FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 (Promo)

The World Cup final between France and Croatia on Sunday was briefly interrupted when three intruders affiliated to anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch before being hauled off by stewards.

The pitch invaders, who were dressed in police-style outfits, were later detained by police, one of them told Reuters by telephone from a police station near Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, venue for the match.

In a post on its Facebook page, the group said its action was intended to draw attention to what it said were human rights abuses in Russia.

Three of Pussy Riot's original members were jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church and the group have since become a symbol of anti-Kremlin direct action.

In the second half of Sunday's match, the three people wearing white shirts with police-style epaulettes, black trousers and police hats ran out onto the pitch from the area behind the French goal. A fourth person tried to run onto the pitch but was tackled on the sidelines.

The three ran about 50 metres, dispersing in different directions, before stewards wearing high-visibility jackets tackled them to the ground and dragged them off the pitch.

One photograph on social media showed one of the pitch invaders, a woman with blonde hair tucked under a police cap, performing a high-five with France player Kylian Mbappe before being caught.

The match, watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents, was halted, but resumed about 25 seconds later. A witness at the stadium said he had seen police escorting the pitch invaders out of the stadium grounds.

The pitch invasion was the first significant security lapse in the five-week tournament that has won hosts Russia widespread praise for their good organisation and efficiency.

Pussy Riot member Olga Kurachyova told Reuters she was one of the pitch invaders and was being held at Luzhniki police station. She said she could not speak further because police were trying to take her mobile phone away from her.

Moscow police said in a statement that three young women and a young man had been detained after running onto the pitch.

LIST OF DEMANDS

In its Facebook post, Pussy Riot complained of rights abuses in Russia. They alluded to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker jailed for 20 years in 2015 for setting fire to two offices in Crimea, including one belonging to Russia's ruling party, after Moscow annexed the region from Ukraine.

Pussy Riot said their demands included freeing political prisoners in Russia, freedom of speech on the internet, freedom to protest, and allowing political competition.

The group shared a video on social media recorded before the incident featuring three female activists, at least two of whom were among those detained. They wore police uniforms and one of them wore a pink balaclava.

"The World Cup has shown wonderfully what the police can be like in Russia, but what will happen afterwards?" one of the activists asked in the video, an apparent allusion to lenient policing noted by Russians during the tournament.

A separate video posted on social media appeared to show the moments after the pitch invaders had been detained.

Two of them, a man and a woman, could be seen standing in a room, dressed in dishevelled police uniforms, while a voice off camera demanded handcuffs be brought.

"Do you know that Russia will pay for this to FIFA through sanctions?" the off-camera voice said, in an angry tone. "You wanted to shit on Russia, didn’t you?"

"We are for Russia," the male detainee replied.

"Sometimes I regret that it's not 1937," the person off- camera in the video said. That year was the height of political repressions carried out by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Photographs of the pitch invasion suggested the pitch invaders did not include the three Pussy Riot members who were jailed in 2012 for performing in the church.

Russian news website MediaZona, co-founded by one of the original three Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, reported that one of the pitch invaders was Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband.

After winning the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, it quickly became clear that Qatar would have to pull a rabbit out of its hat to successfully stage football's showpiece event. The largest concern at the time was whether players could even perform in the searing summer as the Middle East prepared for its first World Cup.

It took half a decade to addresss those concerns. Finally, in February 2015, FIFA broke 92 years of tradition and moved the World Cup to winter for the first time, not wanting to deprive football lovers in the Middle East based solely on the weather.

That is the aspect that could define the World Cup, with the timing also meaning that it will be held in the middle of the European footballing season. Having players come to the World Cup with roughly 15 games under their belt should mean that they are fresher, which promises high-quality encounters compared to when they have already played 60-70. It also promises to turn the usually underappreciated January transfer window into a feeding frenzy.

But although that unprecedented change to winter set the tone for the hosts, they still had plenty to do. For starters, the Gulf state with a population of three million would have to calculate how to deal with an influx of approximately two million tourists.

Those computations ended up costing the nation $220 billion, making it the most expensive World Cup in history by a long shot. The next most expensive, Brazil 2014, had cost $15 billion. 20 years before that, the USA had staged the 1994 World Cup for just $500 million.

But Qatar also built roads, highways, the country's first rapid transit system and the world's largest electric bus depot alongside hotels, sporting facilities and the eight stadiums that will play host.

