World Cup draw results - Intrigue and rematches set for Qatar

The results of the draw are in and one of the main takeaways is the parity seen across all the groups - there is no clear cut Group of Death and no clear ‘weaker’ group.

The U.S. and Mexico had a similar fate - The U.S. drawing England, Iran and the final European team that will qualify in June.

Mexico in turn - drew Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

What is interesting is that both teams - will start playing against the team who they’ll likely compete against for a spot in the second round. Their second game is against the favorite and their final game will be against a tough middle eastern team.

While it is easy to dismiss Iran and Saudi Arabia - keep in mind they were the two best teams in the Asia qualifiers and will also have the advantage of playing close to home which will allow them to have a large contingent of fans supporting them.

4 years ago Iran had a goal-scoring opportunity against Portugal in stoppage which would’ve taken them to the next round and knockout Portugal - but the game ended 1-1 and Iran eliminated.

The matchups

When it comes to playing styles the U.S. will probably have a more difficult game strategically against Iran than England.

The U.S. is a team that likes to give space to its opposition, then hitting them in transition with speed - while England is a team that likes to have the ball and tends to push its full backs high up the field.

Even though England has more quality in its ranks - the game is a good matchup for the U.S. because the team is capable of exploiting open space when they recover possession and for that reason it's a good matchup for the team.

On the other hand Iran is a very disciplined team that like the U.S. is comfortable with or without the ball. In that game the U.S. is expected to have more possession while Iran will likely to sit back and surprised them in the counterattack - and it will be a team that will be hard to breakdown since they are very disciplined defensively - where Iran has to improve is the final third as they have struggled to finish chances at this level.

In Group C - Mexico will see more difficult games - Argentina is a matchup nightmare - is much more solid defensively and they no longer rely on Lionel Messi to carry the team. Messi will likely find tons of space in between the lines asking a lot of the midfield and that in turn can create space for Lautaro Martinez who has risen to become one of the most lethal number 9’s in the game. This paired with how easily Mexico has suffered defensively during the qualifiers could be as difficult of a game that Mexico could face.

And talking about number 9’s Mexico will face the very best - Robert Lewandowski - to open up their campaign.

Both teams have a similar approach to games - both like having possession of the ball - but unlike Mexico, Poland seems a little more capable of changing to a more counter-attack mode when it suits them - which could be the case when the two meet. The key could be in preventing Poland from taking an early lead that could allow them to sit back and force Mexico to get creative in the final third.

Elsewhere in the draw

The field for the 2022 FIFA World Cup looks fascinating as it will give us a taste of matchups that have never taken place before - and also a lot of rematches.

Group A

This group is filled with teams that have never played each other in the World Cup.

Qatar is making its debut - and will face the Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador.

While the Netherlands-Senegal game is stealing the headlines - the other opening game Qatar-Ecuador will likely be a do or die game for both if they hope to advance to the knockout round.

And Ecuador taking on Senegal and Netherlands will also be intriguing to watch.

Early Predictions: 1) Netherlands 2) Senegal 3) Ecuador 4) Qatar

Group B

England and the U.S. will face each other once again like they did back in 2010. The game promises to be better than the 2010 game in Rustenburg - England don’t have the internal issues that led to their epic collapse at the time. Under Gareth Southgate the team has grown to become a legitimate title contender and the U.S has a young exciting team that could pose an early challenge.

Iran will be another difficult matchup in the group - in addition to the geopolitical rivalry the Persian country has with both.

And to add intrigue the winner of the European playoff regardless of who earns the final spot between Wales, Ukraine or Scotland.

Early Predictions: 1) England 2) USA 3) Iran 4) Wales

Group C

Mexico will once again face Argentina - in 2006 and 2010 Mexico was eliminated by la albiceleste in the Round of 16 - this will be the only the second time they will face each other in the group stage - since the very first in 1930.

While Poland is led by Robert Lewandowski and the team has a solid base - it doesn’t have many other difference makers.

Poland has not had much success at the biggest stage in recent years. The last time Poland advanced to the second round was back in 1986 - and since 2006 they have a 3-6 record in the World Cup, however two of those wins came against Concacaf teams.

Early Predictions: 1) Argentina 2) Mexico 3) Poland 4) Saudi Arabia

Group D

At this point Denmark is probably sick of seeing France in their group - In 4 of their last 5 World Cup appearances Denmark has been paired with Les Blues and this will be the second consecutive time they’ll play each other. Despite that the Danes have done well against France in the three previous meetings with each side winning one game and a scoreless draw back in 2018.

The group could get even more familiar if either Peru or Australia qualify from the intercontinental playoff in June.

France will be looking to escape the curse of the champion - as 4 of the last 5 champions have failed to advance to the second round, oddly France was the team that initiated this trend starting in 2002 and one of the beneficiaries that took advantage was - Denmark.

Early Predictions: 1) France 2) Denmark 3) Peru 4) Tunisia

Group E

While there is no clear Group of Death - this group will be the closest thing to it. The headliner for this group is the matchup between Spain and Germany. La roja is one of the favorites coming into the tournament and Germany is now seeking redemption after a humiliating early exit four years ago.

In addition to the two power houses, Japan is a team that could easily fly under the radar for most, the team has a lot of young stars that have shown a lot of potential - The group will be completed by either Costa Rica or New Zealand.

Early Predictions: 1) Spain 2) Germany 3) Japan 4) Costa Rica

Group F

This will be one of the most contested groups in the World Cup - Belgium is the big favorite to win the group but we could see a tough battle between the others Croatia, Canada and Morocco.

Canada has seen one of the most remarkable rises across world soccer, Morocco is a very good team who played a lot better than the results from the previous World Cup suggest - and Croatia, while they may have more quality - have an aging core of stars.

Early Predictions 1) Belgium 2) Canada 3) Morocco 4) Croatia

Group G

Talk about a blast from the past - three teams that faced each other 4 years ago will play each other again in this World Cup. Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia will once again play in the same group. 4 years ago they gave us a good slate of games, and Serbia appears to be the most improved of the three - they will be joined by Cameroon returning after missing out in 2018 - its final World Cup game was against Brazil who they will once again face in the final game of the group stage.

Early Predictions 1) Brazil 2) Serbia 3) Switzerland 4) Cameroon

Group H

It has the potential to be the most fun to watch group - there is some intrigue for all of these games. Portugal and Uruguay is the big match of the group - 4 years ago - Uruguay knocked out Portugal in the round of 16 with two goals from Edinson Cavani.

This will likely be the final World Cup run for Cristiano Ronaldo who would want to bow out in a good performance. Should Portugal win this group they could become a serious contender to reach the semifinals.

Another team that hopes to settle a score with the South Americans is Ghana - who in 2010 was eliminated after Luis Suarez prevented what would’ve been a game winning goal that would’ve sent Ghana to the Semis - allowing the score to end in a draw and for Uruguay to come on top on Penalties.

Korea Republic is the final team rounding up the group - and yet another with a beef against Uruguay who eliminated them in the round of 16 back in 2010.

Early Predictions 1) Portugal 2) Uruguay 3) Korea Republic 4) Ghana