FIFA World Cup: Nine Samp nationalities at Russia 2018

Italy may have been missing from the pots at today’s World Cup draw but with there was still plenty of excitement in Bogliasco as events unfolded in Moscow.

Sampdoria’s multiethnic dressing room watched with a special interest in the fate of nine nations and the draw threw up a number of Samp ‘head to heads’: Croatia v Argentina, Brazil v Serbia and Poland v Colombia.

Group A

Gaston Ramirez and Lucas Torreira were among the first to learn their nation’s fate as Uruguay were drawn alongside tournament hosts Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Group C

Our young Danish centre-back Joachim Andersen saw his country pitted against France, Australia and Peru.

Group D

Ivan Strinic’s Croatia will find themselves up against Argentina – with Ricky Alvarez and Matias Silvestre interested observers – as well as World Cup newbies Iceland and Nigeria.

Group E

Brazil and Serbia – the homelands of Dodo Pires and Filip Djuricic, respectively – are to face off in Group E. They’ll have to finish above Switzerland and Costa Rica if they want to progress to the last 16.

Group F

Dennis Praet’s Belgium – who were among the top seeds – will take on England, Tunisia and Panama.

Group H

Several Blucerchiati could end up on opposite sides next summer as Colombia and Poland have been pitted together. That means Duvan Zapata may find himself lining up against some our Polish trio, Bartosz Bereszynski, Karol Linetty and Dawid Kownacki. Senegal and Japan are the other teams in that group.