The fear of the Death Group: which teams were the least lucky in the draws throughout the history of the World Cups

The World Cup in Qatar will deliver an extreme difficulty in the first phase. As the top seeds were chosen by the FIFA Ranking, selected as Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia and Uruguay will form the fearsome hype for fate that will deliver the draw to be held at the Doha Convention and Exhibition Center (DECC).

In this context, it is worth reviewing the most difficult areas that were established throughout history to understand which teams were the most unfortunate and which ones benefited the most. The case of Brazil, for example, is one of the most striking, given that the Canarinha never joined the dreaded Death Group, while participants such as Italy, Argentina and La Celeste were the ones who most often witnessed the complexity of facing the rivals of hierarchy since the beginning of the tournament.

The closest precedent occurred in Russia 2018, when the German team finished last in Group F behind Mexico, Sweden and South Korea. A resounding failure for the four-time world champion after his conquest in Brazil 2014. Precisely, in the land of Pelé, an unprecedented event was established, as three international champions made up Group D, in which Costa Rica struck the blow (Uruguay was the second place, while England and Azzurra returned home earlier than expected).

Four years earlier, in South Africa, the host country formed the most complex area together with France, Mexico and the combined charrua. The untimely elimination of the Bafana Bafana sealed a great disappointment for the local people, who observed the speedy farewell as the Gallic team. Once again, those led at that time by Maestro Tabárez managed to keep one of the tickets for the next instance and were accompanied by the Aztecs.

In Germany 2006, the dreaded Death Group was made up of Argentina, Ivory Coast, Holland (now the Netherlands) and Serbia and Montenegro (at that time the countries of Eastern Europe formed a single nation). With two rivals from the Old Continent and the African power of the moment, José Pekerman's team resolved their first commitments without problems and advanced to the round of 16 accompanied by Orange. Quite the opposite of what happened in Korea-Japan 2002, when the cast led by Marcelo Bielsa thwarted the albicelestial illusions, product of a defeat against England and a draw against Sweden. Clearly, the victory achieved in the debut against Nigeria did little to the team that led the FIFA Ranking, because the joy was for the British and the Scandinavians.

For its part, in France 98 the surprise was taken by Spain. With figures like Raúl, Hierro, Morientes or Luis Enrique, Javier Clemente's men fell to the Green Eagles, tied with Paraguay led by José Luis Chilavert, and thrashed a lackluster Bulgaria. In that tournament, both Europeans soon returned home.

With 24 participants instead of 32, in the United States 94, the hottest area was starred by Italy, Republic of Ireland, Mexico and Norway. Such was the level of parity that all competitors concluded with 4 points, so it had to be resolved by the goal difference. Thanks to the format of the championship, which allowed passage to the best third parties, Azzurra got the ticket to the next stage and would not stop until they reached the final. So the only one eliminated was the Nordic representative.

A situation very similar to what happened in 1990, when Argentina fell in its debut against Cameroon, it claimed itself against the Soviet Union and equalized against Romania. With the farewell to the Red Army, the cast of Carlos Salvador Bilardo continued their march in third place and, through the heroic task of Sergio Goycochea and the talent of Diego Maradona, reached the decisive match.

Meanwhile, Mexico 86 generated a curiosity: there were two zones with two world champions in each one. In Pool E, Uruguay and Germany had to face Denmark and Scotland, where the Danes claimed leadership, escorted by the Germans, while the Charrúas advanced without having even won a victory. For the two units obtained, the South Americans had to face Argentina, which in Group A faced Italy, South Korea and Bulgaria in the first phase.

On the other hand, what happened in Spain 82, which had Azzurra, Poland, Cameroon and Peru leading the disputed area in Galicia. The selected ones had such an even level that all the matches ended evenly, except for the rout that the team led by Grzegorz Lato gave to the Inca team (5-1). There, the two Europeans continued their journey to the second round.

In Argentina 78, the Venezuelans once again faced the most complex task, given that the organizers were measured in the initial instance against Italy, France and Hungary. With the remarkable deployment of the Nazionale, those of César Luis Menotti had to settle for second place, to continue the competition in Rosario.

Four years earlier, Johan Cruyff's Holland didn't seem to mind playing Uruguay, Sweden and Bulgaria in the Death Group of the edition organized by Germany. However, he did not manage to win all his commitments, since in the clash against the Scandinavians they were only able to rescue one draw. It was precisely these two squads that stayed alive.

In Mexico 70, the most even of the four groups was the one that had Uruguay, Israel, Italy and Sweden. In this context, the South Americans and Azzurra were the ones who reached the quarterfinals. In the previous edition that was played in the United Kingdom, the charrua cast once again suffered the misfortune of fate when they faced England, Mexico and France. There they also got into the top eight, along with the British.

Finally, in Chile 62, which had to work in supremacy to gain access to the next instance was the local group itself. In what was the best presentation in its history, La Roja faced Switzerland, Italy and Germany.

It should be noted that the tournaments of 1958, 1954, 1950 and 1930 did not have one more complex area than another, since the level of difficulty was similar. In addition, in Italy 34 and France 38 the competitions had a different format, since they were the only ones to start with direct elimination from the round of 16.

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