- Drafting
- BBC News World
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Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Harry Kane y Sadio Mane
The draw for the Qatar 2022 World Cup defined how the 32 teams are divided into the eight groups for the first phase and left several moments with which we can already delight ourselves thinking about the appointment in November and December.
We have selected 7 details as the most outstanding.
1- Ecuador in the opening match
The opening match of a World Cup can set the tone for what is to come. Cameroon beat reigning champions Argentina in 1990, while Senegal also stunned France in 2002.
On that first day it is now the host team, not the champion, who opens fire. And in 2022 the premiere will be between Qatar and Ecuador, a duel between 51 and 46 in the world ranking, respectively, which may not excite impartial fans as much.
Four years ago, Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in an unlikely game.
The Qatar-Ecuador will be the first match on November 21 at the Al Bayt stadium. But there is hope that it will be a day to remember as there will be four games on that opening day, in a World Cup with compressed dates.
2. Ghana seeks revenge against Luis Suarez 12 years later
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Suárez saves the goal with his hand against Ghana in 2010.
Ghana and Uruguay will meet in Group H in one of the most attractive duels of the first phase.
The African team came very close to reaching the semi-finals in 2010, but Luis Suárez saved with his hand a shot that went on goal in extra time. He was sent off but Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty and Uruguay finally won the shootout from 11 meters.
“We think it’s time for revenge,” Ghana Football Federation president Kurt Okraku told BBC Sport Africa.
“We thought we had clearly won that match except for that save by Suarez. It’s very interesting that we play them again.”
It is almost certain that Suárez, current Atlético de Madrid striker, will start with Uruguay.
3- Spain vs Germany: the great match of the group stage?
image source, Reuters
Spain won 6-0 the last time they faced Germany.
There is only one match in the group stage between two giants: on November 27 they will face Spain and Germany in Group E.
The 2010 and 2014 champions, respectively, are looking to improve on their performance from the last World Cup: Spain came out in the round of 16 and Germany didn’t even make it past the group stage.
Spain won 6-0 the last time they met, in November 2020 in the League of Nations. But Germany has revived under new manager Hansi Flick.
4. Does history repeat itself for France?
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France drew goalless against Denmark in the first phase of Russia 2018 before ending up lifting the title.
France beat Croatia in the 2018 World Cup final to win their second title after 1998. There is an interesting correlation between those two tournaments and the one in Qatar.
On both occasions that the “bleus” won the title they played against Denmark in the group stage, something that will happen again now.
5. Familiar faces for Brazil
Brazil, who overtook Belgium and are now No. 1 in the FIFA world ranking, know their group stage opponents well.
The “canarinha” has already faced Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in the first phase of the last two World Cups.
In 2014, they beat Cameroon 4-1 and in 2018 they drew 1-1 with Switzerland and defeated Serbia 2-0.
Brazil has not faced a European team in almost three years due to the covid pandemic and the European League of Nations, which means that teams from the Old Continent have fewer free dates for friendlies.
And that lack of action against European teams worries Brazilian coach Tite.
6. Messi vs Lewandowski
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Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have met in the Champions League but not in a World Cup.
This could well be the last World Cup for the Argentine. Lionel Messi34 years old, and for the Polish Robert Lewandowskifrom 33.
The players who have won the last three FIFA Best Footballer awards will meet on November 30 in the final match of the group stage.
Messi has scored six goals in 19 World Cup games, while Lewandowski is yet to score. His debut was only in 2018.
7. A tournament without a group of death
Normally after a draw there are headlines about the group of death, the one that concentrates the greatest equality and from which it is difficult to predict which ones will be classified.
Group D perhaps comes closest to that label with two world champions, Germany and Spain. The key is completed by Japan and the winner of the duel between Costa Rica and New Zealand in June.
But according to the world ranking average, Group B should be the closest with England, Iran, USA and Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. Of these last three, only one should remain.
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