Qatar World Cup draw whets sporting and political appetites

The draw for this year's World Cup in Qatar has thrown up some headline-grabbing fixtures both for sporting and political reasons.

The Group E matchc between Spain and Germany pits the 2010 and 2014 world champions against each other.

Meanwhile, Group C could see a meeting of the most recent Best FIFA Men's Player winners, with Robert Lewandowski's Poland drawn against Lionel Messi's Argentina.

Lewandowski took the award in 2021 and 2020, while Messi was the winner in 2019.

The draw also features some politically-charged fixtures, to add to controversy seen in the years building up to the tournament.

In Group B, the United States will play Iran with diplomatic relations yet to be restored between the nations. The match is a repeat of their encounter at the 1998 World Cup in France, which Iran won 2-1.

Iran will also take on England, whose government has endured tense relations with Tehran — though there was some easing recently with the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who had been detained in Iran for six years.

The group could yet be completed by Ukraine, whose ability to qualify for the World Cup has been postponed by being invaded by Russia. The Ukrainians will have to overcome Scotland and then Wales in the playoffs to make the tournament in November.

Should Scotland or Wales qualify for the finals, then domestic UK interest will be spiked by a fixture against England.

The USA's match against England also has history: the Americans famously upset England 1-0 at the 1950 World Cup at Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Then in 2010 they opened the tournament in South Africa with a 1-1 draw against the Three Lions.

Qatar will open its first World Cup against Ecuador on November 21 after qualifying for the first time as host.

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