gotosy Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 • Pot 2 will be composed of teams from Asia (Australia, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic), North, Central America and the Caribbean (Honduras, Mexico, USA) and Oceania (New Zealand) • Pot 3 will include teams from Africa (Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria) and South America (Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) • Pot 4 will have the remaining European teams (Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland) • hosts South Africa will be automatically positioned as A1; the other seeded teams will be drawn into the other groups B-H, but will always be in position “1” of their group • groups will be drawn from A to H and the positions in the group will be drawn for Pots 2 to 4 • geographical criteria will also be respected, meaning that no two teams from the same confederation will be drawn in the same group (except European teams, where a maximum of two will be in a group). For example, South Africa cannot play the African teams from Pot 3 and Argentina and Brazil cannot be drawn against the three remaining South American teams. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/...id=1142262.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Spot on FIFA, well done. A nice surprise to see Holland in there instead of France or Portugal. Can't wait for the draw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Alright! Now that FIFA has set the pots and the rules for the draw, I did another test draw. So here's the definitive prediction how the groups will look like: Group A: South Africa - Japan - Uruguay - France Group B: Netherlands - South Korea - Cameroon - Slovenia Group C: Spain - Australia - Ghana - Serbia Group D: Germany - New Zealand - Cote d'Ivoire - Portugal Group E: Brazil - USA - Nigeria - Greece Group F: England - Mexico - Paraguay - Switzerland Group G: Italy - Honduras - Chile - Slovakia Group H: Argentina - North Korea - Algeria - Denmark No, seriously: Besides that this draw doesn't contain the exact group positions (besides those of the group seeds, of course), I very much hope that my draw for Team Germany doesn't become reality. Germany usually has a lot of luck at World Cup group draws -- and I hope that this lucky streak continues. A group with Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal would be incredibly tough. I just remind of Germany's very lucky 2-2 against Cote d'Ivoire at home (!) only two weeks ago and the tight (but not undeserved) 3-2 against Portugal in the EURO 2008 quarterfinal. South Africa would have tough opponents as well and stand only a rather slim chance to advance to the next round. Maybe only with a big home advantage. The Netherlands would have a rather easy one, with only Cameroon as difficult opponent. Spain would have quite a task with at least Australia and Ghana, but a manageable task. Brazil would have a tough one -- all three opponents can be very difficult to play against. England's group is similar to Spain's -- not very easy but the team would stand a realistic chance. Italy would have maybe the easiest of all groups. So I'll cross my fingers that reality will bring a different result. Argentina could have had tougher opponents as well but I think if they didn't improve significantly until the World Cup, they would have quite a task with those three opponents. But this is only a game -- let's see the real one! I'm really excited how the draw will turn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well they've made sure Australia and New Zealand can't be drawn together and that the USA and Korea DPR can't be drawn together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Cape Town - Oscar-award-winning South African actress Charlize Theron, 34, put up another good performance when she pulled "Ireland" during a rehearsal for the World Cup draw on Friday, it emerged Wednesday. The actress was pulling FIFA's leg over Ireland's failed bid to become the 33rd team at the 32-nation Cup.Ireland had asked to be allowed participate after being ousted in the play-offs by France, which clinched its place with a goal from striker William Gallas after captain Thierry Henry had handled the ball. Theron, who will co-host Friday's draw with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, pulled the "Ireland" ball out of the bowl instead of France. "Yes, she did, but it was only a joke," Valcke confirmed to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Friday's draw will determine which teams will meet each other in the first round of the World Cup. (Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/29...-rehearsal.html) I love her. What a funny lady. Her boyfriend is Irish, so that probably explains her joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Its crazy I've never hear of K'naan and neither has the rest of Suth Effrica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 1 day to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 In naming the seeded countries Fifa seem to be punishing France for all the drama in qualifying ... changing the goal posts again at the last minute as they did in the playoffs. Thierry Henry will have a special investigation which may lead to him missing games in South Africa, France are suddenly unseeded despite almost all the predictions indicating they would be, and the possibility of another official for the matches has been ruled out. Fifa has washed its hands of any responsibility, and instead of looking for ways to minimise the chance of bad decisions in South Africa (or qualifying for Brazil 2014), it has placed all the blame fully on Thierry Henry and the French team. This is a missed opportunity for Fifa to try and "clean up" the game - there will inevitably be more blatantly obvious errors in South Africa as there have been in so many other World Cups .... more handballs, more offsides, more dives in the penalty area, more three yellow cards for the same player in one match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 In ruling out the prospect of extra referees behind the goals for the tournament in South Africa the executive committee did pledge to launch an inquiry to consider both technology and extra officials in the future. Fifa will maintain one referee with two assistants and a fourth official for the finals. The prospect of the system being rushed through in time for the World Cup 2010 finals was raised after Henry clearly handled the ball twice in the build up to France’s decisive goal in their play-off with Ireland. The Irish were incensed that the goal was allowed to stand though the match referee was unsighted. The incident prompted calls for the introduction of video technology, as is prevalent in other sports, though Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, and Michel Platini, head of Uefa, the European governing body, oppose such a move in principle. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...y-handball.