My You Tube videos and the World Cup draw in the Kremlin.

My You Tube videos and the World Cup draw in the Kremlin.

What did you think then? This afternoon, in the very formal surroundings of the Kremlin in Moscow, the fate of 32 World Cup international teams was sealed and everything seemed to be going famously for the England football team under the very cool and urbane Gareth Southgate. Everything went exactly to plan and things could hardly be any better in the English rose garden.

In one of the world's stateliest of buildings England pulled out several plums and will hope that come next June there are no stones in those plums. The Kremlin was hardly the most inspiring choice for a World Cup draw but then you have to go with what you're given. The political grandeur of the Kremlin is undoubtedly self evident but most of us associate the Kremlin and anything Russian with grim faced Presidents, thick coated soldiers on parade in Red Square, Communist ideologies, military might, snow, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks,the Crimean War and more bloody revolutions than quite possibly any other nation in the history of the world.

Still there were one or two redeeming features in deepest Moscow this afternoon. The Kremlin looked particularly striking, an architectural stunner that has definitely stood the test of time. It may seem official and officious, some would say cold, soulless and a place for those very important governmental discussions, where the politicians of the day thrash out the latest price of vodka perhaps. If the Kremlin could talk it could tell you a thousand stories about Communist uprisings, heated disagreements about nothing of any real significance and those railway station chandeliers.

This afternoon though gave us the World Cup ceremony live from a Kremlin that genuinely believes that the people of Russia can give us more than annoying red tape, stifling bureaucracy and the ever present threat of deplorable drug taking, dope scandals throughout the World Cup and a constant air of cloak and dagger suspicion. The Russians have always carried around with them the weightiest of baggages and few Olympic Games and World Cups have passed without at least one or two Russian scandals.

For England of course this was just the World Cup draw they could have wished for although given their problematic and chequered history in the competition the countries England have drawn may be equally as troublesome. In the World Cup of 2014 England fell flat on their face when, firstly, Italy simply closed off all attacking avenues, while Uruguay, with the assistance of Luis Suarez, seemed to outwit them both tactically and technically. By the time England met Costa Rica most of England had more or less lost interest in football. It was the most sobering and distressing of World Cups for England although none of us were, in any sense of the word, either shocked or surprised.

So England will meet Belgium, Tunisia and Panama which does sound very mouth wateringly appetising at first glance but on closer examination could still provide a hidden banana skin. Belgium were very much the dark horses to win Euro 2016 and can still boast a hard core of immensely gifted individuals which is probably England's strongest suit. Chelsea's Eden Hazard has to be one of the classiest of all attacking players in the Premier League, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is an outstanding player and Romelu Lukaku at Manchester United could set the whole World Cup tournament alight next summer.

Memories of England - Belgium evoke some decidedly unpleasant and nasty images for both sides. In the European Championships of 1980 in Italy the game was marred by unsavoury scenes when tear gas flares were thrown onto the pitch. The match itself was overshadowed by crowd trouble although the game itself was moderately entertaining .But Italy 1980 will never go down in European Championship history as one of the best of tournaments.

Then in the 1990 World Cup, ironically held in Italy once again, England met Belgium in a crucial second round match. With the game drifting towards a shapeless and haphazard draw the ever impish and mischievous Paul Gascoigne suddenly discovered that there was a vital World Cup game to be won. In the last seconds of the game. a well flighted free kick was swung dangerously into the Belgian penalty area and David Platt, a pleasingly skilful midfield player. allowed the ball to fall over his shoulder before wrapping his foot around the ball and hooking the ball into the net for England's very late winner.

Tunisia of course were England's first opponents in the 1998 World Cup held in France. A firmly directed header from Alan Shearer and a classical shot from Paul Scholes were enough to silence the noisy Tunisian supporters. England's 2-0 victory that day now seems like many generations ago given England's fortunes in recent World Cup and European Championship opening games.

And as for Panama? Well who knows at this stage? In theory there should be too many canals in class between England and Panama. Maybe there is a case here for wearing the right kind of hat but you'll have forgive my Friday witticisms because that's as far as I can take football related humour for one day.  Of course we're in unknown territory here because this is Panama's first ever World Cup and we must wish them well.

