Board 8 > Italy, the Euro 2020 champions, have just failed to qualify for the World Cup

(+) Yeah! (+)

Revenge for 2010!

Canada still eligible for Group A

....USA in B is bad, need Mexico in either C or G for better Canada chances in A...

Edit: yesssss just need no Serbia or Poland in C from Pot 3, oh man

Tough one for France

Just need Germany in group G

Looks like D and E are the ones with the group of death potential.

Update after Pot 2 teams

As a reminder the games are 1v2, 3v4 then 1v3, 2v4 then 1v4, 2v3

Group A - Qatar - X - X - Netherlands
Group B - England - X - United States - X
Group C - Argentina - X - Mexico - X
Group D - France - X - Denmark - X
Group E - Spain - X - Germany - X
Group F - Belgium - X - X - Croatia
Group G - Brazil - X - Denmark - X
Group H - Portugal - X - Uruguay - X

Ok, pot 3 African team in A and Africa or Asia in C and Canada has the 1/3 chance to land in A come onnnnn

Iran vs United States should be level-headed.

Qatar are getting some bad luck here.

Brazil's group might actually be the group of death.

Qatar is dead

Rip Japan

paulg235 posted...

Brazil's group might actually be the group of death.

Argentina much harder imo

Update after Pot 3 teams

Group A - Qatar - X - Senegal - Netherlands
Group B - England - Iran - United States - X
Group C - Argentina - X - Mexico - Poland
Group D - France - X - Denmark - Tunisia
Group E - Spain - X - Germany - Japan
Group F - Belgium - X - Morocco - Croatia
Group G - Brazil - Serbia - Switzerland - X
Group H - Portugal - X - Uruguay - South Korea

Damn Poland...

firefdr posted...

Argentina much harder imo

Maybe, depends on the last pot draw. Switzerland and Serbia did won groups over Italy and Portugal so I wouldn't count them out on getting a 0-0/1-1 draw against Brazil.

Did Qatar get the worst draw possible outside of switching out Netherlands for Germany?

paulg235 posted...

Did Qatar get the worst draw possible outside of switching out Netherlands for Germany?

Pretty much yeah. Did not want that play off winner in England's group but i'll take the draw as a whole.

Canada got a decent draw tbh.

Final Update

Group A - Qatar - Ecuador - Senegal - Netherlands
Group B - England - Iran - United States - Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
Group C - Argentina - Saudi Arabia - Mexico - Poland
Group D - France - Peru/UAE/Australia - Denmark - Tunisia
Group E - Spain - Costa Rica/New Zealand - Germany - Japan
Group F - Belgium - Canada - Morocco - Croatia
Group G - Brazil - Serbia - Switzerland - Cameroon
Group H - Portugal - Ghana - Uruguay - South Korea

All that remains is the final play-off matches in June.

Despite it potentially being Wales vs England, that was the probably the best group for Wales to be in.

I fancy their chances against Iran and USA (no offence)

IF we get past Scotland or Ukraine

paulg235 posted...

Maybe, depends on the last pot draw. Switzerland and Serbia did won groups over Italy and Portugal so I wouldn't count them out on getting a 0-0/1-1 draw against Brazil.

Yeah.. agree with you now

shane15 posted...

Canada got a decent draw tbh.

I don't know, I can only see them getting a result from Morocco. Belgium and Croatia might be a bit too much, but I believe in the Cinderella run, Canada!

shane15 posted...

Canada got a decent draw tbh.

Would've still preferred H, damn constraints... Belgium being #1 two days ago and Croatia 2018 finalists, not brimming with R16 hopes here! I like to believe we could've taken Uruguay...

paulg235 posted...

I don't know, I can only see them getting a result from Morocco. Belgium and Croatia might be a bit too much, but I believe in the Cinderella run, Canada!

It was always going to be tough for Canada if they didn't get Qatar. Since we couldn't get Mexico or the United States our best options were Croatia, Switzerland or Uruguay and to be honest none of them are easy matches.

Croatia are an ageing side so i think Canada have a very good chance of getting out of it.

Brazil got almost the same group as 2018

I feel like giving Brazil the group of death is a waste as they're never gonna choke in the group stage.

So just like last time, we (Denmark) are playing against France. The other two in that group were Australia and Peru and there's a very good chance that one of them will end up there. Tunesia is a good draw though.

Portugal are definitely one of the big winners here after continually getting shafted with strong groups. Canada also made out pretty well overall. I'm stoked for both.

I threw on the draw in class and had a room full of non-soccer fan students going wild for the entire thing, was awesome.

the England/USA game is on Black Friday I think! Thats good!

shane15 posted... I feel like giving Brazil the group of death is a waste as they're never gonna choke in the group stage.

I once thought the same with Germany, then they went out in stunning fashion in 2018. Also, Brazil DID choke in 1966 in the midst of their three World Cup victories. I wouldn't rule it out, but Brazil is not a guarantee in winning this group. Could be very interesting if they finish second below Switzerland.

Being a #1 seed, I'm not sure I'd call Portugal a big winner there. It's fine, but Uruguay was definitely not what they'd want.

