2014 FIFA World Cup: Final Draw 06.12.13

as far as im concerned, the deadline is june 2014 lol.

 

Gives an idea of the pace they conduct their meetings. Spend a week at a ritzy beach resort for a day's worth of issues.

 

Pot 4 - 9 teams
what???

EDIT: so, they're drawing the extra European team. Chickens.

 

Geographical pots are confirmed. Meh.

 

as expected, but 9th Europe (FRA) not with CHI/ECU/Africa

 

And completely saves France from the Africa pot. Nothing shady there.

 

so sounds like we could have a BRA-ITA-NED group.

 

oh at pots 2, 3 and 4 having their position randomly drawn didn't expect that

 

It has always been this way.

So the draw is like 2006... just no special pot, the team is decided at random

 

Yes, so that's the only news. "#9 Eur" isn't automatically FRA. It could be ITA, NED, or anyone.

 

It might be worse, a stronger team, like Italy, could be drawn to this.

 

@fridge not sure but i read from a few people that last worldcup those in pot 2 ended up in position 2 in the group? maybe i am wrong idk

i am kinda glad france isn't forced to be in the other pot and i am not a fan of the french team it was just kinda shady "yh the worst goes with the africans lol xxxx" something i would have expected from fifa though.but i hope netherlands or italy don't end up in that pot

 

Odd that there's this Pot X discussion regarding Eur#9, but no "Pot Y" discussion regarding Chi/Ecu. Whatever.

 

I didn't really understand this "Pot X" business.

 

Just ironic that France was the consensus to be placed into the Africa pot as the lowest ranked Euro side, but they are spared that fate. As explained by the French guy.

Italy, Holland, Portugal all wondering how this could have possibly gotten worse for them...but it has.

 

http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/suddenly-next-summer

 

@jupal: in 2010, pot 2 teams (AFC, CONCACAF, OFC) ended up in positions A2, B3, C2, D2, E3, F3, G2, H3

draw order:

1) empty pot 1
2) draw 1 team from pot 4
3) draw a ball from pot X (pot 1 south american teams)
4) empty pot 2 [groups skipped so that south american teams are placed into groups with a european seed)
5) empty pot 3
6) empty pot 4

 

so USA, e.g., in Pot 3, could end up being in e.g. A2, A3, or A4 position if drawn with Brazil? Is that right?

 

correct

 

@fridge46 ok thanks for clearing that up it's been a while and i obviously didn't remember correctly.
anyways i am very excited for the draw on friday

 

The draw is going to prove that geographical allocation doesn't work anymore. The pots are all too unbalanced.

 

The strength difference between 4 and 2/3 are ridiculous.

 

what are the strongest / weakest setups we could see?

Strongest would probably be ... Brazil, Italy, Netherlands and Mexico ?
Weakest might be ... Switzerland, Algeria, Australia and Bosnia/Croatia

 

People will have different takes when it comes to which opponent they would like to avoid the most, and which they would welcome more.

Obviously, in Iran's pot (Pot 3), the competition for the weakest or most desirable team to draw would be between Honduras, Costa Rica, Iran, and perhaps Australia. Most fans of other teams will recall Japan and South Korea, as well as the US and Mexico, advancing to the Round of 16 in 2010 and will prefer to face one of the teams I mentioned. Many would also prefer not to have Australia, since even though Australia have declined considerably, most ordinary fans will remember them more by their World Cup 2006 and 2010 record, which was pretty good.

My own take with regard to the weakest team in Pot 3: Honduras. Maybe I am wrong, but that is how I see it. I don't think Iran is weaker than some of the teams in this group, but I can see how others might see things differently. While the best team in this pot is probably Japan, Mexico and the US will be equally unappealing opponents.

In Pot 2, the weakest team is Algeria as far as I am concerned. Next would be Cameroon, with perhaps Ecuador preferable to face than any of the other other teams in this pot. The side to avoid in this pot is Chile, although if France (or one of Italy or Holland or perhaps Portugal) are put in this group, they would be at least as undesirable to face as Chile.

In Pot 4, Bosnia might not be the weakest, but as a World Cup debutant, they will probably be the least feared. Except for Greece perhaps, since the Greeks have been to the World Cup before but have only 1 win in 6 matches, losing all the rest. That is not a record to fear. Croatia, and then Russia, will be the other teams that most sides will not fear as much, while the ones to avoid from Pot 4 will be Italy, Holland, Portugal, and England - in that order.

As for Pot 1 among the seeded teams, Brazil will be the side everyone will want to avoid, while Switzerland will probably be the unanimous choice as the weakest in this pot. Overall, teams like Argentina, Spain, and Germany will also be ones that most will want to avoid, while Belgium and Uruguay among the seeded teams are probably the ones that will find the most welcome after Switzerland as group mates. Colombia is somewhere smack in the middle, neither to be feared as much as the real top seeds nor as welcomed as sides like Switzerland or Belgium or Uruguay.