Football Talk - England top seeds for World Cup draw! - 02/12/09
FIFA have named the seeding for Friday's draw for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
FIFA's World Cup organising committee used the world rankings from October to determine who would be in Pot 1, which meant that France, winners in 1998 and 2006 finalists, are not one of the top seeds. The top seeds for Friday's draw are hosts South Africa, current holders Italy and five-time winners Brazil, European champions Spain, Holland, Germany, England and Argentina.
Also joining France in missing out on top billing are fellow play-off winners Portugal, with the European duo in Pot 4 alongside Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Pot 2 comprises teams from the Asian, Oceania and Concacaf federations, with Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, USA and New Zealand those teams involved.
The remaining African nations - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria - and Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from South America will come out of Pot 3.
The decision to use world rankings alone breaks with FIFA's previous formulas when they used a combination of rankings with performances in previous final tournaments.
Seedings:
Pot 1 - South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain.
Pot 2 - Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand
Pot 3 - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pot 4 - Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland
