With the World Cup 6 1/2 months away, the eyes of the vast soccer society turn to Moscow today for the draw, which will determine the eight first-round groups, set the path for the favorites to reach the final and reveal the most formidable quartet, known as the Group of Death.
Festivities are taking place at the State Kremlin Palace, hosted by former England forward Gary Lineker and Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya. They’ll turn to several prominent figures for assistance in selecting the teams from four pots: France’s Laurent Blanc, England’s Gordon Banks, Brazil’s Cafu, Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan, Argentina’s Diego Maradona, Spain’s Carles Puyol and Russia’s Nikita Simonyan.