TSN.ca 2018 FIFA World Cup draw preview

It’s finally here.

This morning at the Kremlin in Moscow, the final draw for the 2018 World Cup will be held that will set all eight groups of four teams in place for next June’s tournament.

You can catch the 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw LIVE across the TSN Network and on TSN GO at 9:50 a.m. et/6:50 a.m. pt. or listen LIVE on the TSN Radio Network.

The 32 teams have been placed in four pots of eight based on their FIFA rankings in descending order. Now, that doesn’t mean that the 32 teams headed to Russia are the world’s top 32-ranked sides – far from it, actually. In fact, 10 of FIFA’s top 32-ranked teams (Chile, Italy, Wales, the Netherlands, the United States, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Austria, Paraguay and Ireland) have to make other summer plans because they didn’t qualify for the World Cup. Russia, as the host nation, is given the top seed and will be automatically placed in Group A.

There are a couple of rules in place to determine the makeups of the four groups. No more than one team from each confederation can appear in a single group. Obviously, that doesn’t apply to UEFA because there are 14 European teams and only eight groups, so there are to be no more than two UEFA teams in a group.

So as an example, if England (Pot 2) were to be drawn with Russia in Group A, you could rule out Denmark, Iceland and Sweden (Pot 2), as well as Serbia (Pot 4) from joining them. Then, if CONCACAF’s Costa Rica were drawn into the group from Pot 3, that would mean Panama (Pot 4) couldn’t also be drawn.

The draw will be hosted by Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya and England legend Gary Lineker, who will be assisted by eight greats from football’s past – former France and Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, England and Leicester City 'keeper Gordon Banks, Brazil and Milan defender Cafu, Italy and Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro, Uruguay and Atletico forward Diego Forlan, Argentina and Napoli forward Diego Maradona, Spain and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol and Russia and Spartak Moscow striker Nikita Simonyan.

Let’s take a quick look at the 32 teams who will make up the field.

Pot 1

Russia
FIFA Ranking: #65
Manager: Stanislav Cherchesov
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 11
Previous Titles: 0

Russia qualified for the tournament by virtue of hosting it and that’s how they find themselves in Pot 1. This is undoubtedly the weakest team in the first pot and the 24 teams in the other three are hoping to be grouped together with Russia, even with the tournament on home soil.

 

Germany
FIFA Ranking: #1
Manager: Joachim Low
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 17
Previous Titles: 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014

The defending world champions appear to be every bit the juggernaut they were in Brazil and qualified for Russia with a perfect 10-0 campaign. Barring a disaster in the group stage, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and company should be more than ready to defend their title.

 

Brazil
FIFA Ranking: #2
Manager: Tite
Confederation: CONMEBOL
Previous Tournaments: 21 (all of them)
Previous Titles: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002

Finishing atop CONMEBOL qualifying with only one loss in 18 matches, Brazil heads to Russia with redemption on its mind. Nobody has forgotten about the 7-1 humbling by Germany in the 2014 World Cup at home and the only thing to cleanse the palette for Brazilian fans will be a sixth title.

 

Portugal
FIFA Ranking: #3
Manager: Fernando Santos
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: Six
Previous Titles: None

The disaster that was Brazil 2014 (going out in the group stage) was quickly forgotten when Portugal unexpectedly captured Euro 2016, earning the nation its first ever major trophy. Now proving itself capable of hauling in silverware, Cristiano Ronaldo looks to further cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all-time with a World Cup.

 

Argentina
FIFA Ranking: #6
Manager: Jorge Sampaoli
Confederation: CONMEBOL
Previous Tournaments: 16
Previous Titles: 1978 and 1986

It was touch-and-go there for a little while, but 2014’s runners-up managed to qualify for Russia without encountering the dreaded playoff. Jorge Sampaoli’s side will be a favourite heading into the tournament with an absolute embarrassment of riches in attacking talent (take your pick from Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala and more), but they couldn’t seem to find the net in qualification, scoring just 19 times in 18 matches.

 

Belgium
FIFA Ranking: #5
Manager: Roberto Martinez
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 12
Previous Titles: None

Roberto Martinez’s team was the first from UEFA to qualify for Russia after breezing through an undefeated qualification, dropping only two points along the way. After being a sexy pick in both Brazil and France, this golden generation of Belgian talent faces put-up-or-shut-up time in Russia. The question is whether the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne are ready for their close-up.

