FIFA World Cup 2010 – England await their fate in Friday’s Draw

Don’t forget that England’s World Cup fate hangs in the balance tomorrow, as Fabio Capello attends the Cape Town Convention Centre for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw. There are potential Groups of Death at stake, with Portugal and Holland missing out on being seeded. Those will be the big names that Capello will want to avoid, along with the strongest of the nations from the African and South American pot. This will be a World Cup packed with very strong contenders for the coveted title of being football Champions of the World.

The draw, which starts around 6pm on Friday, will be divided into four pots. Pot 1 will be the seeded teams, which are Brazil, England, Germany, France, Argentina, Italy, Spain and South Africa. Pot 2 will house the teams from Asia and CONCACAF, Pot 3 has the African and South American teams, and finally Pot 4 will have all of the other qualified teams from the UEFA zone. It is this dangerous Pot 4 which all of the seeded teams will be keeping a nervous eye upon until Portugal and Holland get drawn out of the hat.

The draw isn’t just a straight forward pulling of teams, however. Over the course of the 90 minute spectacle which will include a feast of African themed song, dance and glitterati celebrations, the groups for World Cup 2010 will come to fruition. South Africa for definite will be the first name, for as hosts they will occupy position 1A. Each of the seeded teams will then be drawn into a group, and subsequently then, the following pots. Geography plays its part, as South Africa for example, cannot draw another African team, likewise Brazil cannot draw another South American team.

There is one exception, and that is with the UEFA teams, and why Capello will be fearing pulling out Portugal, who have ruined England’s last two international tournaments by beating them on penalties. Because UEFA supplies the most nations to the World Cup, there can be a maximum of two European teams per group, hence the potential Group of Death scenario that will be worrying England fans. England, Portugal, USA and Ivory Coast makes for a fascinatingly difficult group.

But all eyes from the footballing world will now turn to Friday’s showcase, igniting the fuel behind the qualified teams’ drive to push on towards South Africa 2010. The 32 nations are lined up and ready to go, the world knows the seeded teams for the World Cup Draw, and now all that is left is to see who gets matched up with who in the Group Stages.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw has thrown up some interesting betting opportunites, notably a punt on who England will draw out of each Pot…

The best odds for Pot 2, has all teams at equal length (as obviously there is as the exact same chance of pulling out Australia as there is North Korea). Blue Square and 888Sport have England’s potential Pot 2 opponents at 7/1.

From Pot 3, William Hill are offering 6/1 on the South American teams, while SkyBet have the African teams at 7/1.

From Pot 4, it is back to parity as all of the UEFA teams are available at 7/1 with 888Sport.