Most of the qualifying phase of the World Cup has been completed and therefore FIFA is preparing for the institution’s group stage draw.

The trial is scheduled for Friday at 19:00 GMT and will take place in Doha, Qatar, which will be the focus of the tournament at the end of the year.

As usual in such cases, the 32 teams that are in the final stages of the tournament will be divided into four capacity groups. The main criterion for dividing the teams into four groups is their position in the FIFA rankings, but it is not the only one.

For example, as a host country, Qatar is classified in the 1st capacity group (and automatically in the 1st group) regardless of its position in the FIFA rankings. Likewise, the winners of the two intercontinental playoffs and the winner of the remaining draw in Europe will be placed in the 4th capacity group, regardless of whether their odds could ultimately push them to a higher level.

The strong and the weak

The ranking that the organizers will use in the draw will be announced by FIFA on March 31, but the calculations have already been made and the four groups formed.

The group of strong includes those who will lead the eight groups of the World Cup. This group includes Qatar, along with Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal, which make up the top seven countries in the world rankings. Before Portugal defeated North Macedonia, the last place in the group was open, but now the situation cannot change.

Mexico’s victory and the United States’ narrow defeat in Costa Rica sealed their presence in the 2nd capacity group. In addition to the two North American giants, these include the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay and Croatia, teams with very high potential, some of which could very well be (or have been in the recent past) higher.

The traps in the 3rd and 4th groups

In the 3rd capacity group, a real question arises about its composition. Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland and South Korea had secured their spot, and after Canada lost to Panama, Tunisia completed the puzzle with 1,500 points.

However, the 4th capacity group may otherwise have equal teams Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, the team that will emerge from the European draw in which Wales, Ukraine and Scotland participate and the two winners of the intercontinental playoffs.

Netherlands and Germany for death groups

Understandably, the presence of the Netherlands and Germany in the 2nd capacity group automatically makes the existence of a “death group” very likely. At least one of the two is drawn against opponents of the same strength, and when you add Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, African champions Senegal or enthusiastic Canada, qualifying becomes difficult straight away.

Similarly, Group 1 is led by Qatar and when drawn with teams such as USA, Tunisia and Scotland (as each group must have a UEFA team) a much weaker quartet is formed.

capacity groups

FIRST GROUP

• Qatar (AFC, host country) 1,441
• Brazil (CONMEBOL) 1,833
• Belgium (UEFA) 1,827
• France (UEFA) 1,790
• Argentina (CONMEBOL) 1,765
• England (UEFA) 1,762
• Spain (UEFA) 1,709
• Portugal (UEFA) 1,675

SECOND GROUP

• Netherlands (UEFA) 1,659
• Mexico (CONCACAF) 1,659
• Denmark (UEFA) 1,654
• Germany (UEFA) 1,651
• Uruguay (CONMEBOL) 1,636
• Switzerland (UEFA) 1,635
• US (CONCACAF) 1,634
• Croatia (UEFA) 1,621

THIRD GROUP

• Senegal (CAF) 1,584
• Iran (AFC) 1,564
• Japan (AFC) 1,553
• Morocco (CAF) 1,552
• Serbia (UEFA) 1,548
• Poland (UEFA) 1,544
• South Korea (AFC) 1,520
• Tunisia (CAF) 1,500

FOURTH GROUP

• Cameroon (CAF) 1,480
• Canada (CONCACAF) 1,479
• Ecuador (CONMEBOL) 1,453
• Saudi Arabia (AFC) 1,445
• Ghana (CAF) 1,387
• UEFA draw winners: Wales (UEFA) 1,588 or Ukraine (UEFA) 1,535 / Scotland (UEFA) 1,473
• Intercontinental AFC Winner – CONMEBOL: Peru 1,562 or Australia 1,462 / UAE 1,357
• Intercontinental CONCACAF – OFC winners: Costa Rica (CONCACAF) 1,503 or New Zealand (OFC) 1,206