 

Poland
FIFA Ranking: #7
Manager: Adam Nawalka
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: Seven
Previous Titles: None

Wait, Poland? Yes, they won their group in qualifying, but you’re probably wonder why a team that has advanced once in the past 36 years to the knockout round of a major tournament is in Pot 1. Well, they gamed the system. By not competing in any friendlies from November 2016 to November 2017, Poland’s FIFA ranking is based solely on World Cup qualification, so while better teams have been playing better opposition, they’ve been dropping points as Poland sits pretty. It’s safe to say the likes of Spain and England aren’t exactly thrilled about this.

 

France
FIFA Ranking: #9
Manager: Didier Deschamps
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 14
Previous Titles: 1998

The level of talent at Didier Deschamps’ disposal is so absurd that France could have very likely qualified two different teams for the World Cup. Perhaps the odds-on favourite to win it all in Russia, a 23-man roster means that some very good players like Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy and Kevin Gameiro might not even be on the plane.

 

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Pot 2

Spain
FIFA Ranking: #6
Manager: Julen Lopetegui
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 14
Previous Titles: 2010

Spain will rightly feel aggrieved in not being in Pot 1, but more pressing for La Roja will be a better showing than a pedestrian effort at Euro 2016 that saw them bounced in the first knockout round. With arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in David De Gea, a formidable defence led by Sergio Ramos, a midfield anchored by Sergio Busquets and an attack boasting Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa, the chances for a Spanish resurgence in Russia appear to be high.

 

Peru
FIFA Ranking: #11
Manager: Ricardo Gareca
Confederation: CONMEBOL
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Despite being the final team to qualify for the World Cup, the Peruvians find themselves in Pot 2 by virtue of their No. 10 standing in the FIFA rankings. Expectations aren’t particularly high for the team, but that’s not a problem because of the jubilation of reaching a World Cup for the first time in 36 years is still in the air. But wait! A new law in the country could see the government take over the nation’s football association. That would contravene FIFA rules and potentially jeopardize Peru’s spot at the World Cup. FIFA says they’re monitoring the situation.

 

Switzerland
FIFA Ranking: #8
Manager: Vladimir Petkovic
Previous Tournaments: 10
Previous Titles: None

Owners of maybe the ugliest badge in world football, the Swiss qualified for the World Cup with stout defending against Northern Ireland (and help from a phantom penalty) in their two-leg playoff. Switzerland finished with the same number of points as Portugal in their qualifying group, but was forced into the playoff because of an inferior goal differential. Defence might have taken Switzerland to Russia, but now they’ll need their attack to step up if they expect to contend.

 

England
FIFA Ranking: #15
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 14
Previous Titles: 1966

Oh, England. Sweet, foolish England. England stormed through qualifying, going undefeated and finishing comfortably atop their group. But this is England. The Three Lions didn’t get out of the group stage in Brazil and were embarrassed by Iceland at the Euro. Sure, there’s a ton of promising young talent for Gareth Southgate to avail himself in players like Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli and Harry Kane, but history tells us that some form of disaster will strike at yet another major tournament.

 

Colombia
FIFA Ranking: #13
Manager: Jose Pekerman
Confederation: CONMEBOL
Previous Tournaments: Five
Previous Titles: None

It got a bit nervy at the end for Colombia, who weren’t assured of a playoff berth, let alone a spot in the World Cup, on the final matchday of CONMEBOL qualifying. They achieved passage with a 1-1 draw with Peru, but got quite a bit of help from Brazil and their 3-0 skunking of Chile, who shockingly will not be going to Russia. Offensive flair through attacking talent like James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado make the Colombians a team capable of causing problems come June.

 

Mexico
FIFA Ranking: #16
Manager: Juan Carlos Osorio
Confederation: CONCACAF
Previous Tournaments: 15
Previous Titles: None

Mexico stormed through the Hex with a single loss (2-1 to the United States, who, as you might have heard, aren’t going to the World Cup) and finished atop CONCACAF qualifying. The story of El Tri at the last several editions of the World Cup is that they’ve been good, but just not good enough. In the past six tournaments, Mexico has gotten out of the group stage, only to fall in the Round of 16. Not since the tournament at home in 1986, have the Mexicans advanced to a quarterfinal. A lot will have to go right for that trend to change next summer.

