Gerard Pique says he felt like an "idiot" for coming out in defence of former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu following the Barcagate scandal.

The Blaugrana stalwart was one of several players who were found to have been the targets of reported smear campaigns orchestrated by the ex-Camp Nou supremo during his time as president.

Bartomeu, whose tenure saw success in La Liga and the Champions League, left the club in financial difficulties when he resigned in October 2020.

Speaking to YouTube personality Jordi Wild, Pique launched a scathing critique of Bartomeu, accusing him of poor management skills and a lack of commitment to the club.

"He's a person who doesn't know how to say no or deal with problems," the centre-back stated. "In recent times, we never saw him around the sporting complex.

"I got angry with him because he lied to my face with Barcagate. The club contracted some services to criticise players and [he] told [Lionel] Messi and me that he didn't know anything.

"Then I found out that he did know. That he lied to me about such a serious incident... and I came out like an idiot to defend him."

Pique also admitted he is less consumed by his love for football now as he approaches the twilight of his career.

Since joining Barcelona in 2008 from Manchester United, the defender has gone on to win every major honour available for club and country.

"As a sport, I liked it more when I was little than now," he added. "Before, I lived it with more passion.

"Now you have a lot on offer and football competes against many things."

Thibaut Courtois is relishing what he hopes will be a "special" return to Stamford Bridge when Real Madrid face Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Madrid recovered from two goals down on aggregate to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, while the Blues saw off reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille 4-1.

The sides were subsequently paired together in the last eight in a repeat of last year's semi-final, which Chelsea won 3-1 over two legs en route to lifting the trophy.

Courtois played in both matches, albeit with the home tie staged at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and the away leg behind closed doors in London due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chelsea are set to play in front of a packed house for Madrid's latest visit next Wednesday, though, after sanctions that prevented them from selling tickets were amended.

Blues fans were not happy with the way Courtois departed, but the goalkeeper is focusing more on the two Premier League titles and two domestic cups he won with the club.

"It will be special," he said on his 'Thibaut Talks' podcast. "Last year we lost in the semis and hopefully this year there will be a victory. 

"This year it will be different because it will be with the public. It will be special and although there may be some whistles, I hope that people remember the beautiful moments. 

"We won two leagues, one FA Cup... For me, Chelsea is a special team that helped me to be the goalkeeper that I am now.

"They bought me when I was 18 years old and gave me the opportunity to be at Atletico, to play in the Premier League and win it. 

"It's an important team and I have many friends there. It's always a pleasure to face them again."

Should they go through, Chelsea will become the first English team to eliminate Madrid from the Champions League on multiple occasions.

Los Blancos have faced Chelsea more times without ever winning than they have against any other side in European competition (five), drawing twice and losing three times.

The top organiser of the Qatar 2022 World Cup has hit back at the Norway Football Association following damning criticism by the latter during FIFA's Congress in Doha on Thursday.

Hassan Al Thawadi accused Norwegian FA President Lise Klaveness of inflammatory comments over the country's human rights record ahead of the tournament, which begins in November.

This year's World Cup has been the subject of criticism since it was awarded to Qatar in 2010, with issues ranging from the treatment of migrant workers to the safety of the LGBTQ+ community.

During the 72nd FIFA congress, Klaveness – whose nation failed to qualify last year and had mooted plans to boycott if they did so – launched a blistering argument against its organisers.

"In 2010, the World Cup was awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences," she stated.

"Human rights, equality, democracy, the core interests of football, were not in the starting XI until many years later.

"These basic rights were pressured on as substitutes, mainly by outside voices. FIFA has later addressed these issues, but there is still a long way to go.

"There is no room for employers who do not secure the freedom and safety of World Cup workers, no room for leaders that cannot host the women's game, no room for hosts that cannot legally guarantee the safety and respect of LGBTQ+ people coming to this theatre of dreams."

Thawadi, chief executive of the World Cup Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, refuted his counterpart's suggestions, and accused her of failing to open dialogue over her concerns.

"Madam president, you visit our country and made no request for a meeting," he added. "You did not attempt to contact us and did not attempt to engage in dialogue before addressing Congress today.

"I urge everybody, we have always been open for dialogue. We have always welcomed constructive criticism, criticism that is based on discussion, understanding the issues and understanding the context of the issues and the progress of the facts on the ground.

"We will always have our doors open for anybody who wants to understand the issues, who wants to educate themselves before passing any judgement."

