The most-anticipated countdown to the showpiece FIFA tournament begins as Tuesday marks 100 days to the start of the World Cup in Russia. In order to mark the occasion, FIFA posted a video on Twitter of footballing legends showcasing their skills. England's Wayne Rooney, Brazil's Ronaldo, Mexico's Jorge Campos, Jay-Jay Okocha of Nigeria, Australian Harry Kewell, Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata and other famous stars from the rest of the nations were seen juggling with the ball. Not only these legends, even FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of the Russia Federation Vladimir Putin got in on the act and kicked a few passes back and forth.
The FIFA #WorldCup -days to go! pic.twitter.com/mAR82eZROm
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 6, 2018
The 21st World Cup begins on June 14 when hosts Russia take on Saudi Arabia and concludes just over a month later in Moscow on July 15. Before the final, the round of 16 matches get underway on June 30, with the quarter-finals on July 6 and 7 and the semi-finals on July 10 and 11. Thirty-two teams will be participating in the marquee event spread across 8 groups.
Hosts Russia are placed with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay. Holders Germany are placed with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
Here are the complete groups:
Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
The matches will take place across eleven venues. The biggest stadium will be the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the other venues hosting the matches are the Kaliningrad Stadium, Volgograd Stadium, Fisht Stadium, Kazan Arena, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Samara Stadium, Rostov-on-Don Stadium, Spartak Stadium, Saint Petersburg Stadium and Saransk Stadium.