A total of 2.89 million tickets for the 64 matches had already been sold before the final batches were made available, with Qataris buying the most. Fans from the USA are second for tickets bought, followed by those from Saudi Arabia and England and Mexico.

Argentines and Brazilians will also feature in droves, and they will have the chance to see their heroes up close, with the nation's relatively tiny size meaning that 24 teams will be staying within 10km of Doha.

The Argentines have chosen the simplest of surroundings for their base camp, which nevertheless features five-star amenities alongside one of 32 dedicated training pitches and FIFA-provided on-site referees. Lionel Messi and his cohorts will stay at the Qatar University campus in Education City while Brazil have opted for the slightly more comfortable surroundings of The Westin Doha.

The Americans chose the most luxe setting, located in the heart of The Pearl, a man-made island home to a long list of designer hotels. Meanwhile, the Germans have chosen the seclusion and serenity of the country's largest wellness resort. Belgium will also be located far away from the action -- a sacrifice the team is making for a 3.5km private beach.

But some fans will perhaps have a hotel experience superior to any of the players, with the Al-Bayt Stadium offering five-star rooms, meaning fans can literally step out onto the balcony and cheer.

That is one among a host of unique architectural and design features specific to each stadium, but one thing they all have in common is the 'Advanced Cooling Technology', which will ensure the optimal temperature in the stadiums for players and fans.

A further piece of technological ingenuity lies inside the official match ball. Al Rihla, which is said to travel faster in-flight than any other ball in history, relays real-time data to facilitate the implementation of the semi-automated offside technology, the first time the technology will be used.

Another first will be the inclusion of women referees at the men's World Cup, with Yamashita Yoshimi, Salima Mukansanga and Stephanie Frappart set to make history.

Despite all that, there has appeared a darker cloud. Qatar's human rights record, an issue that has led to the nation making widespread reforms since being awarded the World Cup, has been constantly criticised -- even by footballers.

Others have pointed to larger trends, opining that labour exploitation of migrant workers is pervasive. "I could show you lots of pictures like that in lots of countries, even in some not far from [France]," France Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said in an interview when shown pictures of a labour camp.

While highlighting its reforms and praising the Australian players for speaking out, a spokesperson for Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said: "No country is perfect, and every country -- hosts of major events or not -- has its challenges."

While football provides temporary relief from life's imperfections, World Cup glory can soothe spirits for four years, if not longer. Fans will be hoping that it is their team that triumphs and their stars that shine brightest.

But they will also be relishing every match featuring stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thomas Mueller, Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez and Luka Modric, all possibly playing in the last World Cup of their careers.

After cruelly being denied in the 2014 World Cup final, will Lionel Messi lift the World Cup? Will Cristiano Ronaldo pull off the miracle of all miracles and spearhead his team to glory? Will it be Neymar who leads Brazil's exciting young team to glory? Or will the star-studded French retain the title? Which underdog will make a deep run?

These questions will be playing on the minds of all supporters, but only time will tell. The biggest question will be answered at the Lusail Stadium on December 18. All we can do till then is sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

Croatia set up a dream final with France as they came from a goal down to beat England 2-1 in a nail-biting semifinal at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

Mario Mandzukic struck the winner in the 109th minute after the game headed into extra time following a 1-1 stalemate in regulation 90 minutes. England defender Kieran Trippier gave the Three Lions a fifth-minute lead with a spectacular free-kick before Ivan Perisic levelled the margin in the 68th minute with a first-time flick into the left-hand corner of the net.

And the moment Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir blew the final whistle after four minutes of added time, the Croatian players burst into wild celebration for having made it into the final for the first time in their history, leaving England to eat the humble pie 28 years after that gut-wrenching defeat against Germany in Italia '90. 

Despite the defeat, this young England team showed they can play entertaining, fearless and not conventional football. Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli, Jasse Lingard, John Stones and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, whose brilliance under the bar ended the Three Lions' shootout jinx in the round or 16 against Colombia, were really pushing a seasoned Croatian side into tight corners.

And England needed only five minutes to take the lead through a magnificent free-kick from Trippier, who whipped the ball over the wall and into the top right-hand corner that Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic could only watch. England got the free-kick just outside the box when Luka Modric pulled Alli, who looked ominously poised after being nicely fed by Lingard. It was the Tottenham Hotspur winger's first goal on England shirt.

The early goal fuelled more energy into the England attack, with Sterling making those sprints down the right flank. They won a corner in the 14th minute and it was time for another defender to bury it for a team that had proved to be the most successful side from dead-ball situations in this World Cup. But Harry Maguire headed the ball wide off the mark.

