The football planet, because in the end, what is decided is who each team will play against in the next World Cup, but also the non-football planet, expectant of the very real possibility that Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, will award the newly created Peace Prize to the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
It is, apart from the purely football-related aspects, the most novel thing that will happen today in an event that, like the World Cup itself, has many novelties. It is more than a draw, it is a gala in the style of the Oscars, or the Grammys, or the Goya Awards, so that no one gets upset. It will be hosted by Heidi Klum and comedian Kevin Hart. Along with them, the producer Danny Ramirez. Andrea Bocelli will perform, along with Robbie Williams and a "renowned multifaceted artist," which is how FIFA refers to Nicole Scherzinger, former partner of Lewis Hamilton. The closing act will be performed by a group called Village People, a favorite of Trump, who will sing, of course, YMCA, the song that has been a hit since 1978 and has become an anthem at the events of the U.S. President.
There will be plenty of celebrities (Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal) and amidst all this noise, at some point, someone will gradually announce how the 12 groups of four teams each will be formed, who will play in the 16 venues (two in Canada, three in Mexico, and 11 in the United States) designated between June 11 and July 19 next year, in the most unusual World Cup in history. There are many facts that support this statement (that it is the most unusual in history), but perhaps one above all: until now, in an entire World Cup, 64 matches were played.
Well, in the upcoming summer's World Cup, only the group stage already has 72 matches. And all this so that, after those 72 matches, only 16 teams are eliminated (the top two from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16). In this initial phase, there will be four matches every day, and in the last four matchdays, there will be six matches.
Returning to today's draw, there is a novelty that has gone unnoticed by the general public. It is the first time in history that FIFA has minimally directed the draw so that the top four seeded teams, that is, the top four teams, do not face each other until the semifinals. Spain, Argentina, France, and England will not meet until that round if they all win their qualifying groups.
After overcoming these challenges, what is the easiest and most difficult group that the best team in the world, Spain, could be drawn into? Taking into account that there are still teams not yet qualified, and for example, Italy could end up in the last pot, it would be something like the following, based on the FIFA ranking.
Easiest group: Austria, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Most difficult group: Croatia, Egypt, and Jordan.
Read like this, both groups seem quite straightforward. However, everything can become much more complicated if, for example, Spain is drawn with Morocco from Pot 2, Ivory Coast from Pot 3, and has the misfortune of Italy entering the playoffs and being drawn, as no European team from Pot 2 was drawn. The fact is that, for the first time in many years, it is the rest who do not want to play against Spain. The top favorite to lift the Cup in New York awaits relatively calmly.