The draw threw up political intrigue, a heavyweight European clash and one group that is particularly hard to call
South Africa in 2010 were the only World Cup hosts to fail to make it through the group stage. Assessing the form of hosts, who have not had to play in qualifiers, is never easy but Qatar’s string of heavy defeats by Portugal, Ireland and Serbia last autumn, followed by a draw against Azerbaijan raises concerns. They did, though, win the Asian Cup under their Spanish coach, Félix Sánchez, in 2019.
Written by Jonathan Wilson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/apr/01/world-cup-draw-group-by-group-analysis-for-qatar-2022 under the title “World Cup draw: group-by-group analysis for Qatar 2022”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
