On Friday, the draw for the group stage of the final part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Russia for the first time in history, took place at the State Kremlin Palace.
The 32 teams participating in the World Cup, including Russia, had to find out their opponents, as well as the cities to which they would go.
Following the results of the draw, it became known that the Russians will play in Group A with the teams of Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The World Cup hosts will play the opening match on June 14 at Luzhniki against the Saudis, then on June 19 they will meet the Egyptians in St. Petersburg. Stanislav Cherchesov's team will play against representatives of Uruguay on June 25 in Samara.
It is curious that for the first time the lowest-rated participants will play in the opening match of the World Championships - the Russians occupy 65th place in the world ranking table, and the Saudi Arabian team is 63rd.
Germany, which will begin the tournament as reigning world champions, will play in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
Portugal, the reigning European champions, was drawn into Quartet B with Spain, Morocco and Iran.
The ceremony was broadcast on the Internet on the official website of the International Football Federation (FIFA), as well as on Channel One of federal television.
It was watched in more than 200 countries around the world in different time zones. The draw was accompanied by a colorful show program hosted by singer Alsou and Ivan Urgant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA head Gianni Infantino were the first to take the stage for a welcoming speech. The head of state assured the guests that Russia intends to hold the World Cup at the very high level. Infantino, in turn, thanked the hosts for excellent organization tournament.
"We will do everything to make the 2018 World Cup great sports festival, but, most importantly, he even more united a large and friendly international sports family- a family for which the most important thing is sport itself, friendship and fair fight, the values of which are not subject to any current conjuncture,” TASS quotes the Russian leader.
Gianni Infantino expressed confidence that football fans from all over the world will be convinced of the hospitality of Russia in the summer.
“In the summer of 2018, 1.5 million people will come here. They will see that Russia is a warm country, that its residents are really looking forward to the football festival. I am confident that the experience of hosting the World Cup will be positive for Russia,” noted the FIFA President.
After the speeches of the top officials, the World Cup was presented to the guests by a delegate from the current world champions, German Miroslav Klose. Then the official drawing ceremony began.
The famous football players, led by Argentinean Diego Maradona, were entrusted with getting the balls out of the baskets.
The draw assistants were also Nikita Simonyan, a participant in the first World Cup for the USSR in 1958, Italian Fabio Cannavaro, Frenchman Laurent Blanc, Englishman Gordon Banks, Brazilian Cafu, Spaniard Carles Puyol and Uruguayan Diego Forlan.
Vladimir Putin spoke on the sidelines with guests who came to Moscow to participate in the event. He met with legends of world football, including Diego Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, raising glasses of champagne with the players.
Head coach Russian national football team Stanislav Cherchesov, in an interview with the official FIFA channel on YouTube, shared his expectations from the final draw of the 2018 World Cup in advance.
"Expectations are simple, a lot has been accomplished in football career. Therefore, there are no special expectations or desires. There are absolutely no preferences. We must calmly wait to see who we will get. The mood is very good,” Cherchesov said.
After qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup finally ended with intercontinental play-offs and all participants in the group stage became known, the teams were distributed into baskets for the draw according to the October FIFA rankings.
During the draw, eight groups of four teams were designated A through H, with teams from each pool being assigned to different groups.
The Russian national team, as the organizer of the tournament, fell into the first basket, although it occupies the lowest position in the ranking (65th place) among all participants. It was known in advance that Stanislav Cherchesov’s team would lead Group A and would avoid meeting with strong neighbors in the first pot at the group stage.
In one group there could be no more than two teams from Europe, as well as no more than one team from the following confederations: Asia, Africa, Oceania, North and Central America, South America.
The 2018 World Cup matches will be held from June 14 to July 15, 2018 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi and Saransk.
On December 1, 2017, a draw takes place in the Moscow Kremlin, or rather, in the Grand Kremlin Palace group stage FIFA World Cup 2018. Russia will host for the first time in history main tournament, and Moscow is holding the draw ceremony for the first time. The teams are divided into four pots according to their FIFA rankings.
GROUPS
A: RUSSIA, URUGUAY, EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA
Matches - 1st round (Moscow): Saudi Arabia, 2nd round (St. Petersburg): Russia - Egypt, 3rd round (Samara): Russia - Uruguay
B: PORTUGAL, SPAIN, IRAN, MOROCCO
C: FRANCE, PERU, DENMARK, AUSTRALIA
D: ARGENTINA, CROATIA, ICELAND, NIGERIA
E: BRAZIL, SWITZERLAND, COSTA RICA, SERBIA
F: GERMANY, MEXICO, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA
G: BELGIUM, ENGLAND, TUNISIA, PANAMA
H: POLAND, COLOMBIA, SENEGAL, JAPAN
Let's say goodbye! Our correspondents are already preparing materials for you based on the results of the draw. Thank you for your attention, and we are waiting for the World Cup! Ticket sales will resume on December 5th.
