Southgate had to feel mixed up. His flight from Heathrow on Thursday was delayed by eight hours, which meant he landed in Doha at 8.30am. on Friday, “which was okay because my first meeting was not until nine,” said the England manager. with a SMILE. Now he could feel a note of real intensity. And then it happened because Matthäus unfolded a bulletin bearing the name of the United States. Shortly afterwards, the 1990 World Cup winner pitted Germany against Spain, and if Germany coach Hansi Flick tried to look apathetic from his position at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, it was definitely a battle. Danke, Lothar. Southgate was on the road to another favorable draw, the impression hardening when Iran was revealed as England’s third opponent. The fourth will be Wales, Scotland or Ukraine, depending on what happens in the final European playoffs, which is scheduled for June, although everyone’s thoughts are primarily on ending Russia’s irrational attack on Ukraine. “This game is going to be very emotional, whoever it is,” Southgate said. “We all know where our thoughts are on Ukraine and we have to see if they can play or not. And, of course, if it’s one of the British teams, we’ve experienced it recently in tournaments. Unique games are made. The form is completely out of the window. “ Spain and Germany are cooperating with Japan. Argentina, Mexico and Poland will compete in Group C. And there is a risk in Group H, which includes Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon. At the very least, Southgate knew it could have been a lot worse, even if his team had led a portion of its fortunes to find themselves in first place in the seeds – a legacy of their run to the semi-finals of the previous World Cup and Euro 2020 final. For these tournaments, the Southgate team had good draws in the group stage before the final stages opened for them. The third time is charm. “It’s interesting, isn’t it?” said Southgate. “Because we have never played Iran since the United States χω I have met Greg Berhalter [the USA manager] a lot lately, so we had some good conversations and it has improved a lot. This is one of those groups where you think some of the draws are potentially harder than the rankings. That’s always a risk. “ Gareth Southgate appears on a giant screen as he watches the 2022 World Cup draw. Photo: Hussein Sayed / AP English defender Kyle Walker was a little more honest in his assessment. “You have to be happy with the teams we have drawn,” said Walker, back in England. “Let’s hope it does not come as a surprise. “I am happy with the teams.” It was not lost on anyone that the draw had taken place on April Fool’s Day, as well as all the issues surrounding Qatar’s hospitality. And the ceremony certainly took on a surreal twist early on, when, under the ultraviolet lights that cause migraines, the official mascot was unveiled – a small, floating, robbed white ghost. La’eeb (Arabic word for extremely capable player) lives in a parallel, virtual world, where the mascots of the previous tournament live. The big screens showed La’eeb traveling there with a virtual version of RedOne, Fifa’s creative entertainment executive. Polite applause was heard at the end of the section. Southgate’s headache includes the close reversal between the break in the Premier League season on November 13 and England’s opening draw against Iran, which will be the opening day of the tournament – on November 21, although Walker was again positive. line. “For the last two years, we have adapted to playing every three days,” Walker said. “Going to the World Cup a week after the last game of the Premier League works in our favor. We still have a rhythm. “We know each other very well, so it should not be a problem.” Southgate said FIFA rules dictated that teams had to be in Qatar five days before their first draw, so it probably made sense to fly “reasonably early” because “we know you can not do much for the first two days”. “then the championship ends. “The players are still recovering,” he added. “So we could get it out of the way; otherwise you’re missing two days of training, probably. [at the other end]. We will deal a little with injury control and fitness – that will be the key. It is a problem? Well, it would only be a day or two different if we started later. We knew we had to be very well organized in this. It may mean that you could exclude some players from the first game for that reason. “ Southgate has confirmed that it would put pressure on the Premier League not to hold huge matches on the weekend of November 12-13. “We had these conversations quietly in the background,” he said. “I’m sure if they can help, they will try to help.” The Fiver: subscribe and receive our daily football email. Berhalter, whose U.S. youth and sports team is ranked 15th in the world, said he contacted Southgate after taking over as coach in December 2018. It was a time when the nation was in turmoil after failing to qualify. in the World Cup of Russia Cup. They have made seven consecutive appearances in the tournament in the past. “I came to Gareth because of the similarities,” Berhalter said. “I was taking on a youth team and I had seen what he had done. There was always a slight difficulty in playing for England and it was at a difficult point [when Southgate took over]. It changed the culture. England will be the favorite in most games, but we understand that. My players are fearless. They do not look back. “
