Although Antarctica failed to send penguins to the lottery ceremony, the big names in front of the small bowls still wrote the expectations of the World Cup into the agenda of the people of the whole earth.
You will find that the collective memory of the top 32, air conditioning, ice beer, and crayfish will eventually become a song, the summer night wind and autumn cool as water will string back the line, and the increasingly complicated events after the expansion of the army in the coming year will no longer taste like it was then. You will also find that many old friends will still meet here, fight and cherish each other, even if the people who accompanied you around 4 years ago have long been scattered in the world.
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Looking at the history of the World Cup, the host of the group stage has only South Africa in 2010. Now, it's the Qatari's turn to take a breath of cool air.
In the past three years, Qataris have played the Gold Cup, the Copa America and the Arab Cup, and have also filled the international match day slots of Europeans as non-staff, and the hosts from all over the world are playing monster training. Despite numerous parades and Asian champions, Qatar has never won a head of the game, and sometimes even lost once – the precedents for small losses to Colombia, Argentina and the United States all look much more decent than the 3-0 defeat to Portugal, the 0-4 defeat to Ireland/Serbia and the 1-5 hanging from Ghana.
So, here comes the trouble.
The Dutch team is led by the three-entry van Gaal, and even though it is difficult to be included in the title candidate, the wisdom of Fan Chef is likely to be enough to avoid premature overturning. Senegal has the experience of the last World Cup, the most luxurious team in history and the hard-fought experience card sent by the Egyptians before qualifying, and the special climate of the Middle East is estimated to make the black uncles feel at home. Only 8 of the 23 World Cup points were taken from Ecuador away, and after the withdrawal from the plateau, it seems to be the most suitable soft persimmon for the hosts to hold, but no one can say whether these descendants will replicate the small surprises made by their predecessors in the Summer of Germany 16 years ago.
Want to qualify from a group? Qataris are not so easy.
Group B: England, Iran, USA, Ukraine and Scotland winner vs Wales
If you want to get the way through and minimize the likelihood of rolling over the group stage or falling to second, the Three Lions need to do that.
First, England, which had not played against asian rivals in the World Cup since 1982, had to go to great lengths to overturn the tin buses made by the Persian Iron Horse. In the previous two World Cups, Iran had won a draw against Portugal, and only one goal against Argentina and Spain. It's hard for all the strong teams to chew clean bones, and it's unlikely that Southgate will open his belly and burp.
Next, they wanted to make sure that the butter Green had brought back from South Africa had not been smeared with Pickford's gloves. The Anglo-American battle will not remind you of Green's shocking leaks 12 years ago, but the old Premier League acquaintances in the old American team have moved from Howard, Dempsey and Donovan to Steffen, Pulisic and Jedlin.
If all goes well, England, who can qualify early, will have the opportunity to decide the fate of their opponents in the final round. Touch Scotland or Wales, that whole is from the European Championship to the World Cup, from the field to the british nest fight; touch Ukraine, that rub from Sky Sports and BTSports to the BBC and RIAS current political hotspots, and the game that will be launched at the same time will probably give you the confusion of Clinton Trump flying on both wings and Khomeini Nejad taking the defensive line...
Well, the traffic should not be much worse.
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Of course, there is also a traffic war, from last year's awards ceremony to this year's World Cup.
On the fifth World Cup trip of his career, Messi encountered Levan's hurdle, and the collision of the superstar who could most trigger public opinion in the group stage was on the verge of breaking out. In the last World Cup, Iceland and Croatia, also from Europe, almost let the Pampas Eagles not fly through the group stage, which is not a wide sea, but Poland may not be able to be a roadblock again.
On the one hand, Scaloni, who won 31 unbeaten games in all competitions, is not the tactical scumbag-like Sampaoli, who tried 3 formations in 4 games, 3 starting right wingers and 2 starting goalkeepers, and now Argentina is enough to overwhelm everything with stability. On the other hand, in recent years, whenever there is a major competition, the Polish team has almost always been synonymous with "the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment": the 18-year World Cup and the 20-year Euro 20, they all held the explosive signing, but they could not even exchange a knockout ticket.
Therefore, Messi singled out Levan's main line, although eye-catching, but there are still branches to go to the Poles, should be more pragmatic to consider getting Saudi Arabia, and then from the hands of Mexico's super sixteen, as far as possible to steal points. Or, lower the requirements so much...
You should not accept the fact that Levan's level of shenfeng is about to turn 34, but he has not even scored a World Cup goal, right?
Group D: France, UAE and Australia winners vs Peru, Denmark, Tunisia
Seeing the good brothers of France and Denmark reunite again, my eyes seemed to be a rising box office cancer - in the last World Cup, only Poland's boring level of Japan's first world war could compete with the French and Danes' backward training.
But frankly, from a utilitarian point of view, everyone can understand that ugly eggshells are more likely to hatch strong chicken cubs. In Russia, the reason why Deschamps was able to lead the team to the top was precisely because of this hand that he could toss a table of mountain treasures and seafood into a solid cooking skill that was boiled, but warm and full; and in this World Cup cycle, the endless demons and the painful lessons of the European Cup were enough to embellish the edges and corners of the three center-backs that Deschamps was painstakingly polishing. Similarly, the Danes, who have played fairly steadily in recent years, have already set their own minimum spending on the group, not to mention that the brothers have been marked with a tonic handed by the returning Erikson.