 

Uruguay
FIFA Ranking: #21
Manager: Oscar Tabarez
Confederation: CONMEBOL
Previous Tournaments: 12
Previous Titles: 1930 and 1950

A team that can throw out the red-hot Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez at you as its forward complement is a scary proposition for any defence, so the prospect of getting Uruguay in your group isn’t a happy one. While Uruguay can’t find itself drawn into a group with archrivals Argentina or Brazil, an all-CONMEBOL encounter in Russia in the knockouts would certainly be a heated one.

 

Croatia
FIFA Ranking: #17
Manager: Zlatko Dalic
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Croatia took care of business early in their playoff qualifier by hammering four past Greece to reach Russia in a laugher, after having been pipped by Iceland for first place in their group. After their third-place showing in what was a coming-out party for Croatian football at France 1998, Croatia has been somewhat of a nonentity at subsequent tournaments, winning just two matches in their next three World Cups. With Ivan Perisic, Ivan Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic and Luka Modric, there is the talent here to make some noise in Russia.

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Pot 3

Denmark
FIFA Ranking: #12
Manager: Age Hareide
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Spurs’ Christian Eriksen singlehandedly destroyed Ireland in the second leg of their playoff to send Denmark on its way to Russia. The hallmark of the Danish team in qualifying was its stingy defence, conceding only eight goals in 10 matches. They’re going to need that kind of resolve this summer if they have hopes of escaping the group stage.

 

Iceland
FIFA Ranking: #22
Manager: Heimir Hallgrimsson
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: None
Previous Titles: None

The darlings of Euro 2016 make their World Cup bow after winning their group in UEFA qualifying. Now, the chances of Iceland going on a similar Cinderella run to the quarters in Russia are slim to none, but their exploits in France are enough to give teams pause. Nobody will be sleeping on Iceland this time around.

 

Costa Rica
FIFA Ranking: #26
Manager: Oscar Ramirez
Confederation: CONCACAF
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Costa Rica went on a surprise run to the quarters last time out in Brazil, leaving the likes of England and Greece in their wake and missing out on a trip to the semis on penalties against the Dutch. With the United States missing out on Russia, the highest concentration of Major League Soccer players in this summer’s tournament is like to be found on Costa Rica with a pair of Vancouver Whitecaps among them in Kendall Watson and Christian Bolanos.

 

Sweden
FIFA Ranking: #18
Manager: Janne Andersson
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: 11
Previous Titles: None

Sweden scored a group-high 26 goals during qualifying, so offence isn’t a problem for the Swedes heading into Russia, but could the return of a legend still be on the horizon. Though he’s been coy about it, Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimović could be ready to make his international return after retiring from Sweden duty following Euro 2016.

 

Tunisia
FIFA Ranking: #27
Manager: Nabil Maaloul
Confederation: CAF
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Tunisia is heading to the World Cup for the first time since 2006, just pipping Congo to a place thanks to a draw with Libya in their final qualifier. A team that has never made it out of the group stage at a World Cup, these unheralded Tunisians will be hard-pressed to make their bow in the knockout round come June.

 

Egypt
FIFA Ranking: #31
Manager: Hector Cuper
Confederation: CAF
Previous Tournaments: Two
Previous Titles: None

This is Egypt’s first World Cup since 1990, making the Pharaohs a difficult team to figure out. There is star power here in Liverpool’s in-form Mo Salah, but Egypt needs to figure out how to translate being a traditional juggernaut in the Africa Cup of Nations outside of that tournament. Runners-up again in 2017, Egypt has claimed four ACN crowns since last appearing in a World Cup.

 

Senegal
FIFA Ranking: #23
Manager: Aliou Cisse
Confederation: CAF
Previous Tournaments: One
Previous Titles: None

Former Premier League defender Aliou Cisse leads the Tigers to their first tournament since 2002 when they famously upset holders France in the opening game of South Korea. The Senegalese hope that a team deep with European talent, including Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, Keita Balde of Monaco and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, can navigate their way among world football’s heavyweights.

