Spain faces Portugal in first round June 15

Spain and Portugal, the past two European champions, were drawn Friday to meet in the first round of the World Cup, one day after Russia opens the tournament in one of the easiest groups of the competition.

The Russians will play their first match at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14 against Saudi Arabia — the only team ranked lower than the hosts. Egypt and Uruguay are also in Group A.

Spain, which eliminated Portugal in the last 16 on the way to winning its first World Cup in 2010, will open against the European champions June 15 in Sochi. Group B also includes Morocco and Iran.

Peru, the last of the 32 teams to qualify for Russia, is in Group C with 1998 champion France, Australia and Denmark.

Iceland, the country with the smallest population of the 32 World Cup teams, will face qualifying opponent Croatia in Group D along with Argentina and Nigeria.

Five-time world champion Brazil is in Group E with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia. That means the Brazilians won’t play any games in its base city of Sochi.

Defending champion Germany will open against Mexico in its quest to become the first country to win back-toback World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962. The Germans will then face Sweden and South Korea in Group F.

Another newcomer, Panama, will take on England, Tunisia and Belgium in Group G; Group H has Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan.