So the World Cup draw is less than 24 hours away. Players, coaches, celebrities are in Cape Town, South Africa preparing for what will take place tomorrow. We at International Football Talk have been having a Mock Draw marathon this week. With all the possible procedures FIFA may use. FIFA are using the same procedure they used in 2006 for the draw. However, Netherlands will be seeded and France will be not as FIFA decided to use the world rankings for seeding purposes instead of a formula of world rankings and past World Cup performance. With that said I did a complete draw this time around. Including group positioning with selecting A2, A3, A4, B2, B3, B4, etc. to determing when and where games will be played. I will layout the entire schedule below if FIFA were to draw this exactly. All times are local South African time. South Africa is 6 hours ahead of eastern time during the summer. So matches on the east coast would be 7:30a.m., 10a.m., and 2:30p.m. From there you can figure out game times depending on where you live.
Pot A - South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain
Pot B - Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, New Zeland, Honduras, Mexico, United States
Pot C - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pot D - Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
Group A
- South Africa
- Denmark
- Honduras
- Paraguay
South Africa v. Denmark Friday, June 11th 4p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
Honduras v. Paraguay Friday. June 11th 8:30p.m. @Cape Town
South Africa v. Honduras Wednesday, June 16th 8:30p.m. @Pretoria
Paraguay v. Denmark Thursday, June 17th 1:30p.m. @Polokwane
Denmark v. Honduras Tuesday, June 22nd 4p.m. @Runstenberg
Paraguay v. South Africa Tuesday, June 22nd 4p.m. @Bloemfontein
Group B
- Argentina
- Cameroon
- Greece
- New Zealand
Argentina v. Cameroon Saturday, June 12th 1:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Greece v. New Zealand Saturday, June 12th 4p.m. @Port Elizabeth
Argentina v. Greece Saturday, June 17th 4p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
New Zealand v. Cameroon Saturday, June 17th 8:30p.m. @Bloemfontein
Cameroon v. Greece Tuesday, June 22nd 8:30p.m. @Polokwane
New Zealand v. Argentina Tuesday, June 22nd 8:30p.m. @Durban
Group C
- Spain
- Slovakia
- North Korea
- Chile
Spain v. Slovakia Saturday, June 12th 8:30p.m. @Rustenberg
North Kora v. Chile Sunday, June 13th 1:30p.m. @Polokwane
Spain v. North Korea Friday, June 18th 4p.m. @Cape Town
Chile v. Slovakia Friday, June 18th 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Slovakia v. North Korea Wednesday, June 23rd 4p.m. @Pretoria
Chile v. Spain Wednesday, June 23rd 4p.m. @Port Elizabeth
Group D
- Netherlands
- Ivory Coast
- Portugal
- United States
Netherlands v. Ivory Coast Sunday, June 13th 4p.m. @Durban
Portugal v. Unites States Sunday, June 13th 8:30p.m. @Pretoria
Netherlands v. Portugal Friday, June 18th 1:30p.m.@Port Elizabeth
United States v. Ivory Coast Saturday, June 19th 1:30p.m. @Rustenberg
Ivory Coast v. Portugal Wednesday, June 23rd 8:30p.m. @Nelspruit
United States v. Netherlands Wednesday, June 23rd 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
Group E
- England
- Nigeria
- Australia
- Switzerland
England v. Nigeria Monday, June 14th 1:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
Australia v. Switzerland Monday, June 14th 4p.m. @Bloemfontein
England v. Australia Saturday, June 19th 4p.m. @Durban
Switzerland, v. Nigeria Satuday, June 19th 8:30p.m. @Pretoria
Nigeria v. Australia Thursday, June 24th 8:30p.m. @Rustenberg
Switzerland v. England Thursday, June 24th 8:30p.m. @Cape Town
Group F
- Italy
- Uruguay
- France
- South Korea
Italy v. Uruguay Monday, June 14th 8:30p.m. @Cape Town
France v. South Korea Tuesday, June 15th 8:30p.m. @Rustenberg
Italy v. France Sunday, June 20th 1:30p.m. @Nelspruit
South Korea v. Uruguay Sunday, June 20th 4p.m. @Bloemfontein
Uruguay v. France Thursday, June 24th 4p.m. @Polokwane
South Korea v. Italy Thursday, June 24th 4p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Group G
- Germany
- Slovenia
- Mexico
- Ghana
Germany v. Slovenia Tuesday, June 15th 4p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Mexico v. Ghana Tuesday, June 15th 8:30p.m. @Port Elizabeth
Germany v. Mexico Sunday, June 20th 8:30p.m. @Johannesbrg, Soccer City
Ghana v. Slovenia Monday, June 21st 1:30p.m. @Cape Town
