With the 2018 World Cup draw taking place in Moscow on Friday, we will guide you through all of the news, reaction and analysis as the 32 teams are drawn into eight groups.
[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ]
Below you will find our running live blog of witty banter, wistful USMNT chat and, most importantly, the group stage draw as it happened in Russia.
Join myself, Joe Prince-Wright, and Nick Mendola (NM).
11:05 a.m. ET: That’s a wrap for the World Cup draw. Thanks for joining us! Here you can find more details on the groups, plus the full schedule for the tournament and more. Just over six months to go.
11 a.m. ET: Some reaction coming through via BBC in Moscow at the draw. Belgium’s coach Roberto Martinez reacts to drawing England.
“I lived for 21 years in England so it is very special. It’s the World Cup, we have a challenging draw, lots of travelling. We are looking forward to it. We have a really good group of players, 25 players are now in the British game so are very well known. They have important roles in important teams and they enjoy playing for their country,” Martinez said.
On the opposite side, England boss Gareth Southgate summed up what the World Cup draw was like for a manager who also represented the Three Lions in his playing career.
“There’s a bit of travelling, but having the six-day break between games might help any injuries clear up. You’re always grateful for as much prep as possible. Travel wise, the way tournaments are now you’ve got to be adaptable, but our kick-off times are decent as well,” Southgate said.
“It’s been great today to mix with more experienced coaches. It’s nice to have a fresh challenge. When you’re trying to qualify, you don’t think about days like today but that’s the beauty of the World Cup. When you look at old videos and goals it takes you back to the pureness of football. Now, the country knows what’s coming and they can get excited. I was proud to play for my country, and to lead my country is beyond that. I’m really looking forward to it.”
10:57 a.m. ET: So that does it! Here are your groups
Lots to break down, and we’ll be doing it over the next few hours, but England and Russia will appreciate their draws while Mexico has plenty of work to do with Germany, South Korea, and Sweden.
If Portugal and Argentina win their groups or both finish second, there’s a potential quarterfinal date between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. - NM
10:51 a.m. ET: Russia is going to love the draw it demanded the totally random draw that dropped Saudi Arabia, untested Egypt, and Uruguay in its group. Totally random. Toe-tull-ee. - NM
10:48 a.m. ET: This just in -- Iran hates its life. It’ll get to watch its men play Portugal and Spain. One more team could will be named here. -NM
10:45 a.m ET: Lovely, lovely stuff. We are rocking and rolling and here’s how things look after two teams are drawn out for each group.
Groups B, D and F look particularly tasty...
Group A: Russia, Uruguay
Group B: Portugal, Spain
Group C: France, Denmark, Peru
Group D: Argentina, Croatia
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland
Group F: Germany, Mexico
Group G: Belgium, England
Group H: Poland, Colombia
10:39 a.m. ET: Wow, here we go. Things are getting very lively in Moscow!
Uruguay are drawn with the hosts Russia in Group A, while Spain join their Iberian neighbors Portugal in Group B and they play one another in the opening group game. Mexico have Germany. England have Belgium. Argentina and Croatia are also paired up.
10:36 a.m. ET: The top seeds have all be drawn into groups now. Here’s how it stands:
The top seeds have all been assigned groups for the #WorldCupDraw
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) December 1, 2017
Group A: Russia
Group B: Portugal
Group C: France
Group D: Argentina
Group E: Brazil
Group F: Germany
Group G: Belgium
Group H: Poland
10:32 a.m. ET: Russia have been drawn as A1! We knew that already, but we have a ball out of the glass bowl. I repeat. We have tiny bits of paper being unscrewed.
10:30 a.m. ET: Bang on schedule, Lineker and Komandnaya appear on stage and the glass bowls are full of plastic balls and we just minutes away here folks. Here we go!
