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Defending champions France were drawn to play Denmark, Tunisia and the winner of an intercontinental play-off in the group stages at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – the first time the football fest has been staged in an Arab country.
France will kick off their Group B campaign for back-to-back crowns on 22 November against either Peru, United Arab Emirates or Australia who will emerge from the play-off in June.
Denmark will be next before France finish the pool stages against Tunisia.
Hosts Qatar – the second lowest rated team in the Fifa world rankings – will take on Ecuador for the opening game on 21 November at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Kho .
They will play the African champions Senegal and finally the Netherlands who are competing at the event for the first time since 2014.
Show
Hours before the draw at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre, Fifa, which organises the quadrennial event, released a video featuring the official anthem, Hayya Hayya.
And show presenters, Idris Elba and Reshmin Chowdhury launched the event with the song.
Fifa boss Gianni Infantino told the audience: “We face some turbulences, our world is aggressive and we need some occasions to bring people together. To all the leaders, stop the conflicts and the wars.”
France coach Didier Deschamps, who won the trophy as a player in 1998 before leading the team to glory in 2018, brought out the trophy for the draw ceremony.
Triumph
One of only three men with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer to have won the World cup as a player and coach, the 53-year-old said modestly: “I am aware of having shared some wonderful moments with the French people.
“We know Denmark and its a good group for France,” former France international Frank Lebouef told French broadcaster TF1.
“It’s not the most difficult draw,” added Bixente Lizarazu who played with Lebouef and Deschamps in the trophy winning team in 1998.
“France have come out well,” Lizarazu said. “There are no gifts but neither are there difficult teams like the Netherlands or Germany. It should give France the time to grow into the competition.”
Elsewhere, the 2018 beaten finalists Croatia were drawn in Group F with Belgium, Morocco and Canada who last played at the World Cup in 1986.
The 2014 winners Germany will play in Group E with Spain, Japan and the winner of the intercontinental play-off between Costa Rica and New Zealand.
The 2018 semi finalists England will take on Iran, the United States and one from Ukraine, Scotland or Wales who will fight it out in the European play-off.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina will face Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland in Group C while Portugal will be favourites to advance from Group H comprising Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
Brazil, the last South American country to lift the crown in 2002, will open their campaign against Serbia before playing Switzerland and Rigobert Song’s Cameroon.
Originally published on RFI
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