(By Silas Ofori) -The final draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was drawn on Saturday in Moscow with Nigeria in Group D with Argentina, Iceland, and Croatia.
According to FIFA.com, hosts Russia will open the event against Saudi Arabia at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on 14 June in Group A, while defending champions Germany were drawn into a tough Group F along with Mexico, Sweden and Korea Republic. According to the November FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the toughest group is Group D which has France, Australia, Peru and Denmark.
FIFA.com further reports that “The Final Draw ceremony took place inside the walls of the Kremlin with Gary Lineker hosting and an array of high-profile names on hand to assist with the draw.
“Legends representing the eight previous World Cup-winning nations and the hosts – France’s Laurent Blanc, England’s Gordon Banks, Brazil’s Cafu, Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan, Germany’s Miroslav Klose, Argentina’s Diego Maradona, Spain’s Carles Puyol and Russia’s Nikita Simonyan – joined Lineker on stage”, it stated.
The world football body’s website also reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Lothar Matthaeus, Pele, Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldo and many other soccer personalities also watched the final draw in Moscow on Saturday.
The draws are as follows:
Groups
Group A
Russia
Saudi, Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B
Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C
France, Australia, Denmark, Peru
Group D
Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E
Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F
Germany, Mexico, Sweden, Korea Republic
Group G
Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H
Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