Slovenia v. Mexico Friday, June 25th 4p.m. @Nelspruit
Ghana v. Germany Friday, June 15th 4p.m. @Durban
Group H
- Brazil
- Serbia
- Algeria
- Japan
Brazil v. Serbia Wednesday, June 16th 1:30p.m. @Durban
Algeria v. Japan Wednesday, June 16th 4p.m. @Nelspruit
Brazil v. Algeria Monday, June 21st 4p.m. @Port Elizabeth
Japan v. Serbia Monday, June 21st 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Serbia v. Algeria Friday, June 25th 8:30p.m. @Bloemfontein
Japan v. Brazil Friday, 25th 8:30p.m. @Pretoria
Round of 16 (in bracket order)
A1 v. B2 Saturday, June 26th 4p.m. @Port Elizabeth
C1 v. D2 Saturday, June 26th 8:30p.m. @Rustenberg
E1 v. F2 Monday, June 28th 4p.m. @Durban
G1 v. H2 Monday, June 28th 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
B1 v. A2 Sunday, June 27th 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
D1 v. C2 Sunday, June 27th 4p.m. @Bloemfontein
F1 v. E2 Tuesday, June 29th 4p.m. @Pretoria
H1 v. G2 Tuesday, June 29th 8:30p.. @Cape Town
Quarterfinals (in bracket order)
A1/B2 v. C1/D2 Friday, July 2nd 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
E1/F2 v. G1/H2 Friday, July 2nd 4p.m. @Port Elizabeth
B1/A2 v. D1/C2 Saturday, July 3rd 4p.m. @Cape Town
F1/E2 v. H1/G2 Saturday, July 3rd 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Ellis Park
Semifinals
July 2nd winners Tuesday, July 6th 8:30p.m. @Cape Town
July 3rd winners Wednesay, July 7th 8:30p.m. @Durban
3rd place playoff
Semifinals losers Saturday, July 10th 8:30p.m. @Port Elizabeth
World Cup Final
Semifinal winners Sunday, July 11th 8:30p.m. @Johannesburg, Soccer City
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
FIFA Announces Seeds and Pots
Today was a much anticipated day across the football world. It was the day FIFA would announce the seeds and pots for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was pretty much as expected. The only difference is that France was not seeded and Netherlands was. Could this be punishment for the Thierry Henry handball incident. FIFA says no, but they probably just didn't want to hear any more bitching from the English speaking media about France doesn't deserve to be in or what would have inevitably come up was France doesn't deserve to be seeded. So they appeases those people, sort of by not making France seeded and giving it to Netherlands who has looked quite impressive in qualifying.
The FIFA Organising Committee approved the procedure for the final draw today. The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA World Ranking and seven squads joined hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the final draw which will take place Friday, December 4, 2009. The committee also approved the composition of the other pots as well as the procedure for the final draw. Pot B will be composed of teams from Asia, North, Central America and the Caribbean and Oceania. Pot C will include teams from Africa and South America. Pot D will have the remaining European teams.
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 B to D. 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). That is, South Africa cannot play the African teams from Pot C and Argentina and Brazil cannot be drawn against the three remaining South American teams. So without any further rambling here are the seeds and pots.
Pot A (Seeded Teams)
- South Africa
- Brazil
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Germany
- Argentina
- Italy
Pot B (Asia, Oceania, CONCACAF Teams)
- Australia
- Japan
- North Korea
- South Korea
- New Zealand
- Honduras
- Mexico
- United States
Pot C (Africa and South America Teams)
- Algeria
- Cameroon
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Nigeria
- Chile
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Pot D (European Teams)
- Denmark
- France
- Greece
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
The FIFA Organising Committee approved the procedure for the final draw today. The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA World Ranking and seven squads joined hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the final draw which will take place Friday, December 4, 2009. The committee also approved the composition of the other pots as well as the procedure for the final draw. Pot B will be composed of teams from Asia, North, Central America and the Caribbean and Oceania. Pot C will include teams from Africa and South America. Pot D will have the remaining European teams.