20:30 - A little humor. There are already a lot of funny captions for this photo of Maradona. We think it's clear why.
20:25 - It’s interesting to summarize our and your forecasts. Of the experts, Roman Askhabadze was the closest. He predicted/wanted such a group: Croatia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia. Two hits out of three. Few people expected Uruguay at all. Only Anatoly Fedorovich Byshovets.
As for your reader’s version of the ideal group, it was like this: Peru, Tunisia, Panama. At the same time, Egypt and Saudi Arabia from the third and fourth baskets were the third and second most popular in your choice. But only 6% wanted Uruguay as a rival.
20:17 - We have already prepared a summary for you important information about our group rivals. Read it!
The main thing about the Russian team’s group rivals at the 2018 World Cup
Mysterious Arabs, persistent Africans and hot Latin Americans. World Cup classic. What else is needed for a spectacle?
20:12 - There are already quotes for our group. Uruguay is considered the favorite of the group; you can bet on it becoming first with odds of 2.0. Russia's advance to the 1/8 finals from first place is valued at 2.2. With odds of 7.5 you can bet on Egypt winning Group A, Saudi Arabia's chances of a similar result are quoted at 34.0.
20:05 - Vitaly Mutko also shared his opinion on the results of the draw:
- It’s difficult to predict what will happen in our group. The group is fairly even and gives chances to all teams. Uruguay – serious team, included in the list of top teams in the world. Egypt has several world-class players - for example, Salah. We know little about Saudi Arabia, but we will prepare. The group that the Russian team found is normal. Everything depends on ourselves.
Here Egyptian journalists asked Vitaly Leontyevich in English about Salah.
- Is a very good player – fantastic! “Top player,” Mutko was not taken aback. - Will he score a goal? Look, football is a team game.
19:56 - Let's continue about the layouts. This time there is no “death group” as such. There is Spain - Portugal in one quartet, there is a strong group F and an interesting group D, but otherwise everything is smooth and unremarkable. And Group H is frankly weak for a tournament of this level. However, for an outside observer ours is not a fountain.
19:41 - Stanislav Cherchesov:
- It’s impossible to say after the draw whether I’m happy or not. Whatever group there is, there is one. The emotions before and now are the same. I smiled when they pulled out Uruguay, because they asked us to hold a test match, but we still didn’t agree. They chased us and still got us ( smiling).
I’ll get ahead of your questions: I don’t know any of the teams, since I’ve never met with any of them, and I haven’t specifically watched them. I know that Salah plays in the Egyptian national team, I will watch him in the Liverpool - Spartak match. Uruguay has Cavani and Suarez, but these are just names. Now we can talk about anything, but the field shows everything. The only thing that catches your eye is that our games are, one might say, increasing. Here, perhaps, I emphasize - perhaps there is some kind of bonus. But everything will be decided by the field.
19:39 - Pele is not walking now. And here is such a touching photo...
19:35. And now there will be comments from the coaches.
19:30. The celebration and summing up continue on stage.
19:25. It is worth noting that after the terrorist attack over the Sinai on October 31, 2015, in which Russian tourists were killed, air traffic between Egypt and Russia was stopped. Now this issue will have to be resolved, since we will play with the Egyptians in the same group.
19:15 - The time has come... for forecasts!
19:12 - All the stars of the draw ceremony in the photo gallery of our correspondent Alexander Safonov.
19:10 - We’re not going anywhere, now there will be comments from the coaches from the mixed zone.
19:07 - In Saransk there will be no fiery matches and an influx of fans. Maybe it's for the better. Although they will still have one cool guest - Ronaldo and his Portugal will play Iran here.
19:03
- Here's another pattern - Argentina and Nigeria always go in pairs. 5 group meetings in 24 years!
1994 - Argentina and Nigeria in the same group
2002 - Argentina and Nigeria in the same group
2010 - Argentina and Nigeria in the same group
2014 - Argentina and Nigeria in the same group
2018 - Argentina and Nigeria in the same group
19:02
- While Larisa Dolina sings, concluding the ceremony, let's look at other interesting matches and groups.
England will play in Volgograd, Nizhny and Kaliningrad. Moreover, on the Baltic coast - with Belgium. The fans are practically having a European trip.
18:59 - Well, that's it. Our group is quite digestible. But then... Spain or Portugal - there are unlikely to be any surprises here.
