Teams anxious to avoid Brazil, Argentina in draw
Dec 01, 2009
THE Final Draw for the 2010 World Cup will be beamed live on Friday to an estimated audience of more than 200 million people from the rugby-mad South African city of Cape Town that has been turned into the football capital of the world.
By Fred Kaweesi in Cape Town
World Cup draw
8pm, Friday SS3 Live
THE Final Draw for the 2010 World Cup will be beamed live on Friday to an estimated audience of more than 200 million people from the rugby-mad South African city of Cape Town that has been turned into the football capital of the world.
The draw will place the 31 qualifiers and hosts South Africa into eight groups and virtually determine the path to the final itself on July 11, 2010. The teams to avoid are once again led by former winners, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France plus the most in-form team in the world Spain.
Each team is guaranteed three mini-league fixtures with group winners and runners-up moving on to the four-round knockout stage. International rankings, World Cup records and geography are among issues that could be considered at the draw ahead of an announcement that can severely raise or lower the chances of a contender.
A complication is that only Europe, which provides 13 qualifiers, can have two teams from the same continent in a group for the June 11-July 11 world football showpiece. And while the leading football nations are supposed to occupy the first pot, South Africa are certain to be among them despite being the lowest ranked at 86 of the finalists. Argentina could be among the elite despite securing a ticket to South Africa only in the final round of regional qualifiers.
That would leave one top-pot place vacant with France, champions and runners-up in the last three tournaments, Netherlands and Portugal likely contenders. Another pot is set to be filled exclusively by European teams with two of the above trio joining Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
African challengers Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria and Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from South America could form a pot. That would leave Australia, Japan, North and South Korea from Asia, Honduras, Mexico and United States from North-Central America and New Zealand from Oceania in the final pot.
Every draw delivers at least one ‘Group of Death’ and placing Brazil with Portugal, France or Netherlands, Chile or Paraguay and Australia or Mexico would certainly fit that bill. South Africa, with just one win from the last 11 matches, desperately need a ‘Group of Life’ that could be provided by having Denmark, Greece or Switzerland, Uruguay and New Zealand in their mini-league.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke will be assisted during the draw by South Africa Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, David Beckham and Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine time athletics world champion. Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela will address the audience by video message.
Additional reporting by AFP and FIFA
World Cup draw
8pm, Friday SS3 Live
THE Final Draw for the 2010 World Cup will be beamed live on Friday to an estimated audience of more than 200 million people from the rugby-mad South African city of Cape Town that has been turned into the football capital of the world.
The draw will place the 31 qualifiers and hosts South Africa into eight groups and virtually determine the path to the final itself on July 11, 2010. The teams to avoid are once again led by former winners, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France plus the most in-form team in the world Spain.
Each team is guaranteed three mini-league fixtures with group winners and runners-up moving on to the four-round knockout stage. International rankings, World Cup records and geography are among issues that could be considered at the draw ahead of an announcement that can severely raise or lower the chances of a contender.
A complication is that only Europe, which provides 13 qualifiers, can have two teams from the same continent in a group for the June 11-July 11 world football showpiece. And while the leading football nations are supposed to occupy the first pot, South Africa are certain to be among them despite being the lowest ranked at 86 of the finalists. Argentina could be among the elite despite securing a ticket to South Africa only in the final round of regional qualifiers.
That would leave one top-pot place vacant with France, champions and runners-up in the last three tournaments, Netherlands and Portugal likely contenders. Another pot is set to be filled exclusively by European teams with two of the above trio joining Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
African challengers Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria and Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from South America could form a pot. That would leave Australia, Japan, North and South Korea from Asia, Honduras, Mexico and United States from North-Central America and New Zealand from Oceania in the final pot.
Every draw delivers at least one ‘Group of Death’ and placing Brazil with Portugal, France or Netherlands, Chile or Paraguay and Australia or Mexico would certainly fit that bill. South Africa, with just one win from the last 11 matches, desperately need a ‘Group of Life’ that could be provided by having Denmark, Greece or Switzerland, Uruguay and New Zealand in their mini-league.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke will be assisted during the draw by South Africa Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, David Beckham and Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine time athletics world champion. Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela will address the audience by video message.
Additional reporting by AFP and FIFA