Fears of Cup draw from hell

AUSTRALIA will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the disastrous World Cup draw from four years ago when the groups for Russia 2018 are finalised early tomorrow morning.

The best outcome for the Socceroos would be to be drawn against the likes of Russia, Peru and Tunisia, although Australian fans would salivate at the prospect of taking on the old enemy England for the first time in a major tournament.

But being placed in the fourth pot for the lowestranked teams means the number of worst-case scenarios far outweigh the favourable outcomes for the Socceroos, who could land in a group featuring Brazil, Spain and Denmark.

The Socceroos’ fate was sealed before they kicked a ball at the Brazil 2014 tournament when they were pitted against defending champions Spain, the Netherlands and Chile.

Despite some encouraging performances, including the 3-2 cliffhanger against the Dutch, the Socceroos walked away with three losses.

Australia’s draw difficulties come as the teams are split into four pots based on their FIFA world ranking. Pot 1 features Russia and the seven highestranked teams, led by Germany, Brazil, Portugal and Argentina.

Pot 2 contains the next best eight teams, followed by Pot 3 and Australia alongside the lowest-ranked nations in Pot 4.

Teams will be drawn into eight groups of four from A to H and play three group games, with the top two advancing to the second stage.