Therefore, Tunisia's small pass is difficult to shake the two European giants, and the Uae, Australia or Peru, which has obvious shortcomings in the lineup, is also likely to be the life of the child who is competing for the score. France and Denmark should have a better life than the next two European friends.
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica vs New Zealand, Germany, Japan
Well, is it possible for the Japanese to drag the Spaniards or the Germans into the water?
In the eyes of the Asian teams, Goliath, when he was placed in front of the European giants, he became the David who needed to look forward to miracles, so the fantasy of the dog counterattack began to run in the minds of everyone. Of course, you can't ignore the naked objective reality: for example, the overall strength of the Japanese team is still far from West Germany, for example, Morihoichi's business level is at least 10 Nishino Langs between Henrik and Frick, and for example, you can hardly expect that the small probability event triggered by chance such as the Colombian red gift and the Qianguishi Tianwai Immortal will become a fixed program when it encounters the final two. However, if the Japanese are to achieve the grand cause that they have been willing to strive for for generations, they must show off their muscles that may not be strong enough when they break the wrists of more than one strong enemy.
Therefore, it is impossible for West Germany not to work hard for the Japanese, New Zealanders or Costa Ricans when fighting for the head of the group – after all, they all fell into the field of group out with the title of defending champions. The nerves that should be tightened, this time can not be relaxed anymore.
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Please don't walk away, the upcoming tv series "Thirty Old Men vs. Green Onion Boys" is about to air.
Here you can see 36-year-old Modric, 34-year-old Vertonghen, 33-year-old Witsel, 33-year-old Perisic, 32-year-old Lovren, 31-year-old Hazard and 30-year-old De Bruyne, chasing their youth under the Qatari sunset. Yes, the golden generation of Belgium and Croatia almost all sprinkled the brightest light on the Siberian plains. Now that it's making a comeback, it's obviously not easy to climb back to the heights of 4 years ago.
And the stunned young people from the African continent and the far north will accompany most of them to this last dance.
To be honest, the qualifiers of Sudan, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are difficult to give the Moroccans a touchstone, and the Canadians have also eaten the home dividend of the qualifier stage to the extreme, and the amigos in the tropics are frozen to the point of being frozen to the ground, which is far from Qatar. While both teams may have a relatively limited number of qualifications, it doesn't stop Ashraf, Alfonso Davis and Jonathan Davy from singing on stage — the most beautiful thing is "Sunset Red", but the young birds can also flap their wings.
Group G: Brazil, Cameroon, Serbia, Switzerland
As soon as the old brothers of Group G sat down, the room was full of "How old are you" with different tones. Well, here's the thing: 4 years ago, Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland were in the same group, and Cameroon, who "broke in" last night, also played the World Cup opener with Brazil 8 years ago.
In fact, the tone of this "Friends" is not difficult to grasp.
Looking ahead, Brazil have remained unbeaten in 15 consecutive World Cup group matches, occasionally taking a harmless draw does not hurt the most stable fundamentals in the round of 32, and the big stage belonging to the Samba Legion has always been officially built from the knockout round. Looking at the tail, the Cameroonian team, which is always stronger than the scene, gives people the stereotype that every 5 major competitions have 4 fish touches, 3 infighting, 2 times and 2 unpaid wages and 1 suspected match-fixing. Look at Rigobert Song in the coaching staff...
Well, how unreliable is this kind of thing, the Argentine men's football team and the Chinese men's basketball team are clear.
In this way, Serbia vs Switzerland V2.0 version is hot online, and the beams formed by political disputes and competitive confrontations in the last World Cup will finally have a conclusion. Here, the famous Stojkovic played the three-centre-back formation handily, and Mitrovic, who was alone 4 years ago, added a high-profile Vlahović to play Go with him; over there, the Swiss put up a high-quality defensive line that only conceded 2 goals in 8 World Cups, and Shaqiri and Xhaka's mental strength buff was another strong medicine. And......
Don't forget, their direct conversation will appear in the final round.
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, Republic of Korea
The history of the qualifications of everyone in Group H is a history of struggle that is more difficult than difficult.
Portugal had to fight Turkey and North Macedonia in a row due to misjudgments; Uruguay suffered four consecutive defeats before ending a four-game winning streak, and the meritorious veteran Tavares came to an end; Ghana, with an extra goal on goal difference, pushed South Africa to advance to the play-offs; and the relatively relaxed South Korean team was widely considered to have fallen into the old nest of the West Asian wolves when drawing for the round of 12.
So, what can you see in this group?
Uruguay's encounter with Portugal was the sequel to the last quarter-finals, and some people were looking forward to the veterans of Ronaldo, Pepe, Cavani and Suarez, while others wanted Jota, Felix and Núñez, the new faces that no one knew about 4 years ago, to shine. South Korea's encounter with Portugal is a rivalry between fans and aidou, and no one is sure whether the old plot of Son Heung-min stabbing the strong team in the final round will be repeated. As for the Ghanaian team that even the Comoros team could lose at the African Cup of Nations at the beginning of the year, reading with the prince seems to be their exclusive design... But how dangerous this idea is, ask the American team and the Czech team 16 years ago.
And, long before the draw, the Easter egg that everyone was waiting for and looking forward to seeing, I don't know if I can meet you and me as scheduled: maybe, maybe, probably, Baoqi, he and his first and last World Cup match, this winter, right?
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