The pace of England attack created all sorts of problems for Croatia's defence and a terrible mispass from Domagoj Vida, who was jeered by his the fans whenever he touched the ball, almost allowed Sterling to score another. But the Manchester City forward killed that opportunity by trying to feed it to Harry Kane, who was offside.

Kane, the Tottenham Hotspur forward and the leading scorer in the World Cup with six goals, had his share of chances in the 30th minute. But his shots were amazingly saved by Subasic. After being nicely set up by Lingard, Kane drove a low sided-footed shot that Subasic partially parried and Kane's second attempt off the rebound from a tight angle hit the post before the ball somehow bounced away after hitting the goalkeeper.

Having survived the early onslaught, Modric finally showed up in the final third as he sent through an overlapping Rebic, who sent a rising shot towards the top left post. But that only allowed Pickford to warm his hands for the first time in the evening.

But the post-lemon session offered a completely different picture, with the Croats coming firing in all cylinders. And it turned into anybody's game after Perisic restored parity in the 68th minute.

It was a reward for constant pressure. Vrsaljko curled in the ball towards the far post that Perisic buried with a first-time flick. Four minutes later, Perisic almost got his second goal but his low shot past Pickford came off the far post. Rebic's shot on the rebound came straight at the young England goalkeeper.

England got a golden opportunity to take the decisive lead in the ninth minute of extra time, but Stone's goal bound header was cleared off the line by Vrsalijko. Few minutes later Pickford made an equally brilliant save at the other end off a Mandzukic shot on a Perisic cross from the right.

But the experienced Juventus striker made no mistake to pounce on a loose ball three minutes into the second half of extra-time. After England failed to clear a high ball down the left, Perisic beat Trippier to a header to the left of the box. Mandzukic was first to get the dropping ball and fired an unstoppable left-footer into the bottom right. And that meant dreamland for Croatia.

Some moments perfectly capture the ups and downs of the feelings football fans experience and make us fall in love with the game all over again. No other sport can truly elicit such a wide range of feelings from its followers at every turn of the clock. The game's capacity to change tears into joy and vice versa at each move is what makes these moments historical. 

Here are 5 iconic moments in football history. 

Diego Maradona's 'Hand of 'God' goal

This is one moment that almost everyone has heard of even if they are not a football fan. About 36 years ago, in Mexico, Diego Maradona stunned the entire world with his act of audacious sportsmanship and breath-taking skill. Six minutes into the second half of Argentina versus England's 1986 World Cup quarter-final, Maradona scored by punching the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and into the net. Maradona later credited the 'Hand of God' for the goal, giving this moment its name.

This goal is so iconic and infamous today that the ball used in the 'Hand of God' was auctioned off in the United Kingdom in November 2022 by the referee from the match, Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser. The eventual hammer price was a staggering $2.4 million!

While the goal is controversial and Maradona's personality has been scrutinised from time to time, there is no denying the 'Hand of God' from the recognition it deserves in history pages. 

The Manchester United Team boarding their ill-fated flight

The plane carrying the 1958 Manchester United all-star squad known as "The Busby Babes" crashed in Munich, killing nearly all of the players. They were renamed 'Flowers of Manchester' after the tragic incident. 

In 1958, Europe's Manchester United had a young team stirring excitement across the continent. The team was filled with youthful exuberance and taking the football game by storm. The crash came just when the team was going into its most exciting stage and the players were at the peak of their careers. 

The players, journalists, fans, and staff were all on United's jet returning home from a European Cup quarterfinal in Belgrade. They boarded the aircraft thrice on the final leg of the journey because the first two attempted take-offs failed. In its third attempt and with everyone on board, the aircraft struggled to take off because of the accumulation of slush on the runway. The United dream and a number of the Busby's Babes perished as the jet plunged through the airport's outer gate and into a neighbouring house. 

The phrase "The Flowers of Manchester" was coined in the folk song performed by the group The Spinners in 1962, referring to those who died. 

Andres Escobar's death 

In 1994, drug lords controlled Colombia. At the 1994 World Cup Escobar scored an own goal in the match against the United States, which contributed to the team's elimination from the tournament. On 2 July 1994, Escobar was murdered, reportedly as retaliation for having scored the own goal. Andres Escobar had ironically said in an interview following the World Cup defeat, "Life doesn't end here."

