# World Cup 2018



## CaliKlines (Dec 1, 2017)

Spain and Portugal in one group, and Germany/Mexico/Sweden in another! Groups B and F will be fun to watch.


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## True love (Dec 1, 2017)

*2018 World Cup draw pairs Germany with Mexico and Portugal with Spain*



*Germany will face Mexico in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal will open against neighbours Spain, after FIFA conducted the draw in Moscow on Friday.*

*Winners of the 2014 event and FIFA's top-ranked team, Germany will face Mexico before taking on Sweden and South Korea in Group F.*

*Portugal and Spain, who haven't played since Spain prevailed on penalties in the semifinals of Euro 2012, will meet in Group B alongside Iran and Morocco. Iran is managed by Portuguese coach Carlos Quieroz.*

*Despite being placed in the second pot of teams, England largely escaped a difficult draw and will face Belgium, Tunisia and Panama.*

*Hosts Russia, guaranteed a top seed despite being FIFA's lowest-ranked team in the draw, will open the tournament against Saudi Arabia on June 14 at the 81,000-capacity*

*Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, before taking on Uruguay and Egypt.*


*GROUP A: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia*

*GROUP B: Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco*

*GROUP C: France, Peru, Denmark, Australia*

*GROUP D: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria*

*GROUP E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia*

*GROUP F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea*

*GROUP G: Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama*

*GROUP H: Poland, Colombia, Senegal, Japan*


*Lionel Messi and Argentina drew two European teams in Croatia and debutants Iceland, as well as Nigeria. Iceland, the smallest nation to ever play at the World Cup, will play the two-time champions on June 16 at Spartak Stadium in Moscow.*

*Familiar foes Argentina and Nigeria are in the same World Cup group for the third straight time and for the fifth time since 1994.*

*Brazil, FIFA's second-ranked team, also escaped a major challenge and will face European sides Switzerland and Serbia in addition to Costa Rica.*

*Based on the draw's results, Brazil have the best chance to win the World Cup at 20.8 percent, followed by Spain at 15.9 percent and Germany at 10.9 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight's Soccer Power Index.*

*France will face three teams who came through qualifying playoffs last month in Peru, Denmark and Australia.*

*With Poland, Colombia, Senegal and Japan, Group H is the only group not to feature any previous World Cup winners.*

*After playing each team in their group, the top two teams advance to the knockout stage. The winner of Group A will face the runner-up of Group B, with Groups C and D, E and F, and G and H similarly paired.*

*That means if Mexico finish second to Germany in Group F, El Tri would be drawn against Brazil as long as Neymar and company win Group E. Mexico have been eliminated in the Round of 16 at six straight World Cups.*

*Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the draw ceremony and promised "a great festival" at next year's tournament. On stage with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Putin painted a picture of Russia as a welcoming nation with a rich sports history.*


*"Our country can't wait to host the World Cup and intends to host it at the very highest level," Putin said. "Anyone who has come to Russia even once knows how we welcome our friends.''*

*Putin extolled the values of fair play and "friendly and honest competition," values which Russian officials have been accused of betraying when it hosted the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Olympic doping scandals, political tension and controversy around the World Cup bidding process have often overshadowed Russia's preparations for the tournament.*

*Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko delivered a fierce defense of the country's reputation earlier Friday, painting Russia and its athletes as victims of an international conspiracy to portray the country as "an axis of evil." Mutko also vowed to defend them "to the last bullet."*


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## NoGoal (Dec 1, 2017)

Where is the US Mens National Team? My bad I forgot we failed to qualify!


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## LASTMAN14 (Mar 28, 2018)

Saw this article online today. Thought it was interesting and written by Garry Kasparov.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3427563/world-cup-2018-russia-is-the-ugly-side-of-the-beautiful-game-says-garry-kasparov


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