..to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your first-gen Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe.

Today, let’s tap into the World Cup draw, what teams could actually win it, and a stadium you can’t pronounce but really want to visit anyways.

Vamos 👇

211 different countries play international soccer, but only a tiny handful are ever actually good enough to win the World Cup.

In 100 years of tournaments, only 8 nations have ever lifted the trophy. Funnily enough, that’s the same small number of people who have ever lifted themselves off the floor after taking on our Tap-Inn bouncer, Big Tony.

The usual suspects right now:

Behind them you’ve got the “always in the mix” crowd — Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia — the teams that are always in the conversation, but rarely in the final shakeup.

Soccer may feel global, but the top table is tiny — and it rarely adds new chairs.

City went 5–1 up, then spent the last 20 minutes hanging on as Fulham nearly pulled off a ridiculous comeback. 2 brilliant goals for City’s Phil Foden.

Classic, controlled Juve win and they’re into the next round of the Italian Cup. Weston McKennie played the full 90 minutes.

Arsenal bossed it and closed the game out comfortably. They sit 5 points clear at the top of the league.

Answer at the bottom.

The draw works like a big raffle where the 48 qualified teams are split into 12 groups of 4.

During the draw, teams are pulled from one of four “pots” (see above) and placed in a group named A-L. Yes, that is 12 letters - you can give yourself a pat on the back. These pots are basically rankings buckets; Pot 1 are the strongest teams + the hosts, Pot 2 - next best, Pot 3 & 4 - everyone else. This ensures that the strongest teams are kept apart at the early group stage of the competition.

By the end of the draw, we’ll have 12 full groups and a clear picture of who has a nightmare road… and who just got handed a golden ticket.

And on Saturday FIFA releases the full match schedule — who plays who, when, and where across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

The draw is taking place at right now in John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. You can watch it live on Fox or online on FUBO from 12pm E.T.

Who will be in attendance?

Donald Trump will be there to collect the made-up inaugural FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.

In addition to the US president, Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum are hosting a show that will include performances from Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and Trump Anthem YMCA singers, the Village People closing out the show.

When players trade jerseys after a match — a sign of respect.

Next time you’re watching a game with a superstar like Messi, Ronaldo or Mo Salah. Players always approach them asking to swap jerseys.

🏟️ Stadium of the week

I’m not sure if it counts as a stadium, but wow. This beauty is Henningsvær Stadion located in Lofoten Islands, Norway. It can seat a colossal, 500 people. The perfect setting for the beautiful game.

Although it shares similarities to many ancient games played in China, Rome and Greece.

“Another thing the brits stole” - shouts my disgruntled regular.

Thanks for stopping by The Tap-Inn.

If you enjoyed this, forward it to that friend who knows nothing about soccer and help spread the good word.

I’ll be behind the bar every week, Monday and Friday, serving up soccer. Sláinte.

— Joe