FC Start at The Death Match of 1942

This chapter in history is a little dark. With World War II raging across the borders, Major General Eberhardt of Germany had the idea of arranging a football match to placate the people of Kiev. With the Nazi-sponsored German national team, Falkelf and a team of former football players from Ukraine who were now prisoners of war, the FC Start. The 1952 Death Match had more political affiliations than any other football match in history. The fact that these underfed convicts continued to pummel Flakelf in every match and rematch was severe damage to the Nazi reputation.

Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi at the 2006 World Cup

Zinedine Zidane will always be regarded as one of the all-time greats of the game, but his final match in the most successful of careers was tainted by a red card while playing for France against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final. After headbutting Marco Materazzi on the field at the age of 34, the legendary Juventus and Real Madrid player announced his retirement.

This moment is quite controversial. However, it is an example of trash talk being taken a little too far and emotions getting in the way. Upon replaying footgates, the two players were seen to be talking and at the time, there were rumours that Materazzi had said something disparaging about Zidane's mother. However, he consistently denied these claims and, in an effort to clear his name, won a libel case against the British media in 2009. It was in 2020 that Materazzi added more insight into what had transpired between the two and it was likely that a comment about Zidane's sister had set him off. 

The 2018 World Cup draw took place Friday at the Kremlin, which seemed as good a place as any to unveil valuable information of vital global interest. Here’s our live coverage and analysis from Moscow.

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, England and France got favorable draws. Portugal will play its neighbor Spain in Group B, and Argentina drew one of the tougher first-round groups, as it was paired with Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria. Mexico, the Concacaf champion, will play Germany, Sweden and South Korea in Group F.

Group A analysis: balance, and two bad teams.

Teams: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

From Rory Smith in Moscow: The opening game of the World Cup will be Russia against Saudi Arabia: or, to put it another way, the two worst teams in the tournament, according to the FIFA rankings. The group is quite nicely balanced, though: Uruguay will expect to make the last 16, but both Russia and Egypt will have hopes of joining them.

Photo

Russia President Vladimir Putin, right, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino opened the draw. Putin, whose country is facing a doping ban from the Olympics, spoke about the spirit of “fair play” in welcoming all the entrants to Russia next summer. Credit Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Group B analysis: two favorites, and no guarantees.

Teams: Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco

From Rory Smith: Not as bad as it might have been for Portugal and Spain. Both will expect to make it through — though Morocco is not to be underestimated — in a group that also includes Iran. Finishing on top here might prove crucial as the tournament’s knockout round takes shape.

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Group C analysis: dream group for France.

Teams: France, Peru, Denmark, Australia

From Rory Smith: If France had imagined an ideal group, it would have been this. Peru was among the weakest of the second seeds, Australia does not have a coach, and Denmark should not trouble them too much. Second place could be intriguing, though.

Group D analysis: the most interesting group, for sure.

Teams: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria

From Rory Smith: Probably the most delicately balanced, most interesting, and most competitive of all the groups. Argentina only just qualified, Croatia has an abundance of individual talent, Iceland a tremendous collective strength and Nigeria was, possibly, the toughest fourth seed to draw. Argentina will not be happy at all.

Group E analysis: a battle for second?

Teams: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia

From Rory Smith: Brazil will not be nearly as happy as France, however. Serbia, Switzerland and Costa Rica is a relatively kind section for Tite’s team. The battle to join them in the last 16 will be absolutely fascinating, however: there is not much between those three teams. And there may not be many goals between them, either.

Group F analysis: the champions should be happy.

Teams: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea

From Rory Smith: Like France and Brazil, Germany has nothing to complain about: Sweden is hard-working but limited, and neither South Korea nor Mexico have the quality to derail the reigning champion.

Group G analysis: Two favorites and two sleepers.

Teams: Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama

From Rory Smith: It should be a straight shootout between England and Belgium to see who claims the top spot and, with it, a theoretically easier second-round fate. The main advantage Panama and Tunisia have is that both will, to some extent, be unknown quantities.

Group H analysis: the most open group of all?

Teams: Poland, Colombia, Senegal, Japan

From Rory Smith: Along with Group A, Group H seems the most evenly spread. Poland was among the weakest top seeds, and Colombia will harbor ambitions of finishing first. Japan and Senegal, though, will both see the Round of 16 as a real possibility now.

Germany and Brazil installed as the early betting favorites.

No United States, so no World Cup for you? Not so fast there — you can make your viewing experience more vital with a bet on who’s going to win it all. The rest of the world can’t wait to hustle to the betting windows on the beautiful game’s premier showcase.