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 B to D. 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). That is, South Africa cannot play the African teams from Pot C and Argentina and Brazil cannot be drawn against the three remaining South American teams. So without any further rambling here are the seeds and pots.
Pot A (Seeded Teams)
- South Africa
- Brazil
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Germany
- Argentina
- Italy
Pot B (Asia, Oceania, CONCACAF Teams)
- Australia
- Japan
- North Korea
- South Korea
- New Zealand
- Honduras
- Mexico
- United States
Pot C (Africa and South America Teams)
- Algeria
- Cameroon
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Nigeria
- Chile
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Pot D (European Teams)
- Denmark
- France
- Greece
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
South Africa 2010 Mock Draw
In our final installment of pre mock draws before we actually know what the procedure is. We are going to use a Champions League style draw. Teams were ranked 1-32 in what I call a FIFA coefficient taking into account past World Cups and FIFA rankings. Each pot will have 8 teams. No team outside of Europe can face a team from the same confederation in the group stage. With that said, here are the pots and the groups.
Pot A – South Africa, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Spain, England, France, Argentina
Pot B – Portugal, Netherlands, Mexico, USA, Switzerland, Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon
Pot C- Korea Republic, Japan, Australia, Ivory Coast, Greece, Nigeria, Serbia, Uruguay
Pot D – Denmark, Chile, Slovenia, Honduras, Slovakia, Algeria, New Zealand, Korea DPR
Group A - South Africa, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand
Group B - England, USA, Nigeria, Korea DPR
Group C - Brazil, Cameroon, Greece, Slovakia
Group D - Germany, Ghana, Japan, Chile
Group E - Italy, Paraguay, Korea Republic, Denmark
Group F - Spain, Mexico, Ivory Coast, Slovenia
Group G - Argentina, Portugal, Serbia, Honduras
Group H - France, Switzerland, Uruguay, Algeria
Round of 16
Netherlands over USA
Brazil over Ghana
Ivory Coast over Italy
Argentina over Uruguay
England over Australia
Germany over Cameroon
Spain over Denmark
Portugal over France
Quarterfinals
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over Ivory Coast
England over Germany
Spain over Portugal
Semifinals
Brazil over Argentina
Spain over England
3rd place game
England over Argentina
World Cup Final
Brazil over Spain
There you have it. The next time we put out one of these mock draws we will be using the format that FIFA will announce tomorrow. We will preview what can happen and preview the draw. Unitl then I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you are more informed. In our final mock draw we will be posting video of it so you can understand a little better visually how the draw will work.
Pot A – South Africa, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Spain, England, France, Argentina
Pot B – Portugal, Netherlands, Mexico, USA, Switzerland, Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon
Pot C- Korea Republic, Japan, Australia, Ivory Coast, Greece, Nigeria, Serbia, Uruguay
Pot D – Denmark, Chile, Slovenia, Honduras, Slovakia, Algeria, New Zealand, Korea DPR
Group A - South Africa, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand
Group B - England, USA, Nigeria, Korea DPR
Group C - Brazil, Cameroon, Greece, Slovakia
Group D - Germany, Ghana, Japan, Chile
Group E - Italy, Paraguay, Korea Republic, Denmark
Group F - Spain, Mexico, Ivory Coast, Slovenia
Group G - Argentina, Portugal, Serbia, Honduras
Group H - France, Switzerland, Uruguay, Algeria
Round of 16
Netherlands over USA
Brazil over Ghana
Ivory Coast over Italy
Argentina over Uruguay
England over Australia
Germany over Cameroon
Spain over Denmark
Portugal over France
Quarterfinals
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over Ivory Coast
England over Germany
Spain over Portugal
Semifinals
Brazil over Argentina
Spain over England
3rd place game
England over Argentina
World Cup Final
Brazil over Spain
There you have it. The next time we put out one of these mock draws we will be using the format that FIFA will announce tomorrow. We will preview what can happen and preview the draw. Unitl then I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you are more informed. In our final mock draw we will be posting video of it so you can understand a little better visually how the draw will work.