Group G is definitely the best. Not sure what the weakest is. Might be B. It's pretty balanced all things considered.

I'm at the point where not getting put into a group with a European superpower is a massive win for Portugal

fuck Spain got stuck with Germany. shit luck

Qatar getting 3 of the best teams from each pot has made the draw as a whole pretty good.

davidponte posted...

I'm at the point where not getting put into a group with a European superpower is a massive win for Portugal

Not sure I'd rather have Uruguay, but alright.

Decent enough draw for both Poland and Wales. CONCACAF team + Asian team is the best either could have hoped for.

England/US/Iran/any of those UEFA teams is an absolute geopolitical hilarity of a group. Can't imagine any sillier or more chaotic groups with the draw as it is.

Qatar is going to get wrecked.

US should be fine.

I'm very curious about our chances. Canada seems an exciting team, but I don't know how good their defense and midfield is. Croatia is a bit on the way back, but so are we. Morocco seems like a solid team, but without real star players.

There's Hakimi at least, though not quite in the level of the top stats of the other teams.

I know it doesn't really count since they had almost-qualified for one and already-qualified for the other, but the losses to Costa Rica and Panama aren't great. Like especially that Panama loss, yeah you already clinched at that point but still.... shouldn't be losing to Panama... I guess the USA also lost to Costa Rica when it didn't matter (up to 6 goals) so maybe not the end of the world.

I am clinging my hopes on a 1-1-1 result and advancing to R16 based on goal differential. They play Morocco on the last day, is there a greater chance of scoring goals against them on the last day or on the first day...

Canada can beat Morocco and Croatia. They'd need some magic to get past the teams in group E though.

Match schedule is out. For some reason Qatar aren't even in the opening game of the tournament.

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/6a616c6cf19bc57a/original/FWC-2022-Match-Schedule.pdf

Good news: if England win the group and then make the QFs, then I'll see their RO16 match and their QF

Bad news: one of my tickets is for Iran/USA, same time as the third England game. I guess I'll have to decide what to do with that ticket. Hopefully there's a way to sell it off or exchange it for basically any other group game

Bit crap the first game is at 1 on a Monday but i guess they wanted to give the Americans a better time for their game.

XIII_rocks posted...

Good news: if England win the group and then make the QFs, then I'll see their RO16 match and their QF

Bad news: one of my tickets is for Iran/USA, same time as the third England game. I guess I'll have to decide what to do with that ticket. Hopefully there's a way to sell it off or exchange it for basically any other group game

Tickets are sold before the teams in each game are determined?

I'm excited to get another USA vs. England match up, those are entertaining games!

Remembering that 1-1 draw back in South Africa 2010! O_O

shane15 posted... Match schedule is out. For some reason Qatar aren't even in the opening game of the tournament.

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/6a616c6cf19bc57a/original/FWC-2022-Match-Schedule.pdf

My guess it's to allow Ecuador the chance to watch the match and because they want the opening ceromony to happen at night?

But yeah, feels weird that both Netherlands/Senegal and England/Iran are being played before the Host nation's game/opening ceremony.

The full list, Group A through H:

Group A

Game 1:
Qatar vs. Ecuador
Senegal vs. Netherlands

Game 2:
Qatar vs. Senegal
Netherlands vs. Ecuador

Game 3:
Netherlands vs. Qatar
Ecuador vs. Senegal

Group B

Game 1:
England vs. Iran
United States vs. UEFA Path A

Game 2:
England vs. United States
UEFA Path A vs. Iran

Game 3:
UEFA Path A vs. England
Iran vs. United States

UEFA Path A = Wales vs. (Scotland or Ukraine)

Group C

Game 1:
Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia
Mexico vs. Poland

Game 2:
Argentina vs. Mexico
Poland vs. Saudi Arabia

Game 3:
Poland vs. Argentina
Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico

Group D

Game 1:
France vs. Playoff[1]
Denmark vs. Tunisia

Game 2:
France vs. Denmark
Tunisia vs. Playoff[1]

Game 3:
Tunisia vs. France
Playoff[1] vs. Denmark

Playoff[1] = Peru vs. (United Arab Emirates or Australia)

Group E

Game 1:
Spain vs. Playoff[2]
Germany vs. Japan

Game 2:
Spain vs. Germany
Japan vs. Playoff[2]

Game 3:
Japan vs. Spain
Playoff[2] vs. Germany

Playoff[2] = Costa Rica vs. New Zealand

Group F

Game 1:
Belgium vs. Canada
Morocco vs. Croatia

Game 2:
Belgium vs. Morocco
Croatia vs. Canada

Game 3:
Croatia vs. Belgium
Canada vs. Morocco

Group G

Game 1:
Brazil vs. Serbia
Switzerland vs. Cameroon

Game 2:
Brazil vs. Switzerland
Cameroon vs. Serbia

Game 3:
Cameroon vs. Brazil
Serbia vs. Switzerland

Group H

Game 1:
Portugal vs. Ghana
Uruguay vs. South Korea

Game 2:
Portugal vs. Uruguay
South Korea vs. Ghana

Game 3:
South Korea vs. Portugal
Ghana vs. Uruguay