The first 48-country World Cup is about to begin. The draw has just been made. How do you feel about that? Which is your group of death? Which match from the first round excites you the most?
Let's share in this topic our different points of view on what will be next summer's attraction!

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The France and England groups look the most complicated.

With all these manoeuvres consisting of reassigning this or that country to another group in the name of totally subjective rules, it's no longer a draw but a sorting of lots!
Why shouldn't 3 European teams and 2 African teams be in the same group?
What's more, the draw was made before all the qualifiers were known, with intercontinental play-offs.

Or else, if it's a geographical criterion that's been decided for obscure reasons, then it's a full draw without any level or index hat that should be made.

Even if this is probably not the case, the current system gives the impression of being a sham, with groups made 'to measure' for the 3 co-hosting countries.
Draws and sortings like that really lose all their 'magic'.

Personally, I'm not shocked, it's an opportunity to meet these continents that don't play each other very often, and the level isn't the same historically, apart from Brazil and Argentina, you only have top European teams.

So to end up with a 100% European group against a group made up of other small nations. The gaps would be bigger. In this case, the groups are more balanced.

That's my opinion, but I understand the others.

Another ecological aberration in 3 countries... After Qatar... And in the meantime, we have yellow and green bins etc...

Rull43: Perso cela ne me choque pas, l'occasion de croiser ces continents qui s'affrontent peu, puis le niveau n'est pas les mêmes historiquement à part brésil et Argentine, tu n'as que des equipes européennes au top.

Donc se retrouver avec un groupe 100% europe contre un groupe fait de petites nations autres. Les écarts seraient plus grands. Là les groupes sont plus équilibrés.

Mon avis, apres je comprends les autres.

Perhaps historically, but not today.
Morocco, Uruguay, Japan or Senegal do not strike me as fundamentally inferior to Austria or Scotland.

Completely, but I think it's nice to have a France-Senegal game rather than a Ghana-Senegal game.

After that, the best teams quickly find themselves in the finals.

myforsans: Avec toutes ces manips consistant au nom de règles totalement subjectives à réaffecter tel ou tel pays dans un autre groupe, ce n'est plus un tirage mais un triage au sort !
Au nom de quoi il n' y aurait pas 3 équipes européennes ou pas 2 africaines dans le même groupe ?
En plus un tirage-triage fait avant de connaître tous les qualifiés avec des barrages intercontinentaux, du grand n'importe quoi.

Ou alors sinon si c'est un critère géographique qui est décidé pour des raisons obscures alor...

For European teams, it's always been a maximum of 2 in a group and I think the rest have always been 1.
Otherwise you can have an African group, a South American group, an Asian group and several European groups if you want.
There are already a lot of rules that will change during this World Cup, not to mention the 3-minute drinks breaks I think they're going to put on.
It's going to be a strange world, personally I see France or Portugal.

27 hours to go – Portugal in the final 😁

I really am a jinx ☹️

Come on France, let’s get to the final 🤣

Well done to Morocco on their World Cup performance. I was surprised by how little they managed to create last night against France, having seen what they were capable of, particularly against Brazil and the Netherlands.
Fitness? They were stifled by the French midfield, particularly Koné, who was magnificent.

And above all, it’s worth noting the spirit in which this World Cup quarter-final was played. There was intensity in the challenges, but never any provocation, foul play or trash-talking… for a match to go like that, you just need two intelligent teams.

jul068: Bravo au Maroc pour leur coupe du monde. Étonné du peu de jeu qu'elle a développé hier soir contre la France en ayant vu ce qu’elle avait pu montrer notamment contre le Brésil ou les Pays Bas.
Conditions physique ? Étouffé par le milieu français notamment Koné qui a été grandiose.

Et surtout il faut noté dans quel état d’esprit c’est joué ce 1/4 de coupe du monde. De l’intensité dans les interventions, mais jamais de provocation, mauvais gestes, pas de trash-talking... pour que ça ce passe ...

A French team that hasn’t let any opponent get a look-in so far. Things are bound to get interesting in the semi-finals. Whether it’s Brazil or the Netherlands, they’re a VERY long way from their glory days. Brazil could well have been knocked out already against Japan, and the football association is in tatters. As for the Netherlands, after golden generations that achieved little or nothing, this one is surely the weakest they’ve had in ages.

Let’s be honest: Spain remains the most dangerous opponent France could face in the tournament. And recent encounters confirm this. They’re probably one of the only teams against whom DD’s game plan is thrown into disarray, particularly during transitions forward and when creating space for Kyky and Dembouz. That’s where players like Doué and Olise will need to show their flair! We did, in fact, see Olise have a go at shooting against Morocco – perhaps a taste of what’s in store for us in the semi-finals? Can’t wait to see it all.

And above all, our Bleus aren’t really used to having to defend properly for long spells without the ball. Let’s hope our ‘dogs’ (Rabiot, Koné and Tchoutchou) can find a bit of breathing space amongst the Iberian legs should that be the case!

Come on, Les Bleus 🇨🇵

It’s a strong French team, I’m not putting them down… though they haven’t faced any really tough opponents so far in the tournament!

That said, the Spanish often adapt to their opponents and put in a solid performance… the final will be there; in my opinion, the winner of this semi-final will go on to win the World Cup.

Although if Norway make it to the final (which is likely), I have a feeling there’ll be a twist of fate… Anyway, that’s just my personal view, but it could well be a repeat of Denmark’s run in ’92… anyway…

I’m sticking with my main bet: Spain to win and England runners-up… but this Norwegian side is full of surprises, and I love that!

Brutus: Grosse team française, je ne le dénigre pô... après, pas de très gros adversaire en face au fil des matchs !

Après, les espagnols s'adaptent souvent à l'adversaire, et font un match complet... le finale sera là, le gagnant amha de cette demi sera le win CdM.

Bien que si la Norvège arrive en finale (c'est probable) je sens un coup du sort... bref, c'est un avis perso mais bon ça peut envisager un parcours à la danoise 92... bref...

Je reste sur un pari principal Espagne win et Angleterre se...

The stronger you are, the less formidable your opponents seem.

I’m not sure that Portugal, the Netherlands or Switzerland… are any stronger than Morocco. Brazil drew with Morocco. And after all, Morocco were semi-finalists four years ago. If that’s not a top-class side… yet they haven’t really made their mark.

France have a level of control and talent that’s quite staggering. I’ve never seen anything like it in the 40 years I’ve been watching the World Cup. I get the feeling that nothing can stop them.
I’m bound to jinx them just by saying that, but honestly, I can’t see who’s going to be able to trouble them.

When you look at their starting XI, they’ve got the two best centre-backs in the world, their four forwards are among the world’s top ten, and the rest of the team are of a very high standard too.

A red card, a FIFA-certified referee, mass hysteria, a sport that’s no longer a sport, eaten away by money, racism and utter nonsense – good luck to the punters, the ones who’ll end up paying the price.
Luckily we’ve still got cycling and Pogi… Oh blimey, that’s no good either… so let’s go for Wimbledon and MotoGP then – though not for much longer, seeing as Liberty Media’s set to buy out MotoGP.
In the end, the least corrupt sport will remain VF^^, thanks to its uncompromising boss, Pierre Martinet.

That Czech player at Wimbledon helped me win my bets – the one who won, not the one who lost – but I suppose it’s all the same in the end 😂

Long live the bookmakers and long live Morocco, who play some great football but always come unstuck against France – no need to upset our friends 😁