 

Iran
FIFA Ranking: #32
Manager: Carlos Queiroz
Confederation: AFC
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Former Portugal and Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz has Iran at consecutive World Cups for the first time ever, thanks to an undefeated third-round qualifying campaign that saw Iran book their ticket with ease. With a team short on big-game experience, Iran hopes to prove themselves more than simply group-stage cannon fodder.

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Pot 4

Serbia
FIFA Ranking: #37
Manager: Mladen Krstajić (caretaker)
Confederation: UEFA
Previous Tournaments: One
Previous Titles: None

A surprise group winner in UEFA qualifying, right after Serbia finds out with whom its drawn at June’s World Cup, the next thing on its plate is finding a permanent manager. Despite leading his team to qualification, Slavoljub Muslin was let go at the end of October. Whoever takes over the team on a permanent basis will try to incorporate some of Serbia’s younger talent like Lazio’s highly rated Sergej with established players like Nemanja Matic of Manchester United and Southampton’s Dusan Tadic.

 

Nigeria
FIFA Ranking: #50
Manager: Gernot Rohr
Confederation: CAF
Previous Tournaments: Five
Previous Titles: None

After missing the last two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, Nigeria looks to reassert itself on the world stage in Russia. Heavy on young attacking talent including Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho, hopes are high that the Super Eagles can reach the knockout round just as they did in Brazil and seek to build upon a 4-2 friendly defeat of Argentina in mid-November.

 

Australia
FIFA Ranking: #39
Manager: N/A
Confederation: AFC
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Like fellow Pot 4 dwellers Serbia, the Socceroos need to get their manager situation sorted out before the World Cup after Ange Postecoglou decided to quit just days after helping Australia qualify for a fourth consecutive tournament. Australia has advanced from the group stage just once (2006 in Germany) and despite the presence of players from many of Europe’s top leagues, they face an uphill battle to replicate the feat in Russia.

 

Japan
FIFA Ranking: #55
Manager: Vahid Halilhodzic
Confederation: AFC
Previous Tournaments: Five
Previous Titles: None

The Samurai Blue are heading to their fifth straight World Cup, but this is not the ascendant Japan team of the 2000s that appeared to be able to mix it up with world powers. Gone are the likes of Yasuhito Endo, Shunsuke Nakamura and Hidetoshi Nakata. While veterans like Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa, Shinji Okazaki of Leicester and Pachucha’s Keisuke Honda are still likely to feature, finding Japan in your group this time around won’t cause the discomfort it might have in the past.

 

Morocco
FIFA Ranking: #40
Manager: Herve Renard
Confederation: CAF
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Morocco surprisingly topped a group that featured African giants Cote d’Ivoire to qualify for Russia. They did so with a stellar defensive commitment, not allowing a single goal in six qualifying matches. To ask the back line led by Juve’s Medhi Benatia to repeat that feat next summer might just be a bridge too far for Morocco.

 

Panama
FIFA Ranking: #56
Manager: Hernan Dario Gomez
Confederation: CONCACAF
Previous Tournaments: None
Previous Titles: None

With the United States shockingly missing out on qualifying for Russia, there was going to be a CONCACAF beneficiary of their stunning ineptitude and it’s Panama, making their World Cup debut. Like Costa Rica, Panama will offer one of the best chances to view MLS talent in this competition with Toronto FC midfielder Armando Cooper among them. Make no mistake, even if Panama gets pasted in three group stage games, and they probably will, qualification alone is still a big, big win for the nation.

 

South Korea
FIFA Ranking: #59
Manager: Shin Tae-yong
Confederation: AFC
Previous Tournaments: Nine
Previous Titles: None

Expectations are not robust for South Korea and a run to the semifinals like the one that they made with the tournament on home soil in 2002 would be even more unlikely than that one. Still, there is some youthful quality here that could cause problems in Russia led by Spurs playmaker Son Heung-min and attacking midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon of Dijon.

 

Saudi Arabia
FIFA Ranking: #63
Manager: Juan Antonio Pizzi
Confederation: AFC
Previous Tournaments: Four
Previous Titles: None

Saudi Arabia surprised Australia to claim the last automatic qualification spot from AFC Group B on superior goal differential. The Saudis are ranked 63^rd in the world and are the lowest-ranked side heading to Russia. Anything other than three lopsided losses will be seen as a positive  result come June.