In Group A the hosts Russia have been drawn in a group heavily scented with a Middle Eastern flavour. Egypt and Saudi Arabia sounds potentially explosive and Uruguay should never be discounted in any World Cup. But 1930 and 1950 does seem far distant in time and besides there are no Juan Schiaffinos leading the Uruguyan attack and Uruguay can be very moody and bolshy under  provocation. Just ask Scotland in the 1986 World Cup when the Scots seemed to be kicked to pieces in a drab 1-1 draw..

The other eye catching groups were World Cup holders Germany who must face Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, a wonderful and globally diverse concoction of nations. Mexico never really trouble the World Cup football establishment as such but they do have Javier Hernandez playing in a West Ham team who seemed to be giving a convincing impersonation of Apocalypse Now at the moment. Mexico, of course, were on the wrong end of Bobby Charlton's destructive shooting power in the 1966 World Cup. And South Korea are South Korea, romantic sounding and mystical but likewise a side who may give the Germans a couple of sleepless nights without the attendant nightmares.

The Brazilians are, as we all know historically breathtaking, sublime and oozing with originality. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil the Brazilians imploded and exploded in the same tournament. Their football simply subsided and disintegrated like an old, derelict building brick by brick. When the Germans destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi finals an entire nation went into hiding and the soul of Brazilian football was torn asunder like a yellow sheet that's been left for too long in the washing machine. Switzerland, in theory, should be easily beatable while Serbia shouldn't really bring the Brazilians out in a cold sweat. Costa Rica will probably buzz around the Brazilians with menacing intent but Brazilian progress into the next round of the World Cup should be a formality.

In Group B the tastiest and meatiest of matches has to be that of Spain and Portugal. Both have been paired together in the same group and there can be no conceivable love lost between these countries. It may be regarded as a local derby if only because the geographical distance between the two is so close. There is a considerable amount of needle and animosity here so be prepared for some Iberian fireworks. The other teams are Morocco who add their own helping of pepper, oregano and paprika to the group. Oh for the wonders of the Far East. Then there's Iran, the country who once reduced Scotland boss Ally Mcleod to tears and hair scratching when Scotland were held by Iran.

Finally there is Argentina, who, rather like Brazil, bring their own glamour and drama to any World Cup competition. It often seems like Argentina's very own drama queens or maybe that should be kings are perhaps just too hot headed for our liking but still compulsively watchable. Argentina are melodramatic, genuinely brilliant on their day but temperamental in the extreme when there's clearly no need for such unseemly behaviour. The tango seems to suit the whole nation as they swagger around the world stage with all the arrogance of the supposedly superior country.

Argentina have for company in their group Iceland which is very much where England came in at Euro 2016, theoretically ready to be beaten quite comprehensively and Croatia who always seem to give a respectable account of themselves in World Cups without ever threatening to win it. Once again Croatia are a team of individual star makers but never really on the same level of their much bigger and better footballing brethren. Nigeria will always be a pleasure to watch if only because the African nations love to play the game right away without ever matching the technical excellence of their European counterparts.

So there you have it folks. The runners and riders for next year's World Cup have been matched up in their respective groups and Russia and Vladimir Putin will spend the rest of his Friday evening savouring a refreshing cup of tea from his samovar and then swallowing another glass of vodka with a satisfied gulp. There are political rumblings of discontent in Russia and warmongering bullies gathering their forces. But as long as Gareth Southgate wears that very smart navy waistcoat and remains modesty personified then England can sleep easily tonight. Russia may be some way off now but this could be the time to keep the faith. Its time to support the England football team. It's time to live in hope. There can be nothing wrong with that.

Oh before I forget. Here's another pointer in the direction of my book promotion for No Joe Bloggs and Victorian Madness Lyrics. You may want to check out my You Tube videos for both my book No Joe Bloggs where I tell you about my life story and two Victorian Madness Lyrics You Tube videos which are I think deliberately hilarious. If you click on to both these You Tube videos I think both of these books could be considered as humble Christmas treats. One Victorian Madness Lyrics lyric is Embarrassment - aka Humiliation and House of Fun - Establishment of Amusement. I hope you'll like both No Joe Bloggs and Victorian Madness Lyrics in my cosy corner of You Tube. They're a great festive read. Thanks everybody.

Incidentally No Joe Bloggs is currently available at Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Waterstones online market place and Books-A-Million online while Victorian Madness Lyrics is available at Feed- A- Read.com.