18:57 - That's all! Time to analyze the results!
18:53 - Thanks to two teams from Europe in Group B, Serbia will pass us in the 1/8 (if both qualify). Brazil - Serbia - and again a cool match at the Opening Day in the 3rd round!
18:51 - All! There is a group composition! The opening match at Luzhniki - Russia - Saudi Arabia. The audience greets the ball with Arabians with applause.
18:48 - Argentina - Iceland - a very cool match at Otkritie in the first round. Don't miss it!
18:45 - Russia - Egypt! Second round! Peter!
18:43 - England are in the group with Belgium and will play the first match in Volgograd. We don’t know with whom yet.
18:41 - Cavani and Suarez in Samara! Against Dzhikia and Vasin! Let's continue to be aware. After two fire groups, things became calmer.
18:40 - And Spain and Portugal will play in the first round in Sochi!
18:39 - Russia and Uruguay will play in the last round of the group tournament in Samara. A game for first place, perhaps.
18:38 - Now we find out the first opponent... Anticipation! URUGUAY!
18:36 - But Argentina and Brazil will not meet in the 1/8 finals. But Brazil and Germany can...
18:33 - First, we are interested in our group, and then group B, whose teams we can meet in the playoffs. Portugal is number one there.
18:30 - Let's go get the balls! Nikita Pavlovich starts from Russia in Group A. Simonyan is greeted with applause.
18:28 - Gary Lineker And Maria Command on stage. “Are you ready, Maria? Because if not, it’s not too late...” jokes Ivan Urgant. Look, by the way, who led the draw before our Masha.
Sophia Loren and our Masha. Who was trusted to conduct the draw for the World Championships?
Journalist Maria Komandnaya will lead the draw for the 2018 World Cup. Before her, actresses and professional models received this honor.
18:25 - And now the draw assistants appear on the stage, who will drag the balls - Laurent Blanc, Gordon Banks, Fabio Cannavaro, Cafu, Diego Maradona, Carles Puyol, Diego Forlan And Nikita Simonyan.
18:22 - The show program is in full swing. Now the folk dance ensemble named after Igor Moiseev danced right in front of the World Championship Cup.
18:15 - Alsou sang. They didn’t just call her as a presenter. But the singer quickly changed her mind and is already asking questions to Miroslav Klose, who brought the World Cup trophy to the stage. And recently the trophy visited the Championship office...
18:10 - The astronauts are counting down! A cool video shows the path from Russia's victory in the elections of the World Cup host country to the present day.
18:07 - Gianni Infantino speaks Russian! “Vladimir Putin, other friends, good evening, welcome to Moscow. Thank you, Russia”... Not only Vitaly Mutko taught foreign language all these years.
18:06 - Vladimir Putin: “Friendship, sports, fair fight - these values are not subject to any conjuncture. But the winner will be determined not by chance, but by skill and the will to win. Good luck and all the best to everyone! We are waiting for you in Russia in 2018!”
18:05 - Vladimir Putin: “We expect that guests of our country will not only enjoy the football festival, but also get to know our country. Championship peace will pass in 11 cities, and fans will be able to look at different regions of our huge and diverse country. Anyone who has ever come to Russia knows how good we are at receiving guests.”
18:02 - Two presidents are invited to the stage - Vladimir Putin And Gianni Infantino.
18:00 - Let's go! Presenters on stage - Ivan Urgant And Alsou.
17:55 - Until the TV broadcast begins, a few more exclusive angles. For example, from a commentator's position. Well, re-read everything you need to know about the draw.
17:51 - Stanislav Cherchesov and Victoria Lopyreva are almost hospitable hosts today. Not the Kremlin, of course, but our football. Photos from the red carpet.
16:50 - Our coaches are coming. There is a red carpet for honored guests.
16:37 - Probability theory in action, or calculating the chances that we will face one or another opponent.
16:31 - Since permission to shoot video at the draw is tense, foreigners are actively filming Russian journalists. Our Dmitry Egorov talked with the Dutch, for example.
16:20 - Foreigners were lucky with the weather (well, if they are ready for the cold). Near zero, pleasant snow - in such conditions the Kremlin and Red Square are especially beautiful. There is also a Christmas market already running there. There, many whiled away the time during the day.
16:14 - Choose your dream band for Russia. Simple, complex - any.
16:06 - Our draw assistants are very cool today. Could the star football team turn out.
16:01 - We are starting our online. In the Kremlin, everything or almost everything is already ready for the draw.