Qatar will host the draw for this year's tournament on April 1, with 29 of the 32 sides set to compete confirmed ahead of final play-offs later this year.

The 2022 World Cup is now less than eight months away and the excitement will ramp up another notch on Friday when the draw takes place in Doha.

Qatar will become the first Arab country to host the global showpiece, 92 years after the inaugural event in Uruguay, in what is the 22nd edition of football's biggest tournament.

It will become the smallest host nation by area, with matches to be spread across five different cities, making this the most concentrated edition since Argentina 1978.

Twenty-nine nations have already booked their finals spot, 22 of which competed at the 2018 edition, with the automatically-qualified hosts the only side to make their debut.

Due to the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the fate of eight teams remains in the balance – only three of whom can still advance.

Wales will face the winners of the Scotland versus Ukraine play-off in June, while New Zealand take on Costa Rica and Peru meet either Australia or the United Arab Emirates.

To further whet the appetite ahead of Friday's draw, Stats Perform looks at some key questions to be answered with the aid of Opta data.

Will Europe continue to dominate?

The past four World Cups have been won by European teams: Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014 and France in 2018.

That is the longest run of victories for a single continent in the tournament's history, with only one defeated finalist – Argentina in 2014 – coming from outside of Europe.

Indeed, a European team has triumphed in 12 of the previous 21 editions, with South America responsible for the other nine victors.

France are the reigning champions and are aiming to become the third team to retain the trophy after Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).

However, a word of warning for Les Bleus – the past three defending champions have been eliminated in the group stage (Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018).

No Italy, but will it be a familiar winner?

Despite that, France will be fancied by many having reached the final in half of the past six World Cups –1998, 2006 and 2018 – which is more than any other country.

Another World Cup heavyweight will not be present in Qatar, though, as four-time winners Italy – only Brazil (five) have won more trophies – missed out in the play-offs.

Speaking of Brazil, they are taking part in their 22nd World Cup, making them the only team to have featured in every edition of FIFA's showpiece competition.

Like Italy, Germany have won four titles and they have reached the semi-finals on four of the past five occasions, which is double the number of any other team in that period.

No matter how strong a side, a perfect tournament is tough to come by – only Brazil in 1970 and 2002 have achieved that since the 1930s, when teams played just four games.

Or is it a chance for someone new to shine?

Canada will play in their first World Cup since 1986; that gap of 36 years the longest between appearances among teams confirmed to be taking part in this year's event.

Egypt and Norway had the longest gap at 56 years, though Wales will break that should they advance from their play-off to qualify for the first time since 1958 (64 years).

Qatar are the only new face and will aim to avoid becoming just the second hosts to be eliminated in the first round after South Africa in 2010.

Mexico will also have their sights set on the knockout stages, though no side has played as many games (57) as them without reaching the final.

Netherlands, meanwhile, have reached the final on more occasions (1974, 1978 and 2010) without lifting the coveted trophy than anyone else.

Can Ronaldo and Muller set new records?

Cristiano Ronaldo will appear at a record-equalling fifth World Cup and is out to become the first player ever to score in five different editions.

The Portugal forward has seven World Cup goals in total, nine short of the record held by Miroslav Klose, who netted all 16 of his goals from inside the penalty area.

Thomas Muller has an outside chance of catching countryman Klose in Qatar, having scored 10 times across his three previous participations – no active player has more.

The top scorer in a single World Cup is Just Fontaine, who scored 13 times in 1958, including a goal in all six of France's games.

Not since Gerd Muller in 1970, with 10 goals for Germany, has a player reached double figures in a single edition. Brazil great Ronaldo's eight in 2002 is the highest since then.

The Algeria Football Federation (FAF) has called for a replay of their World Cup play-off clash against Cameroon and lodged a complaint to FIFA over the refereeing, claiming the officiating "distorted the result".

Karl Toko Ekambi delivered the decisive strike in the 124th minute in Blida on Tuesday to condemn Algeria to a 2-1 aggregate loss on away goals, with Cameroon qualifying for Qatar 2022.

Islam Slimani saw two goals ruled out, the first in the second half and again in extra time, with referee Bakary Gassama initially allowing the latter finish to stand before using the pitch-side monitor to deem the Algeria striker had handled the ball.

Charaf-Eddine Amara has resigned as president of FAF left in the wake of Algeria's exit from World Cup qualifying, while the federation has lodged an appeal to world governing body FIFA.

"The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) has lodged an appeal with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) against the scandalous arbitration which distorted the result of the Algeria-Cameroon play-off," the statement read.

"The FAF is determined to use all legally permitted means to have its rights restored and to replay the match under conditions guaranteeing the honesty and partiality of the arbitration.

"The FAF also requests the opening of an investigation by FIFA bodies to shed light on the arbitration of the Algeria-Cameroon match."

The draw for the group stage of the World Cup is set to take place on Friday.

Thiago Alcantara is relishing the most "exciting" month of his career as Liverpool prepare for a crunch April schedule.

Jurgen Klopp's side face eight matches in April as they strive to pull off an unprecedented quadruple. 

The Reds are in the hunt for the Premier League title, the FA Cup and Champions League glory after lifting the EFL Cup.

They face leaders Manchester City in the Premier League and an FA Cup semi-final against Pep Guardiola's side following two Champions League quarter-final showdowns with Benfica.

Spain midfielder Thiago is excited about playing in so many matches with so much at stake.

"The other day I was talking with some friends about it," he told the club's official website.

"I never had, in the years that I have been involved in football, I never had a month so exciting like this with such important and exciting matches every three days. So it will be amazing.

"For sure it is exciting because you are competing against the best, in the best competitions as well, but also because it reminds you that we are in finals. 

"It looks like a World Cup, a European Cup, where every game is a final. With that we are in a one-mission mood and we are there."

Liverpool can go top of the table if they avoid defeat to Watford at Anfield on Sunday, with City travelling to Burnley later in the day.

Thiago does not believe that would give the Merseyside club a psychological boost in the title race.

"No, I don’t think so," he added. "I don’t think to see us on top before City plays would be a boost.

"No, it’s just that we are in a moment where every three points count and we are really glad to arrive at this position and fight and depend on us."

Rangers have pulled out of a proposed friendly with Celtic that was due to take place in Australia in November.

It had been announced that the champions of Scotland would play in a four-team tournament, titled the "Sydney Super Cup", against their Old Firm rivals as well as A-League duo Sydney FC and Sydney Wanderers.

The game between Rangers and Celtic would have been the first Old Firm derby to take place overseas.

However, Rangers have now confirmed they will not be taking part in the tournament.

A statement released by the club on Thursday read: "Rangers can confirm the club will not be participating in the Sydney Super Cup in November 2022.

"After it became clear the tournament organisers were unwilling to fulfil their commitments to Rangers, we have, with immediate effect, terminated the club's agreement with the organisers."

Rangers fans had voiced their displeasure at the proposal, interrupting the recent 2-1 win at Dundee on several occasions by throwing tennis balls and toilet paper onto the pitch.

Russian teams will be welcomed back into world football immediately once the invasion of Ukraine ends, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared.

Infantino said FIFA "would be there the first day to play football again", as he spoke at the world governing body's congress in Qatar, this year's World Cup host country.

Infantino, who in 2019 was awarded an Order of Friendship medal by Russian president Vladimir Putin, said he was "devastated" by the news coming out of Ukraine.

But he said it was right that there was Russian representation at the congress, insisting the country's national federation had not been suspended by FIFA.

The country's national and club teams have been blocked from playing in FIFA and UEFA competitions, including the World Cup, but Infantino said it was important to maintain dialogue with federation officials.

Speaking in a news conference following the congress session, Infantino said: "I'm very sad of course for what is happening, and I'm as devastated as everyone."

He added: "We had to suspend Russia and Russian teams. It's not an easy decision of course, because it's about people who love football.

"We had to take the decisions, and now we have to look forward and hope the hostilities can stop, and we can bring a little bit of peace.

"The decision on Russia has been taken. The Russian Football Union has appealed the decision to CAS [the Court of Arbitration for Sport] so we are waiting for the result of the CAS deliberations.

"We will see what comes next. I sincerely hope the conflict can end, and we would be there the first day to play football again, because that's what I think is needed in this country.

"Russia as a football union, like any other federation, has not been suspended as such by FIFA, it has been participating in this congress as well."

Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, and now Qatar, whose qualification as suitable hosts has frequently been called into question, will stage the tournament in November and December of this year.

Asked whether Qatar would be awarded a World Cup based on what FIFA considers are now increasingly robust methods of deciding who should be hosts, Infantino initially distanced himself from the decision that was made in 2010, when Sepp Blatter was the governing body's president.

"When it comes to the Qatar World Cup, the decision has been taken now 12 years ago, when I was far away from FIFA happenings in these days," said Infantino, who was UEFA secretary general at the time.

"We've now put in place a different bidding process, which I think is also pretty unique, and I said in the past bulletproof. I hope it will continue to be bulletproof. It's open, it's transparent, it's professional and you know why you vote for somebody when you vote for somebody.

"This is what has happened for the men's World Cup in 2026 and for the women's World Cup in 2023.

"We still see even in these decisions there are political votes rather than factual-based votes. That's probably part of the game.

"When it comes to Qatar, the decision has been taken. We'll organise the best World Cup ever here in Qatar, and in any case we shouldn't go back. We should look forward, and we should look at what has happened.

"All the changes that have happened in this country in terms of workers' rights and human rights, and so on, would not have happened or certainly not at the same speed without the projectors of the World Cup being there."

Speaking about Qatar, whose records have been criticised by human rights organisations, Infantino said the tournament would "show to the world there are people living here, and you can come here and feel safe and be safe".

Massimiliano Allegri has revealed he signed an agreement to become Real Madrid head coach before opting to return to Juventus.

The Italian guided the Bianconeri to two Champions League finals, in 2015 and 2017, while winning 11 trophies during his five-season stay, including five straight Serie A titles and four consecutive Coppa Italias.

However, Allegri was dismissed by Juve president Andrea Agnelli at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, with a quarter-final Champions League exit to Ajax defining the season in which they signed Cristiano Ronaldo as a failure.

Spells with Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo yielded unsuccessful returns for Juve, who brought back Allegri at the start of this season, but the 54-year-old almost became the Madrid boss.

"I had already signed with [Madrid] last summer, but I called the president [Florentino Perez] to tell him that I would not go because I had chosen Juventus," Allegri said in an interview with GC, as quoted by CalcioMercato. "He thanked me. When they called me in May, I had no doubts.

"I have no regrets, it would have been a great professionally: Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid… but you can't have everything in life. I am proud to have coached Milan for four years and to be at Juventus now.

"I rejected Real Madrid twice. The first time I was in talks to extend with Juventus. I told Florentino that I had already given my word to Agnelli."

Allegri did not take up a managerial role between his exit and return to Juve, and believes he made the right decision to come back at the time he did.

"It was the right time. I could have returned earlier, but I didn't do it because of personal reasons," he added.

"My mother died in 2018, so I didn't want to go too far away. I remained close to my son Giorgio and my father, who was severely affected by the death of my mum. He still lives in Livorno.

"I decided to return to Juventus because I have a strong bond with the club and the owners, but also to stay closer to my son, who lives in Turin with his mother. I like to be close to my loved ones."

The Juve head coach will be hoping his side, who are fourth in the league and seven points adrift of leaders Milan, can continue their strong run of form when they host Inter on Sunday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dismissed the plans for a biennial World Cup as he claimed the changes were never a formal proposal.

Led by chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, FIFA had promoted the idea for the World Cup to shift format and take place every two years – an idea strongly opposed by both UEFA and CONMEBOL.

Infantino claimed the alterations would yield significant financial returns if the plans were approved, with a boost of $4.4billion in the first four-year cycle of a new international calendar, which would climb to $6.6bn if each confederation also switched its regional competition to become biennial.

FIFA also published results from a study that claimed "the majority" of football fans would like to see more frequent World Cups, while UEFA said an independent survey called proposals "alarming".

But the prospects of those plans coming to fruition appear over after Infantino told the FIFA Congress, with 211 member associations in attendance, that the governing body never proposed the changes.

"Let me clarify one thing here – and I want to speak about some of the discussions and speculations on a biennial World Cup," he said on Thursday during his speech in Qatar. "Fifa has not proposed a biennial World Cup.

"Let's get the process clear. The last FIFA Congress asked the FIFA administration for a vote and 88 per cent voted in favour to study the feasibility of that and some other projects for women's and youth football.

"The FIFA administration, under the leadership of Arsene Wenger, did that. We studied the feasibility. But FIFA did not propose anything.

"FIFA came to the conclusion that it was feasible, but it would have some repercussions and impacts. The next phase was consultation and discussions and trying to find agreements and compromises.

"In addition to the confederations and the member associations, the clubs and the players present here as well, we tried to have a discussion and a debate to find what was most suitable for everyone.

"Everyone has to benefit, the big ones have to become bigger with the whole movement, and the smaller ones have to benefit to give opportunities to everyone and I'm thanking everyone for their input, their feedback, positive or negative.

"What is important is we have put national team football back on the agenda all over the world, we have to talk with the clubs, of course, which is the biggest part of where the players are playing.

"There are ways to find compromises and what is important is respect of the footballing institutions, of the football pyramid, with FIFA at the top, the confederations, the league, the clubs and the players all being involved, that is how football is organised and it is paramount we protect this structure from all organisational challenges."

Barcelona star Sergio Busquets would hand the captain's armband back to Lionel Messi if the forward returned to Camp Nou.

Argentina skipper Messi left the Blaugrana in a sensational free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain last August, with a financially crippled Barca unable to fulfil the terms of a new contract that had been all but agreed.

The 34-year-old is yet to hit the lofty heights in Ligue 1 that he reached for much of his astounding career, scoring just seven goals across all competitions for Mauricio Pochettino's side.

There has been speculation that the Blaugrana legend could leave PSG – who may also lose Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid – at the end of the season, and Barca head coach Xavi suggested the door will always be open for Messi's return.

Former team-mate Busquets echoed Xavi's sentiments as he expressed his desire for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner to come back to Spain.

"Of course I miss him. On the field and off it," Busquets said of Messi in an interview with Spanish radio station RAC1. "Nobody else has given us what he gave us. He made a huge difference.

"After so many years, it's normal to miss him. I'm sure he will miss me too."

He added: "At first it was difficult [when Messi left]. It was a shock for us too. We are still here, but imagine it for him; changing city, changing team, changing style.

"When you don't win, you're not happy. I wish him the best. I would like Leo to come back, but I know it's very difficult. He has a contract with another team and it's complicated because of how he left us.

"If Xavi told him that the doors are open, imagine me as his friend and team-mate. I would give him the armband. He always has my admiration and respect."

Jamaica wrapped up their Concacaf World Cup Qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022 with a comeback 2-1 victory over Honduras on the 14th and final matchday of the Third Round of CWCQ on Wednesday night at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

Honduras enjoyed the better start of the two sides and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 18’. 

After a VAR review, the referee ruled there was a penalty for Honduras and Angel Tejeda stroked home the spot-kick to give the Catrachos the advantage.

Jamaica looked to get back on level terms and they would get the 1-1 equalizer in the 38’ with a penalty conversion from Leon Bailey.

The momentum was with Jamaica and the Reggae Boyz took their first lead of the contest just moments before the halftime whistle with Ravel Morrison burying a shot off a corner kick to make it 2-1 to the home side.

Jamaica aimed to extend their advantage in the second half, while Honduras tried to find a way back on even terms, but in the end, no goals could be found in the second 45 minutes, as Jamaica saw things out to collect the three points.

Sergio Busquets has revealed Xavi struggled to make an immediate impact as Barcelona head coach – confusing players with his plans.

The return of club legend Xavi to Camp Nou was announced by Barcelona on November 5, after a rocky start to the season under Ronald Koeman's leadership.

Barcelona lost four of their last six matches during Koeman's tenure, before caretaker Sergi Barjuan temporarily stabilised matters ahead of Xavi's arrival from Al Sadd, the Qatari club where he launched his coaching career.

Despite his celebrated playing days, which saw him make 767 appearances for Barcelona – only Lionel Messi has managed more – Xavi was untested at LaLiga level as a coach and did not initially convince everyone in the current squad.

There were sticky results in his first two months, but since the turn of the year Barcelona are unbeaten in LaLiga, with a 4-0 thumping of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last time out emphasising their improvement.

It would take a major turnaround still for Xavi's side to leapfrog Madrid at the top of the table, given they trail by 12 points with just one game in hand, but Barcelona's belief is soaring.

Busquets said: "He's worked hard, especially early on. It wasn't easy because a lot of players didn't understand his ideas and he's had to work hard to get things to improve.

"He has changed a lot and brought in his own staff. I think he learned a lot under Pep [Guardiola]. We veterans try to help him, but not just with the idea and not just with Xavi, we always have done to make sure the young players come through and adapt properly."

If they beat Sevilla on Sunday, Barcelona will go second in the Spanish top flight, a prospect that seemed unlikely when the team sat ninth as Koeman departed.

Xavi starred in the great Pep Guardiola teams at Barcelona and will have taken many of his teachings from the influential coach, who is now at Manchester City.

To win LaLiga in his first season will probably be beyond Xavi, given the substantial lead Madrid have, but next term promises to see the great rivals in a serious title battle.

"We still have our hopes in the league, but all we can do is win and hope," Busquets said in an interview with RAC 1. "We are on good form and have the right mentality to at least make sure we have a chance."

At the age of 33, Busquets has a year left on his Barcelona contract and could then follow Xavi into coaching, another great Barcelona stalwart taking on a tracksuit role.

First stop for Busquets after Barcelona is likely to be outside Europe, if he elects to play on. Like Xavi, who saw out his playing days in Qatar, Busquets cannot stomach the thought of competing against Barcelona.

"I'd find it very hard to go elsewhere in Europe and play for a team that's chasing the same things as Barca," he said. "I can only really see myself going to play in a different continent."

Alexia Putellas hailed Barcelona's win over Real Madrid at a packed-out Camp Nou as "utterly magical" after a record-breaking night in the Women's Champions League.

Ballon d'Or Feminin winner Putellas scored the fourth goal as Barcelona triumphed 5-2 in the second leg, and 8-3 on aggregate, booking a semi-final place.

The reigning European club champions were rampant in the second half, after at one stage being 2-1 down, and the flurry of goals delighted a record crowd of 91,553 spectators.

That is the highest recorded attendance for a women's football game in history. In club football terms, it surpassed the 60,739 that saw Atletico Madrid host Barca at Wanda Metropolitano three years ago.

Captain Putellas said: "This has been utterly magical. When the match finished, the fans simply didn't want to go home. There was such a connection between them and us while we celebrated. To hear them singing that they want to go to Turin was superb."

Arsenal or Wolfsburg await Barcelona in the semi-finals, before Turin's Allianz Stadium, home to Juventus, stages the final on May 21.

Putellas explained that the sight of a bumper crowd inside Barcelona's home stadium was uplifting for the women's team, who play most of their games at the 6,000-capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff.

She said, quoted on uefa.com: "When tickets sold out in just three days I admit that we were all a little surprised because it tells you how much the fans want to see you in the Camp Nou, how much they want you to win."

The experience was "beyond comparison", she added.

"To come out and see this stadium full to the brim... indescribable."

Team-mate Fridolina Rolfo gave the morning-after verdict on Thursday.

"Wow, it is hard to put into words just how special that was," Rolfo wrote on Twitter. "For me it was a dream come true and I hope that it shows young girls all over the world that football is for them and that they can achieve whatever they dream of achieving.

"We are just getting started."

It's nearly four years since Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach, as he guided France to their second success on football's grandest stage.

The target now for Les Bleus is to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain their crown, and that journey begins on Friday with the draw for the group stage of Qatar 2022.

Four years is a long time to wait for anything, but the draw for the World Cup is always a milestone event that sees the anticipation taken up a notch.

The eyes of the football world will be on the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, where the eight groups will be drawn and potential routes to December's finale can start being plotted.

But there is a little more to the draw than that…

How will the draw work?

Most of us have seen a draw and understand the general premise, but there's a lot of detail to consider before we end up with our completed group stage.

For starters, Friday's draw (19:00 local time) will only include 29 qualified teams, with the other three spots to consist of a couple of intercontinental play-off slot placeholders and one UEFA play-off slot placeholder, with those nations to be determined later in the year.

The qualified teams will be sorted into four pots of eight, with their FIFA world ranking determining which they enter – joining Qatar in pot one will be the top seven teams, while the nations ranked eight-15 will be in pot 2, and so on. The three play-off slot placeholders will be drawn from pot four.

There will also be eight pots representing the groups, A to H. Each group pot contains four balls with position numbers, ranging from one to four, which correspond to the teams' respective starting position in the tables and subsequently impact their fixture schedule.

Team pot one will be the first to empty, with Qatar automatically drawn into slot A1. The other sides from pot one will go straight into position one of the remaining groups.

From then on, a ball is drawn from a team pot and followed by one from a group pot, determining that team's position – for example, the second nation drawn into Group A could be placed in slot A4. The process continues until each team pot is emptied, with pot four the last to be drawn.

Where possible, no group will contain more than one team from the same qualification zone, with the exception of Europe – so anyone hoping for an encounter like Brazil v Uruguay will have to wait for the knockout stage.

