A record 48 teams will contest this summer’s World Cup, with 12 groups making up the first stage of the tournament.Twelve seeded teams are spread out across the groups, including the three host nations and eight top-ranked countries. The four highest-ranked teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – were placed in separate sections, or quadrants, of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listFIFA said the top four nations, if they finish first in their respective round-robin groups, will avoid each other until the semifinals.The top two teams from each group will automatically proceed to the round of 32, where they will be joined by the eight best third-placed sides.Before the big kickoff, we’ve ranked the groups from hardest to easiest and picked the two favourites to automatically advance from each group. France are aiming to make their third successive World Cup final [File: Dylan Martinez/Reuters]Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, NorwayThe “group of death” at this year’s World Cup appears to be Group I, with the four teams having the highest average FIFA ranking.France are one of the favourites to lift the title and are looking to make their third consecutive final appearance, while Senegal are one of the strongest African nations.Erling Haaland’s Norway are dark horses and Iraq – who faced the most games to qualify – will be no pushovers.Favourites for automatic qualification: France and SenegalGroup F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, TunisiaWith an average world ranking of 26, including seventh-placed Netherlands, this group looks pr …
