How did the 2022 World Cup draw go?
Labeled the most controversial FIFA World Cup to date; how will the 2022 Qatar championship hold? And how are the groupings?
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The FIFA World Cup 2022 grouping
The Qatar FIFA World Cup draw has drawn up some interesting groups this year, with Group B seeing geopolitical foes Iran and the United States are drawn together and Group E drawing up two former World Cup champions, Spain (2010) and Germany (2014).
Group A, as customary, included the host country, Qatar, who will be taking on Ecuador for the first match. Alongside the two countries, there are African champions Senegal and three times runner-up the Netherlands.
Group B has been described as the most politically-charged group, with one-time champion England, the United States, and Iran, in addition to either Scotland, Wales, or Ukraine, depending on who wins the European playoff in June. Iran and the United States last played together in the 1998 France World Cup, when the Iranians won 2-1 against their US counterparts.
Group C has put together 2-time champion Argentina, who could see the last chance for football star Lionel Messi to hold the trophy, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, who has the 5th most appearances in the world cup, and Poland.
Group D drew the champions of the last World Cup and two-time champions, France, either Australia, the UAE, or Peru, based on who wins an intercontinental playoff (IC Play-off 1), Denmark, and Tunisia.
Group E has 2010 champions Spain, either Costa Rica or New Zealand, depending on who wins the second intercontinental play-off (IC Play-off 2), four-time champions Germany, and Japan. Germany and Spain are among the countries with the most appearances in the World Cup; 19 and 15, respectively.
Group F has 2018 World Cup third-place winners, Belgium, Canada, Morocco, and 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia.
Group G will bring to the field the country with the most World Cup wins and appearances (5 and 21), Serbia, Switzerland, and Africa Cup of Nations third-place winners Cameroon.
The final group, Group H will feature Portugal, football star Cristiano Ronaldo's team, which could see Ronaldo's last chance at grabbing the gold, Ghana, two-time champions Uruguay, and South Korea.
The 2022 World Cup is the most controversial in FIFA history, as Qatar has been facing accusations of vote-buying ever since its naming 12 years ago in 2010 and questions over its suitability for hosting the World Cup due to authorities' violations of human rights.
