2018 FIFA World Cup Draws: Countries Nigeria May Face in Group Stage

All available tickets for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia have been taken, with Peru taking the 32nd and last ticket, after their 2-0 win against New Zealand. The 32 countries that will compete at next year’s World Cup finals in Russia are: Europe: Russia, France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark. South America: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Peru. Africa: Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal. Central America: Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama. Asia: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia. How the Draws Will Work Firstly, each of the 32 teams will be separated into four different pots based on their FIFA world ranking. Pot one will contain each of the seven top-ranked countries including tournament hosts country Russia. Pot two will contain the next best teams and so on, until pot four. Following this distribution, all teams will be divided into eights groups of four, Group A-H, with host country Russia picking the first spot in Group A. Each team will play three times, then the top two will move on to the next round.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Russia (host)	Spain	Denmark	Serbia
Germany	Peru	Ice Land	Nigeria
Brazil	Switzerland	Costa Rica	Australia
Portugal	England	Sweden	Japan
Argentina	Columbia	Tunisia	Morocco
Belgium	Mexico	Egypt	Panama
Poland	Uruguay	Senegal	South Korea
France	Croatia	Iran	Saudi Arabia

  According to FIFA rules, not more than two European teams can be in a single group. Also, no two teams from the same region can be drawn together. Tough  groups for Nigeria could be; The Super Eagles have proven themselves ready for whatever group they may fall into after they defeated Argentina 4-2 in a grade one friendly in Russia on Tuesday. The World Cup draw will take place in Moscow on December 1, 2017.