World Cup draw: Russia play Saudi Arabia in opening match; Spain in same group as Portugal

World Cup draw completed with Russia playing Saudi Arabia in opening match; Spain in same group as Portugal.

Here are the groups for the World Cup:

Group A — Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

Group B — Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco

Group C — France, Peru, Denmark, Australia

Group D — Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria

Group E — Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia

Group F — Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea

Group G — Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama

Group H — Poland, Colombia, Senegal, Japan

Russia will play Saudi Arabia in the opening game of next year's World Cup, a match between the lowest ranked teams taking part in the World Cup.

The Group A match will take place on June 14 at the 81,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Also in the group are Uruguay and Egypt.

Russia goes into its home World Cup ranked 65th in the world, the lowest-ranked of any of the 32 teams in the tournament. Saudi Arabia is 63rd.

Iceland's debut at the World Cup will be against Lionel Messi and Argentina.

The smallest nation ever play at the World Cup will play the two-time champions on June 16 at Spartak Stadium in Moscow.

Iceland, with a population of 330,000 people, won its qualifying group after reaching the quarterfinals at the 2016 European Championship.

from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2i6qC1V
via IFTTT