The balls will be taken out of the baskets in order - starting with the first one. According to the standard procedure, first a ball with the name of the team is taken out, and then a ball with the designation of the group and a number that indicates the serial number of the team in the corresponding group.
This is how bookmakers assess the chances of the Russian national team to get one or another team as their opponent.
Beginning of the drawing ceremony - 18:00.
Live broadcast- Channel One.
Masters of Ceremony- Gary Lineker and Maria Komandnaya.
Show host- Ivan Urgant.
Our correspondents Dmitry Egorov, Ivan Karpov and Mikhail Tyapkov, as well as photojournalist Alexander Safonov, work at the scene and will tell and show everything that television will ignore.
The most grandiose sporting event 2018 will be the FIFA World Cup, which will take place on the fields of Russia from June 14 to July 15. There is still quite a lot of time before the start of “”, and at this stage, fans football game All over the world are waiting for the end of the World Cup qualifying games, and then the draw for the final stage.
32 teams will take part in the final part of the 2018 World Cup, 31 of which will be determined based on the results of qualifications and 1 team is the host of the tournament, that is, Russia. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, 210 teams took part in the qualification process. Debutants qualifying matches became the teams of Kosovo, Sudan, Gibraltar, Bunat and South Sudan. The World Cup qualifying cycle will end at the end of November 2017, according to the results of which the 31 best teams will receive tickets to Russia.
Where and when will the draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup take place?
According to official FIFA data, the draw for the 2018 World Cup will take place December 1, 2017 in the Kremlin. The choice of this particular location emphasizes the importance of this event for the Russian government.
The draw will take place in the State Kremlin Palace - in a building that is currently used as a concert hall.
Based on the results of the draw, 8 groups of 4 teams each will be determined. The teams that take first and second places in the group will advance to the 1/8 finals of the World Cup.
World Cup matches will take place at 12 stadiums in 11 cities of Russia: Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk and Kaliningrad.
The Russian national team will play in the first match of the World Cup on June 14, 2018, since according to the regulations, it is the host of the tournament who must play the first match. This will be the only game on the opening day of the tournament, but on the remaining days, during the group stage, 3 or 4 games will be played.
Foreign colleagues who came to cover the draw were pleasantly surprised long before the ceremony itself. Because working in such an environment is a tourist-journalist’s dream. Through the Spasskaya Tower - if you're lucky, also during the chiming clock - reporters get to the Kremlin. Next - a short walk past the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon with views of the most beautiful churches in the country. The main thing is not to forget about the final goal of the trip and get to the Kremlin Palace. To also admire the panoramic view of the snow-covered green roofs from the sixth floor, the press center was organized at the very top.
The main football event of the four years begins in the most important place in Russia, which is hosting the tournament - symbolically and very impressively.
The ceremony itself will last only an hour, but it will determine the plans of a huge number of people for the next six months. It will be hosted by Ivan Urgant, and the actual draw procedure will be conducted by the famous Englishman Gary Lineker and our sports journalist Maria Komandnaya. At the same time, the entire elite of world football will gather in the hall of the Kremlin Palace. For example, the head coaches of all 32 teams that made it to the tournament received invitations.
And only two did not respond. Uruguay's coach won't come, and Australia simply doesn't have a coach right now. Everyone else flew to Moscow in advance and yesterday already took part in a seminar for the participating teams.
The live broadcast of the draw will begin at 18.00 Moscow time on Channel One
There are plenty of stars besides coaches, and they come not only to admire the beauty of the Russian capital. Diego Maradona, Laurent Blanc, Fabio Cannavaro, Carles Puyol - these legendary figures, for example, will take part in the draw as assistants. And the famous Frenchman, 1998 world champion Marcel Desailly, together with ex-forward of the Russian national team Alexander Kerzhakov, now act as ambassadors of the fan festival. Of course, both could not avoid questions about the upcoming draw.
“I don’t like forecasts,” Kerzhakov admitted. - The home world championship is a tournament in which your walls can help. The Confederations Cup showed this. I am sure that the Russian team will advance from the group. And then we'll see.
Many football celebrities will take part in the 2018 World Cup draw ceremony. Among them is Uruguayan Diego Forlan (second from left). Photo: Sergey Savostyanov/TASS
Desailly added that the Russian national team lacks star players like Kerzhakov, and therefore a lot will depend on the fans: “The first games are very important for the team’s confidence in the future in the tournament, and support is necessary here. The fans helped us, the French, in home championship world in 1998, thanks to them we have become stronger. Fans must oblige the team to fight to the end. I hope your team goes far."
