DOHA: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will be taught on Friday their opponents for what is sort of definitely their final World Cup finals when the draw is made for November’s match in Qatar.
The two greatest names within the sport have collected a number of membership and particular person honours in addition to continental trophies with their international locations however neither has managed to crown his profession with the last word prize of World Cup glory.
Portuguese ahead Ronaldo, who’s 37, and Argentine Messi, 34, are set to function of their fifth World Cup finals – no participant has appeared in six.
The nearest Ronaldo got here to profitable the match was his first try in Germany in 2006 when Portugal misplaced within the semi-finals to France.
Messi’s Argentina have been runners-up in Brazil in 2014 the place they misplaced to Germany within the ultimate in Rio.
Neither participant has indicated whether or not he’ll attempt to make a file sixth World Cup look or retire from worldwide soccer after this yr’s match however their ages counsel this could be their ultimate try.
Portugal and Argentina are anticipated to be among the many high seeds, in pot one, that means they’ll keep away from a direct confrontation with one of many favourites within the four-team group stage.
Defending champions France and five-times World Cup winners Brazil are the bookmakers’ favourites, with England, semi-finalists 4 years in the past, additionally fancying their probabilities.
Although European champions Italy did not qualify for the finals, the continent has loads of severe contenders with Belgium, Spain and Germany additionally within the body.
Twenty 9 of the 32 groups might be within the draw, with qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean concluding on Thursday.
Three slots will stay empty in Friday’s draw to be crammed by the 2 intercontinental playoff winners and the final European playoff winners – from the matches delayed by the battle in Ukraine.
Scotland play Ukraine in June for the best to face Wales for the final spot.
Hosts Qatar have been put in Group A and the opposite locations might be drawn out of 4 pots based mostly on the FIFA rankings to be set on Thursday.
The international locations occupying positions 8-15 within the rating of the certified groups might be allotted to Pot 2, whereas the Sixteenth-Twenty third best-ranked qualifiers might be positioned in Pot 3.
Pot 4 will embody the certified groups in positions 24 to twenty-eight, plus three placeholders.
The draw is designed to make sure no group has a couple of staff from the identical continental qualification zone other than Europe. No group can have greater than two UEFA nations.
