2018 World Cup Draws – a quick Explainer
32 teams are will form eight Groups of four. Each team in a Group will play the others in that Group once. All matches will be played in Russia. Matches start in June.
The top two from each Group will advance to the Knockout phase – the bracketed part of the tournament.
How were Groups determined, Noob?
Thanks for asking. The teams are all placed in Pots, based on how they’re ranked by FIFA (as of last October).
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Russia (65) (hosts) Germany (1) Brazil (2) Portugal (3) Argentina (4) Belgium (5) Poland (6) France (7) |
Spain (8) Peru (10) Switzerland (11) England (12) Colombia (13) Mexico (16) Uruguay (17) Croatia (18) |
Denmark (19) Iceland (21) Costa Rica (22) Sweden (25) Tunisia (28) Egypt (30) Senegal (32) Iran (34) |
Serbia (38) Nigeria (41) Australia (43) Japan (44) Morocco (48) Panama (49) South Korea (62) Saudi Arabia (63) |
Russia, as host nation, gets its National Team in Pot One.
One team from each pot is randomly drawn into a Group of four. Worth noting, any two teams from the same confederation are disallowed from being placed in the same Group. The exception to that is Europe, because they qualify more than eight teams.
So where did they all end up?
- Group A:Russia (65), Uruguay (17), Egypt (30), Saudi Arabia (63)
- Group B: Portugal (3), Spain (8), Iran (34), Morocco (48)
- Group C: France (7), Peru (10), Denmark (19), Australia (43)
- Group D: Argentina (4), Croatia (18), Iceland (21), Nigeria (41)
- Group E: Brazil (2), Switzerland (11), Costa Rica (22), Serbia (38)
- Group F: Germany (1), Mexico (16), Sweden (25), South Korea (62)
- Group G: Belgium (5), England (12), Tunisia (28), Panama (49)
- Group H: Poland (6), Colombia (13), Senegal (32), Japan (44)