Germany and Brazil are the current 5-1 co-favorites, according to the British bookmaker Paddy Power, which also rates France (6-1), Spain (13-2) and Argentina (8-1) as serious contenders. The home team, Russia, is 33-1.

Iceland was given a 100-1 chance immediately after the draw, while Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Panama were the longest shots on the board at 500-1.

Looking for a live longshot? How about our neighbor to the South: Mexico is 100-1.

The final pot as it was drawn.

Saudi Arabia (wow) goes in Russia’s group, which already looks to be the easiest.

Serbia completes Group E, with Brazil.

Morocco in with Portugal and Spain in Group B.

Australia goes in Group C with France, Peru and Denmark. France is thrilled, surely, and everyone else thinks they have a shot, too.

Nigeria in Group D with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia.

Panama (this could have been you, USMNT) goes into Group G, with Belgium, Tunisia and England. Not a terrible draw for their debut. Good draw for England, too.

Korea (in F) and Japan (in H) complete the field.

Let the second-guessing, predictions and analysis commence!

The field after three pots were emptied.

Group A: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt

Group B: Portugal, Spain, Iran

Group C: France, Peru, Denmark

Group D: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland

Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica

Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden

Group G: Belgium, England, Tunisia

Group H: Poland, Colombia, Senegal

Analysis from Rory Smith: Before the draw, Pot 3 looked slightly and counterintuitively less dangerous than Pot 4; that holds true. Argentina and Croatia will have been disappointed to have drawn Iceland, and Poland, Senegal and Colombia should be fascinating to watch. But most of the top seeds will have been pleased with what they will face: Spain and Portugal, who have Iran, in particular.

Photo

The former Brazil defender Cafu with Senegal’s slip. Senegal went into the final group, with Poland, Colombia and Japan. Credit Mladen Antonov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

On to Pot 3 now.

Egypt goes in with Russia and Uruguay in Group A.

Denmark is drawn next, but can’t go in Group B, so it’s place in C instead, with France. Ugh.

Iran fills the Group B spot.

Iceland is next out, in Group D with Argentina and Croatia. Harsh draw.

Costa Rica gets Brazil in Group E. That could have been you, America.

Sweden into Group F.

Tunisia with England, then Senegal.

A glance at the groups after two pots.

Group A: Russia, Uruguay

Group B: Portugal, Spain

Group C: France, Peru

Group D: Argentina, Croatia

Group E: Brazil, Switzerland

Group F: Germany, Mexico

Group G: Belgium, England

Group H: Poland, Colombia

Analysis from Rory Smith in Moscow: By far the biggest reaction inside the hall was seeing Portugal grouped with Spain, and with good reason. The Portuguese, it’s fair to say, have drawn the short straw among the top seeds.

Most of the others will be relatively happy: Brazil, Germany and France, the other major contenders, have avoided the worst of the traps. Belgium and England makes for a finely poised group. And Uruguay will be absolutely delighted to have drawn Russia.

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On to Pot 2 now.

Uruguay is the first team out, and they get dropped in with Russia in Group A. (From Rory: So Russia get Uruguay from Pot 2. Or, more accurately, Uruguay get Russia, by far the easiest of the top seeds.)

Spain is next, and will play its neighbor Portugal in the first game in Group B.

Peru goes in Group C with France. Didier Deschamps is probably fine with that.

Croatia in with Argentina in Group D. That’s an unlucky draw for Messi and Co., made worse by Lineker cracking about Maradona being good with his hands as he pulls the team out. Ouch.

Switzerland into Group E with Brazil. Gulp.

Mexico thrown in with the Germans in Group F.

England in Group G with Belgium, and Colombia in H with Poland.

Here’s the field so far.

Group A: Russia

Group B: Portugal

Group C: France

Group D: Argentina

Group E: Brazil

Group F: Germany

Group G: Belgium

Group H: Poland

Pot 1 goes first.

Russia, as planned, is the first team out. It goes in Group A.

Portugal is next. The European champion goes in Group B.

France in Group C.

Argentina in Group D.

Brazil in Group E.

Germany, the World Cup and Confederations Cup champion, in Group F.

Belgium is in Group G.

Poland in Group H.

The hosts are on stage. Here we go.

Gary Lineker reads out the teams and explains the rules, extending the interminable wait a little longer.

Remember, Russia will be placed first, as team A1, and play in the opening game.