Thursday's release of the latest world rankings confirmed the make-up of the respective pots, so, without any further ado, let's take a look through them…

The Pots

Pot One:

Qatar (hosts)
Brazil
Belgium
France
Argentina
England
Spain
Portugal

Pot Two:

Denmark
Netherlands
Germany
Mexico 
USA
Switzerland
Croatia
Uruguay

Pot Three:

Senegal
Iran
Japan
Morocco
Serbia
Poland
South Korea
Tunisia

Pot Four:

Cameroon
Canada
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia
Ghana
Intercontinental play-off placeholder 1 
Intercontinental play-off placeholder 2
UEFA play-off placeholder

Luck of the draw!

It goes without saying that, theoretically, being in pot one means you would be favourites to win your group. But that's the beauty of football; practically anything can happen once you're on the pitch.

If we look back to the last World Cup four years ago, defending champions Germany were top of the FIFA rankings and in pot one, but then failed to get through the group stage for the first time ever.

But just as being in a higher pot is no guarantee of going deep into the tournament, who's to say how eventual 2018 champions France would have fared had they been in pot two?

Les Bleus were ranked seventh at the time so squeezed into pot one ahead of Spain. While that arguably gave them a trickier route to the final in the knockout phase, perhaps the tests posed by Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium were what kept them sharp all the way to the end?

This time around, Spain do appear in pot one. Portugal do as well, with Fernando Santos' men benefiting in that regard from European champions Italy's shock absence.

Nevertheless, there are some powerful teams in pot two. The Netherlands and Germany are undoubtedly the pick of the bunch there, both of whom will provide a stern test for any of the teams in pot one. Brazil v Die Mannschaft in the group stage, anyone?

There's a chance we could even see a repeat of the 2018 final in the group stage, with Croatia (pot two) able to come up against France in the opening round, while an England v United States showdown would surely capture the imagination of fans on both sides of 'the pond'.

We can expect to see plenty of quality in pot three as well, especially with Serbia, Robert Lewandowski's Poland and African champions Senegal present.

Among those in pot four are Canada. They may only be competing in their second World Cup and first since 1986, but John Herdman's team have won plenty of admirers en route to winning the CONCACAF qualifying section and reaching a record high of 33rd in the rankings.

Excitement, expectations and exoduses as Ronaldo and Messi look likely to bow out

Whether watching football on TV or from the stands, it can often be easy to forget that our heroes are just ordinary people as well. They are individuals who in all likelihood had the same hopes and dreams as many of us as children.

The glitz and glamour surrounding professional football can lead us to put footballers on a pedestal, but behind the sport's shiny facade, our teams are made up of – and coached by – people who are just as obsessed with the idea of the World Cup as anyone else.

England manager Gareth Southgate encapsulated the excitement earlier this week, as he said: "[The World Cup evokes] a different sort of feeling, but it's still a tournament we all watched as kids, we all filled our wallcharts out, we all hoped and followed when England were there that we would do well. And it's a unique chance to make history, so that of course is massively exciting."

Of course, that innocent excitement harbours expectation and hope for many, for others there will be a feeling of responsibility to amend the wrongs of the past.

This time around, that's arguably truest when looking at Germany, with Manuel Neuer fully appreciating he may not get another opportunity to put things right.

"I know that I will probably not get to play many more World Cups, so after crashing out in 2018 in Russia and our exit against England [at Euro 2020], it's important that we show a new version of ourselves and visualise success," the experienced goalkeeper said.

That finality Neuer alluded to is another key aspect of the World Cup. Given the four-year cycle of the tournament, every time we bid a fond farewell to a few greats of the game who opt to take advantage of the cyclical nature and end their international careers.

This time it looks as though Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – who for so long battled out their own personal 'Greatest of All-Time' rivalry – may be among those appearing on the World Cup stage for the last time.

"Goal achieved, we're at the Qatar World Cup. We're in our rightful place!" Ronaldo's Instagram post after Portugal's play-off success focused on the positive, but at 37, Qatar 2022 will surely be his final appearance at the tournament.

As for Messi, he said last week: "I don't know, the truth is I don't know. Let's hope [Argentina's preparations] go the best way possible. But for sure after the World Cup many things will change."

Exoduses after major international tournaments are common as teams reset or rebuild, but given what Messi and Ronaldo have represented on the pitch and the fact they've appeared at each of the previous four World Cups, their appearances at Qatar 2022 need to be savoured.

It all begins with Friday's draw, when narratives and talking points that'll live longer than any of us will start to take shape with the unscrewing of a few shiny plastic balls.