Regional and historic rivalries were renewed on Friday as the draw for the 2022 World Cup set out the paths for 32 teams hoping to claim soccer’s biggest championship. The tournament won’t start until November, but for a few teams it might have already been lost: There is only so much luck of the draw to go around, after all.
The United States, back in the field after missing Russia 2018, landed in a group with England, a finalist at last summer’s European Championship; Iran, a geopolitical (and soccer) rival; and a European team still to be determined. That will happen in June, when the final European place will be decided by games involving Ukraine, Scotland or Wales.
Each team plays the other three countries in its group once, and the top two finishers from each group advance to the knockout stages.
Here is the full list of groups:
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Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
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Group B: England, Iran, United States, (Wales or Scotland or Ukraine)
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Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
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Group D: France, (U.A.E. or Australia or Peru), Denmark, Tunisia
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Group E: Spain, (Costa Rica or New Zealand), Germany, Japan
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Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
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Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
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Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Source: NY Times