It was not only Desailly who fought back with streamlined formulations. Journalists tried to find out from the famous Uruguayan Diego Forlan what kind of lot he would like for his compatriots. But in response they heard the standard “there are no weak teams at such a tournament” and “it will be interesting with any opponent.” It is clear that there is some slyness in these words.
The 32 teams are initially divided into four pots based on their rankings. Russia is among the seeds, but not for its merits on the football field, but as the hostess. And even a quick glance at the resulting baskets is enough to understand that the strength of the teams gathered in one company is completely different, so you can get both a “group of life” and a “group of death”. By the way, even football people do not have a common opinion which option is preferable.
With questions, we went to ex-player of the Russian national team Dmitry Cheryshev, who came to the draw as an ambassador of the World Cup from Nizhny Novgorod.
Dmitry, what opponents would you like for the Russian national team?
Dmitry Cheryshev: I wish we could get caught strong teams. Because it is with a strong opponent that you always show your best game, good mood. And you can still leave the group.
The fate of the 32 teams participating in the 2018 World Cup will be determined by such stars as Maradona, Blanc, Puyol and Cannavaro
At the Confederations Cup we faced strong opponents, Portugal and Mexico, and in the end the team was unable to advance from the group.
Dmitry Cheryshev: Then these were our first steps in serious international matches under the leadership of Stanislav Cherchesov. I think we have tested the team. By the way, last match They played pretty well at the Confederations Cup. The team was in good condition interesting game against the Spanish national team. To score three goals against such an opponent is worth a lot. Even if the Spaniards did not bring an optimal squad, any footballer who defends their colors is still a level player. Therefore, in my opinion, we are the right way, and only victories await us ahead.
You are the ambassador of the World Championship from Nizhny Novgorod. What kind of fans and what teams would you like to see in your city?
Dmitry Cheryshev: First of all, Latin Americans. I would like our fans to see how they support their own. I saw fans of Chile and Mexico at the Confederations Cup, enjoyed the atmosphere and would like to see the same celebration during the World Cup in our city.
On Friday, December 1, in the very heart of the capital of Russia - the State Kremlin Palace - there will be a draw final stage of the World Championship FIFA football 2018 in Russia. The ceremony starts at 18:00, live broadcast will take place on Channel One.
The draw ceremony will be hosted by ex-England forward top scorer 1986 World Cup Gary Lineker, who will be assisted by Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya.
In the role of eight assistants of Gary Lineker, they will appear on the stage of the State Kremlin Palace legendary football players Laurent Blanc, Gordon Banks, Fabio Cannavaro, Cafu, Diego Maradona, Carles Puyol and Diego Forlan. Together with Miroslav Klose, who will carry the FIFA World Cup Cup onto the stage during the draw, they will represent the eight winning countries of the FIFA World Cup. The eighth assistant to the draw will be the legend of the Soviet and Russian football, first vice-president of the RFU Nikita Simonyan, who performed at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Representatives of all teams participating in the tournament, celebrities, public figures and functionaries will be present in the hall.
In preparation for the draw, teams were divided into four pots according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings (as of October 2017). The first basket included the seven best teams in accordance with the world ranking table, as well as the team of the host country of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Cart 1: RUSSIA, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France;
Cart 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia;
Basket 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran;
Basket 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia.
Additional terms and conditions.
1. The Russian national team, as the organizing country, receives the designation “Team A1” during the draw (that is, the first team in group A), and will be indicated by a red ball in basket 1.
2. The remaining seven teams in Pot 1 will be divided into groups (B to H) and will automatically be ranked 1 in each group. The serial numbers of teams from pots 2, 3 and 4 will be determined by drawing lots.
3. According to the general principle of FIFA, each group can have a maximum of one team from one continental zone. This rule applies to all zones except the UEFA zone, which is represented by 14 teams. Each group must contain at least one, but not more than two, European teams. Thus, six of the eight groups will have two European teams. The division of teams into groups according to geographical principles will be controlled by a special system that will take into account all factors, therefore, when determining the places of teams in groups separate groups may be missed. For example, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay - teams from Pot 2 - will definitely not be in the same group as Brazil or Argentina, who are in Pot 1. A similar rule applies to teams from confederations other than UEFA
The Russian national team will play the first match of the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on June 14 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Then our team, led by Stanislav Cherchesov, will perform on June 19 at the Krestovsky Arena in St. Petersburg, and then play on the 25th at the new stadium in Samara.
If Russia takes first place in the group, then in the 1/8 finals it will compete with the second team from Quartet B (June 30, Fisht Stadium, Sochi). Moreover, if the Russian squad finishes second in group, then in the 1/8 finals they will compete with the winner of group B (July 1, Luzhniki, Moscow).