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Its crazy I've never hear of K'naan and neither has the rest of Suth Effrica He's a Somali-Canadian rapper and hip hop artist that has been politically active for about a decade now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRATK Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Alright! Now that FIFA has set the pots and the rules for the draw, I did another test draw. So here's the definitive prediction how the groups will look like: Group A: South Africa - Japan - Uruguay - France Group B: Netherlands - South Korea - Cameroon - Slovenia Group C: Spain - Australia - Ghana - Serbia Group D: Germany - New Zealand - Cote d'Ivoire - Portugal Group E: Brazil - USA - Nigeria - Greece Group F: England - Mexico - Paraguay - Switzerland Group G: Italy - Honduras - Chile - Slovakia Group H: Argentina - North Korea - Algeria - Denmark I like this group... Italy vs. Chile seems a kind of "classic" in the history of World Cups: the "Battle of Santiago" in 1962 (fights between players, cops in the fields, people shouting against the italians... nice!) and the draw in France 1998 and the questioned penalty of Baggio after Chile was winning 2-1. Honduras should be an easy task and we already defeated Slovakia two weeks ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Group A - South Africa, Australia, Paraguay, Slovakia Group B - Germany, New Zealand, Ghana, Switzerland Group C - Brazil, Mexico, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal Group D - Argentina, Japan, Cameroon, Greece Group E - England, USA, Nigeria, France Group F - Netherlands, Korea, Uruguay, Serbia Group G - Spain, Honduras, Chile, Slovenia Group H - Italy, Korea DPR, Cameroon, Denmark Gotta love it, C, D, E, F and H are very difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I'm not sure what would be worse. Losing to Australia in the opening match or being knocked out in the first round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I'm not sure what would be worse. Losing to Australia in the opening match or being knocked out in the first round. Just amp up those...whaddya call'em...diggeredos...or something horns??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 From my experience the past few days at the Final Draw venue: - One would expect some chaos with the final preparations but everything seems quite calm except for a few final touches - The red carpet is being prepared today but the backdrop is a bit too "African" with pictures of Lions etc. Its nice and all but not appropriate because the focus should be on the VIP's not the backdrop - The majority of the media seem to think they're VIP's but even more so the local artists and local media remain the most fussy - The media centre is quite large and operating well, but there are some minor issues due to the large amount of downloads and uploads - The general feel is that the media are quite impressed and somewhat surprised at the quality of the building and the organization. Perhaps a stereotype but for many its their first trip to Africa and the slick venue and glass lifts are a bit of a shock - The commercial displays are still going up along with the host city displays (which are quite boring, even Cape Town's is quite dull) Its also a bit cramped. - The LOC and FIFA offices are large, high ceiling spacious areas but it could have been organized a bit better. - Security is a joke around the venue, except for the media entrance security. Accreditation is quick, easy and efficient. - Signage and overlay for some reason remain South Africa's weak point. The lady heading up the marketing is a dumb blonde with terrible strawberry streaks in her hair. - All competing nations flags are arranged around the adjacent traffic circle - The adjacent Westin Grand is highly convenient for FIFA and the LOC. The large amount of hotels nearby means an easy walk for the media, with a media shuttle available too. - Inside the Draw Hall the media seating areas are spacious with 6/7 temporary studios built inside the Draw Hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Group A - South Africa, Australia, Paraguay, SlovakiaGroup B - Germany, New Zealand, Ghana, Switzerland Group C - Brazil, Mexico, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal Group D - Argentina, Japan, Cameroon, Greece Group E - England, USA, Nigeria, France Group F - Netherlands, Korea, Uruguay, Serbia Group G - Spain, Honduras, Chile, Slovenia Group H - Italy, Korea DPR, Cameroon, Denmark Gotta love it, C, D, E, F and H are very difficult. Group C - Brazil, Mexico, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal Group E - England, USA, Nigeria, France VERY interesting grups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I like this group... Italy vs. Chile.. ..and may be Korea and France also into this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 My group of death: Italy- Chile- a Korea(better southern) - France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox334 Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 In my humble opinion: Hardest possible group: Brazil United States or Australia Côte d'Ivoire Portugal, Denmark or France (if they get there act together) Easiest possible group: South Africa Honduras (New Zealand would also do the trick) Algeria Slovenia Also, good luck for SA if they get in a SA - USA - Chile - Portugal group... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox334 Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Sorry, I forgot that Algeria (or any other African team) can't be in the South Africa group... So, South Africa Honduras or NZ or Korea DPR Uruguay Slovenia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Uploaded on December 2, 2009 by warrenski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted December 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Uploaded on December 3, 2009 by coda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Heartbroken David Beckham continues with World Cup 2018 bid despite grandfather's death Becks flew into Cape Town from Los Angeles to learn Joseph West, the man who introduced him to football as a kid, had died aged 83. Becks may pull out of tomorrow's World Cup draw to travel to London for the funeral. But even though he was distraught Beckham insisted on attending crucial meetings with FIFA boss Sepp Blatter and vice-president Jack Warner. Family His role is seen as vital as England try to make up lost ground on nations such as Russia, Spain and Australia in the fight to host the 2018 tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 ^^ source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/engl...86908-21869405/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox334 Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Well, using a random number generator I did my own World Cup draw. Here is what it looks like: Group A South Africa North Korea Paraguay France Group B Germany Australia Cameroon France Group C Spain United States Chile Portugal Group D Netherlands Mexico Nigeria Slovakia Group E Italy Honduras Ivory Coast Denmark Group F Brazil Japan Algeria Switzerland Group G Argentina South Korea Ghana Greece Group H England New Zealand Uruguay Slovenia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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