EASY FOR ENGLA SPAIN AND RONA
England manager Gareth Southgate refused to get carried away with what appeared to be a hugely favourable draw even as Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez said his side had been given a “challenging” draw in the same Group G on Friday in their 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia next year.Panama and Tunisia werer the other two teams in Group G.
It meant England, who have not won a major men’s international trophy since lifting the 1966 World Cup on home soil, avoided global giants Argentina, Brazil and Germany after Argentina great Diego Maradona picked them out of Pot 2 at the Kremlin’s State Palace.
England will face Tunisia in their opening game in Volgograd on June 18, a repeat of their first game in the 1998 World Cup in France, when goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes secured a 2-0 win in Marseille. They will then travel to Nizhni Novgorod on June 24 to take on Panama, making their first appearance in a World Cup finals, with their concluding group fixture against well-regarded Belgium in Kaliningrad on June 28.
With the top two teams in each pool going through to the second round, Belgium and England will be huge favourites to make it out of Group G.
But Southgate, recalling England’s decades of disappointment on the international stage, was wary of Panama, telling the BBC: “We’ve been good at writing teams off and then getting beaten. We’ve got to be prepared for every game.”
While England may seem to have a smoother passage to the next round, Spain coach Julen Lopetegui believes that there won’t be any room for error in an enticing clash with European champions Portugal, led by World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, in Group B.
The Iberian neighbours will be favourites to progress from Group B after also being paired with Morocco and Iran in Friday’s draw in Moscow, but they face each other first up in Sochi on June 15.
Real Madrid’s Ronaldo is just one of a number of Portugal’s top players who ply their trade in Spain, but Lopetegui was keener to point to the overall qualities Portugal showed in claiming their first major trophy at Euro 2016 just 18 months ago.
“Straight away it isn’t the time to talk about individuals,” Lopetegui told Spanish TV station Cuatro. “Portugal have won an important title and, moreover, very recently. They are the champions of Europe, they have fantastic players and we are talking about the highest level.”
Indeed, Portugal survived without an injured Ronaldo for the vast majority of the Euro 2016 final to shock hosts France thanks to an extra-time goal from Eder.
However, Portugal have failed to beat Spain in seven previous meetings at major tournaments, including as the Spanish went on to lift their only World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Iran’s Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, who also had a brief spell in charge at Real Madrid, was more enthusiastic as he claimed he couldn’t have wished for a better draw.
“Personally I am very happy because it is a group with two teams from two very special places for me,” said Queiroz.
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov expressed his relief at avoiding 2010 champions Spain in Friday’s draw for next year’s World Cup.
Hosts Russia, the lowest ranked nation in the 32-team tournament, were placed alongside Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in Group A.
They were among the eight top seeds in pot one as tournament hosts, with three-time European champions Spain relegated to pot two along with England. —
2ND PLACE Denmark
Best Performance: 8th 1998 Topped Group in South America
Best Performance:
Champions 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002
2ND PLACE Switzerland Best Performance:
7th in 1934, 7th in 1938, 8th in 1954
2ND PLACE
Belgium Best Performance: Fourth in 1986
ACKT FAVOURITES GROUP WINNER
EKT FAVOURITES GROUP WINNER
GKlaniningrad