No ‘Group of Death’ at Friday’s soccer draw?

The draw for this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament will take place Friday (10 a.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) at the Kremlin in Moscow and, as always, thoughts turn to which pool will become anointed the “Group of Death.”

That somewhat gruesome definition refers to the scenario in which more than two potential contenders are drawn into the same group, with only two advancing to the knockout stage.

“It always happens,” former U.S. national team star Landon Donovan told USA TODAY. “Someone is going home unhappy. That’s what makes the games intriguing — and the story lines intriguing.”

However, this time even the deadliest of groups might not be that fatal, with several top nations not even qualifying for the tournament, including the USA.

On its recent form, the Americans wouldn’t have struck too much fear into potential foes, though it does still have a bigger name internationally than the likes of Panama and Australia, which both qualified.

A more noteworthy absence is that of Italy, the four-time champion that won as recently as 2006, bumped out by its own timid play in a European playoff against Sweden. Chile, the South American continental champion, burned itself with a late collapse. Netherlands reached the final in 2010 and the semifinals in 2014 but was ousted in qualifying by Bulgaria.

If those teams had been in the field, there would have been a couple of effects. No one would have wanted to face them, whatever recent results say. Even the USA, for all its floundering over the last couple of years, has shown itself capable of advancing through treacherous groups and would not have been seen as an easy out for anyone.

Furthermore, the whole field would have gotten significantly deeper. Teams are ranked before the draw, and one team from each of the four seeding pots occupies each group.

With Italy, Chile and Netherlands in the mix, Uruguay, Croatia and possibly Mexico could have gotten pushed down into pot three. Strong African nations such as Egypt, Senegal — plus possibly Sweden — could have been demoted into pot four, leading to a far greater likelihood for loaded groups.

The biggest doomsday scenario in play for Friday has Spain, which has slipped into pot two, being paired with one of the tournament favorites, such as defending champion Germany, perennial contender Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal or Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Couple that with Denmark or Sweden from pot three and Nigeria or Japan from pot four, and you have a group filled with fascination.

Yet things don’t always work out as expected.

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the ones everyone thinks will be the ‘Group of Death’ often don’t turn out that way, while other groups you didn’t expect become the tricky ones,” said Donovan, who will be part of the Fox Sports coverage team for the tournament.

In 2014, the USA and Germany advanced past Portugal and Ghana from Group G. Spain was the victim of a starstudded Group B at the expense of Netherlands and Chile, while Costa Rica surprised the more fancied Uruguay, Italy and England to win Group D.

Whatever Friday’s draw produces, it is virtually guaranteed that there will be some tasty early matchups.