World Cup Mock Draw
As we continue this week with Mock Draw mania we continue onto a third possible option FIFA may use. This one is the most geographic scenario. I allocated the pots as follows Pot A seeded teams, Pot B Asia/Oceania and Africa, Pot C CONCACAF and CONMEBOL teams, and Pot D European teams. As I've stated before this draw is a little different and a little less based on number balance. the seeded South American teams will draw from Pot B twice one team each from Asia/Oceania and one team each from Africa before. Those seeded South American teams will not draw from Pot C the Americas pot. Also South Africa will draw from the Asia/Ocenia side before all remaining Pot B teams are placed together in the same pot. The seeded teams from South America will draw from Pot C Americas pot and all seeded teams will draw from Pot D European pot. Here is how the draw turned out.
Group A - South Africa, Japan, Uruguay, Denmark
Group B - Spain, Australia, United States, Slovakia
Group C - France, Ghana, Chile, Switzerland
Group D - Italy, Ivory Coast, Honduras, Slovenia
Group E - Brazil, Algeria, Korea DPR, Greece
Group F - England, Cameroon, Mexico, Netherlands
Group G - Germany, Korea Republic, Paraguay, Portugal
Group H - Argentina, Nigeria, New Zealand, Serbia
After the groups were selected as I've done before I selected group winners and runners up and played out the knockout stage portion of the tournament.
Round of 16
United States over Uruguay
Ghana over Italy
Brazil over Netherlands
Germany over Nigeria
Spain over Denmark
France over Ivory Coast
England over Greece
Portugal over Argentina
Quarterfinals
Ghana over United States
Brazil over Germany
Spain over France
England over Portugal
Semifinals
Brazil over Ghana
Spain over England
3rd place game
England over Ghana
World Cup Final
Brazil over Spain
There you have it. You can see how much teams are likely to advance based on the draw and the various matchups. Obviously you can tell I'm picking Brazil to win the World Cup though. In our next installment of Mock Draw mania we will use option 4 FIFA may possibly use. It is the same format that UEFA uses for the Champions League. Each nation will be ranked 1-32. Then teams 1-8 will be put into Pot A, 9-16 in Pot B, 17-24 Pot C, and 25-32 Pot D. South Africa will be in Pot A since they are the hosts. In the UEFA format teams from the same country cannot be drawn together we will do the same with teams from the same confederation aside from Europe. However, a group can't have more than two European teams. The way you do this is 8 balls with each team on it. Place them seperately and pull one ball from each team in a particular pot. Once a team is selected you must look and see if all the scenarios are possible or not and place teams in pots accordingly. That draw will be up a little later in the day.
Group A - South Africa, Japan, Uruguay, Denmark
Group B - Spain, Australia, United States, Slovakia
Group C - France, Ghana, Chile, Switzerland
Group D - Italy, Ivory Coast, Honduras, Slovenia
Group E - Brazil, Algeria, Korea DPR, Greece
Group F - England, Cameroon, Mexico, Netherlands
Group G - Germany, Korea Republic, Paraguay, Portugal
Group H - Argentina, Nigeria, New Zealand, Serbia
After the groups were selected as I've done before I selected group winners and runners up and played out the knockout stage portion of the tournament.
Round of 16
United States over Uruguay
Ghana over Italy
Brazil over Netherlands
Germany over Nigeria
Spain over Denmark
France over Ivory Coast
England over Greece
Portugal over Argentina
Quarterfinals
Ghana over United States
Brazil over Germany
Spain over France
England over Portugal
Semifinals
Brazil over Ghana
Spain over England
3rd place game
England over Ghana
World Cup Final
Brazil over Spain
There you have it. You can see how much teams are likely to advance based on the draw and the various matchups. Obviously you can tell I'm picking Brazil to win the World Cup though. In our next installment of Mock Draw mania we will use option 4 FIFA may possibly use. It is the same format that UEFA uses for the Champions League. Each nation will be ranked 1-32. Then teams 1-8 will be put into Pot A, 9-16 in Pot B, 17-24 Pot C, and 25-32 Pot D. South Africa will be in Pot A since they are the hosts. In the UEFA format teams from the same country cannot be drawn together we will do the same with teams from the same confederation aside from Europe. However, a group can't have more than two European teams. The way you do this is 8 balls with each team on it. Place them seperately and pull one ball from each team in a particular pot. Once a team is selected you must look and see if all the scenarios are possible or not and place teams in pots accordingly. That draw will be up a little later in the day.
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