First singing, now dancing ....

We promise there will be a draw today.

Infantino passing out compliments.

Infantino, steps away from Putin, praises his host country, saying Russia is ”a welcoming country, a warm country.”

Though not today; it’s in the 30s and snowing outside the hall.

At long last, the draw is under way.

Not the picking of teams, mind you. That will still be about 20 minutes — after Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, and FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, come onstage for speeches.

“The teams, the coaches, are all our friends,” Putin says.

Before we begin, a quick look at all 32 teams.

Unlike many who consume soccer for fun or for a living, Rory Smith of The Times is a big fan of draws, as he wrote in our weekly newsletter Thursday. (Related: you should definitely sign up for our weekly sports newsletter.)

“I love a draw,” Rory said. “I love the word ‘permutations.’ I love the sense that anything is possible. I love seeing that blank slate fill up. I love trying to work out what the best games will be and whose path to the semifinals, to the final, to glory, might be easiest and which most strewn with complication.

“And I love the mystery of the World Cup draw. We are saturated with soccer now: We can watch all of the world’s best players every week. Only at the World Cup do players from nowhere suddenly burst to life, and teams — Tunisia, Iran, even Russia itself — from isolated soccer cultures join the party. The draw is the start of that adventure into the unknown.”

Even if you don’t share Rory’s delight in a good draw, he broke down all 32 teams, this week, looking at their pasts, their paths and at what would qualify as a successful trip to Russia.

Diego Maradona has arrived, and he looks amazing.

Photo

Diego Maradona, a World Cup winner in 1986, and his girlfriend, Rocío Oliva, arrive at the draw. Credit Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

With an hour to go, a word about seeds.

The seeding this year is based on the FIFA world rankings. That’s controversial, because the rankings are far from universally accepted as the most accurate ordering of teams. The most contentious issue is that friendly games count in the rankings, although they are worth fewer points. Because team’s positions are based on average points per match, teams that play a lot of friendlies are penalized. Several sides, including Poland, seem to have gamed the system by playing fewer friendlies, which helped their ranking.

So before you ask: That’s why Poland, a fine team but hardly a tournament favorite, is in Pot 1.

Here’s what to expect today.

The draw will take much longer than it needs to take. It always does. FIFA budgets about an hour for a mix of performances, speeches and, amid much social media grumbling, the draw itself.

This will be the first draw in a generation that will not take place under the usually benign (but not always) awkwardness of Sepp Blatter, who served as FIFA’s president from 1998 until he was ousted amid a corruption scandal two years ago. Gianni Infantino, who replaced Blatter as president in 2016, is FIFA’s top man now.

The World Cup kicks off June 14, with Russia’s first game, in Moscow. It concludes there on July 15. Germany is the defending champion. No team has repeated as world champion since Brazil, in 1958 and 1962.

The 32 teams who qualified for the World Cup already have been seeded according to the FIFA rankings (cue more grumbling) and divided into four pots. The breakdowns:

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 and Saudi Arabia

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Don’t follow the World Cup unless the United States is playing? Well, have we got a surprise for you ….

A news conference about the draw focused on Russian doping.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a pre-World Cup draw news conference Friday, but the topic of the draw barely came up. Instead, Infantino, appearing with Russia’s deputy prime minister, Vitaly Mutko, who leads the country’s World Cup organizing committee, spent more than an hour uncomfortably, and at times angrily, fending off questions about Russia’s doping scandal.

Infantino tried to distance FIFA, and the World Cup, from the accusations, which could see Russia banned from the Olympics next week — only months before the country hosts the World Cup. Mutko, formerly Russia’s sports minister and still the head of Russia’s soccer federation, was more combative.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, appeared with Russia's deputy prime minister, Vitaly Mutko, at a news conference ahead of Friday's World Cup draw in Moscow. But almost no one asked about the draw; instead, most of the questions were about Russia's doping scandal. Credit Sergei Chirikov/European Pressphoto Agency

Mutko has been implicated in what has been described by whistleblowers and investigators as a massive state-sponsored doping plan, but on Friday he angrily rebutted the accusations and vowed that Russia “will take a firm position and will defend its athletes until the bitter end.”

“There is no proof,” Mutko said at one point.

Infantino also was asked about the ongoing trial in Brooklyn of three former soccer officials who were charged in FIFA’s own broad corruption scandal in 2015, but said he would not comment on “things that are not proven.” Witnesses at the trial have testified about payments from Qatar to FIFA officials to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup