group of death”. None of these teams can be considered a clear outsider of the group, and none of them can be said to definitely reach the playoffs. I understand that I am inviting the wrath of fans and Leo Messi personally on my head, but this also applies to “albicelesta”.
Slushko too big bias in the direction of attack in Argentina and it looked too unconvincing in the selection. After all, the option that the Argentina national team in the first match will share points with Iceland, and then lose to Croatia is not as fantastic as it seems at first glance.
Short summary - Argentina and Croatia are the favorites of the group, but it will be incredibly difficult to prove it on the field, and it's not a sure thing that it will work out.
Group E
- Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia.
But Brazil is clearly lucky, I personally do not see anyone who can put them in first place in the group. They must do it confidently (my prediction: 7 or 9 points).
The favorites in the fight for second place for me are the Swiss. Costa Rica is unlikely to repeat their success of four years ago, as for which I sincerely worry about, they show football that clearly does not correspond to the sum of the individual abilities of the players. Too much of the Serbs depends on the mood. Remember 2010 when they beat Germany but lost to Australia and Ghana?
So I think that Switzerland will take its place with organization and order.
Group F
- Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea.
Another "group of death". True, unlike the quartet D, here you can name the team that will definitely go further. Imagine that the current world champions are Germans in their current state will not reach the 1/8 finals, I can’t.
All three teams will compete for second place. Maybe the South Koreans have fewer opportunities than the Swedes and Mexicans, but this is no reason to discount them.
Group H
- Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England.
The most predictable group in my opinion. - this is an obvious "passenger", which will be content with the well-known Olympic principle of the priority of participation over victory. And the current Tunisia team is not in a position to compete with the teams of England and Belgium.
So two European teams should go through to the playoffs without any problems, and in the last round in a head-to-head match, decide who will do it from the first place.
Group G
- Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan.
The most interesting quartet in which any team can be either the first or the last. It is simply inappropriate to give any forecasts here, and even more so six months before the start of the tournament. But the matches of this group are a must watch.
That's all for today, but later we'll talk about each group in detail.
On Friday, December 1, in the heart of the capital of Russia - the State Kremlin Palace - the draw for the final stage of the World Championship in FIFA football 2018 in Russia. The ceremony will start at 18:00 and will be broadcast live on Channel One.
The draw ceremony will be hosted by the ex-England striker, top scorer World Cup 1986 Gary Lineker, who will be assisted by Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya.
The role of Gary Lineker's eight assistants will take to the stage of the State Kremlin Palace legendary football players Laurent Blanc, Gordon Banks, Fabio Cannavaro, Cafu, Diego Maradona, Carles Puyol and Diego Forlán. Together with Miroslav Klose, who will carry the FIFA World Cup Cup on stage during the draw, they will represent the eight winning countries of the FIFA World Cup. The eighth assistant of the draw will be the legend of the Soviet and Russian football, the first vice-president of the RFU Nikita Simonyan, who spoke at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. The hall will be attended by representatives of all teams participating in the tournament, celebrities, public figures and functionaries.
In preparation for the draw, the teams were divided into four pots according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings (as of October 2017). The top seven teams according to the world rankings, as well as the national team of the host country of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, were included in the first pot.
Basket 1: RUSSIA, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France;
Basket 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia;
Basket 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran;
Basket 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia.
Additional terms.
1. The Russian national team, as the host country, receives the designation “Team A1” during the draw (that is, the first team in group A), and will be designated with a red ball in pot 1.
2. The remaining seven teams in Pot 1 will be placed into groups (B to H) and will automatically be assigned the number 1 in each group. The order numbers of the teams from pots 2, 3 and 4 will be determined by a draw.
3. According to the general principle of FIFA, each group can have a maximum of one team from one continental zone. This rule applies to all zones, except for the UEFA zone, which is represented by 14 teams. Each group must have at least one and no more than two European teams. Thus, six of the eight groups will have two European teams. The division of teams into groups according to the geographical principle will be controlled by a special system that will take into account all factors, therefore, in the procedure for determining the places of teams in groups, individual groups may be skipped. For example, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay - teams from Pot 2 - will definitely not be placed in the same group as Brazil or Argentina, which are in Pot 1. The same rule applies to teams from other confederations, except for UEFA
The Russian national team will play the first match of the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on June 14 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Then our team led by Stanislav Cherchesov will perform on June 19 at the Krestovsky Arena in St. Petersburg, and then on the 25th at the new stadium in Samara.
If Russia takes first place in the group, then in the 1/8 finals it will fight with the second team from quartet B (June 30, Fisht stadium, Sochi). At the same time, if the Russian squad finishes second in the group, then in the 1/8 finals they will fight with the winner of group B (July 1, Luzhniki, Moscow).