10:26 a.m. ET: Here we go! The draw is starting (finally) and we have a Diego Maradona sighting! He’s out, along with other legendary players from World Cup winning teams in the past. Cafu, Laurent Blanc, Gordon Banks, Diego Forlan, Carlos Puyol and Co. are led out by individuals dressed as, well, sort of Christmas decorations shaped like cones. Seriously.
10:24 a.m. ET: We are now treated to a montage of legendary clips from World Cups gone by. Pele. Eusebio. Maradona. Messi. Ronaldo. Baggio. My word. Lump in the throat moment.
10:20 a.m. ET: To give you an update on what’s going on from the Kremlin, we have yet to see the glass bowls and plastic balls. We now have a Russian folk dance on stage to entertain us. Lovely stuff.
🕺🎸🎶#WorldCupDraw pic.twitter.com/GEIRogQUHy
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 1, 2017
10:16 a.m. ET: Miroslav Klose appears on the stage holding the World Cup trophy. With 16 goals, he’s the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history. He seems delighted to be there.
10:12 a.m. ET: For the nerds out there (that includes me) Group B seems to be the one everyone wants to be drawn in. Why? Well, that’s because there isn’t much travel involved for the group games. Come onnnn Group B!
10:07 a.m. ET: More from Putin at the Kremlin - “Visitors can learn more about Russian culture, and experience our hospitality which is traditional. We know how to host our friends.” He also says that it will be a “major sporting festival” and promises “friendship” and “fair play.”
10:03 a.m. ET: We are off and running for the draw as Russia’s president Vladimir Putin gives a speech to introduce the event. Only a small microphone glitch...
9:50 a.m. ET: Another handy reminder here of the four pots for the draw.
1⃣ HOUR TO GO! 🇷🇺
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 1, 2017
😁 The #WorldCupDraw excitement is really kicking in now, with the State Kremlin Palace filling up!
👇 Tell us what you think the toughest group would be! 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ELvIr2ER6V
9:40 a.m. ET: ICYMI, former England international Gary Lineker (now a host with the BBC and BT Sport in the UK) will be joined by Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya to host the event.
Not long now!
🗣️ LINEKER EXCLUSIVE
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 30, 2017
"‘Don’t mess it up!’ That’s what I’ll be thinking before I walk out on to the stage"
Full pre-#WorldCupDraw interview
Read & watch 👉https://t.co/PQSeT6mbND pic.twitter.com/n6OStgjQDj
9:35 a.m. ET: If I could, I suggest you get ready for the draw by looking through our World Cup draw roundtable as our writers discussed the key topics including “Group(s) of Death” scenarios, the dark horses and more. We had a lot of fun. Way too much anti-England banter flying around for my liking though...
9:33 a.m. ET: And “how does this work?” is probably your next question. Right. Stay with me here. Here’s an explainer:
One team will be drawn from each pot to make up the eight groups of four teams. No nations from the same confederations can be drawn with one another in the group stage but there is one exception: two teams from the UEFA (Europe) region can be drawn in the same group.
We all good here? If not, here’s a more detailed look at how the draw will work.
9:30 a.m. ET: “Who is actually in this thing?” Ah, yes, that’s a good question. Here’s a look at the four pots with host Russia in Pot 1 alongside the top seven ranked teams from FIFA’s world rankings in October, then the next eight highest-ranked teams in Pot 2, then the eight highest after them in Pot 3 and the lowest-ranked eight teams in Pot 4.
Pot 1: Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France
Pot 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia
Pot 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran
Pot 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
9:28 a.m. ET: Good morning! This is it. Don’t get scared now. For U.S. national teams fans today is one of those days where the reality of the situation settles in. For the first time since 1986, the U.S. will not be at the World Cup and therefore there will be no “United States” on a piece of paper inside one of those little plastic balls which seem ridiculously tough to unscrew.
To get you ready for the World Cup draw, let’s hope that we get some comedy moments like this from the draw for the 1994 World Cup as Robin Williams met Sepp Blatter. I have a feeling the draw on Friday in Moscow may be a little more subdued than this, but what a legendary performance from Williams.
