2010 FIFA World Cup seeding

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The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup occurred in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009, at 19:00 local time (UTC+2). In preparation for the draw, the qualified teams were seeded and organised into pots.

Contents

Seeding

The criteria for the seeding was released on 2 December and was, in contrast to previous World Cup seeding criteria, based solely upon the October 2009 FIFA World Rankings. Use of the most recent rankings prior to the draw (November 2009) was thought to unfairly benefit those nations who had played competitive fixtures in qualification playoffs during that month, at the expense of those who had already booked their place in the tournament. [1]

The seven highest seeded teams according to the ranking criteria were placed in Pot 1, alongside the host nation South Africa (who were predetermined to be in Group A).

AssociationFIFA Ranking
October 2009
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa (hosts)85
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 3
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 4
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 5
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 6
Flag of England.svg  England 7
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France 9
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 10
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 11
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 13
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 14
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 16
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 17
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 18
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 19
Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia 20
Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay 21
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 24
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 25
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 27
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 29
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 32
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 33
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 35
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 38
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 40
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 48
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 49
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 83
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 91

The draw

Teams were organised into four pots of eight teams. The seeded teams were placed in Pot 1 and the remaining teams were placed into Pots 2–4 on a geographical basis, as below.

Pot 1 (Seeds)Pot 2 (Asia, North America & Oceania)Pot 3 (Africa & South America)Pot 4 (Europe)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa (hosts)
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Flag of England.svg  England
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal
Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland

The basic draw procedure was to draw out the pots starting from Pot 1. One team from each pot would be placed, in order of being drawn, into one of eight groups from A to H. After each team was allocated to a group, its position in the group was also drawn. This determined the team's placement in the predetermined fixture schedule. This was with the exception of the seeded teams, who were automatically placed in their group's Position 1.[ citation needed ]

In order to maintain geographical separation of teams, the basic draw procedure had to be modified for the drawing of Pot 3. No South American teams could be placed into Brazil or Argentina's groups, and no African team could be placed in South Africa's group. In order to accommodate this, the first two African teams drawn would be placed immediately into Brazil and Argentina's groups. South Africa's group (predetermined to be Group A) was to be left vacant until filled by the first South American team drawn. Beyond these considerations, the principle of filling from A to H applied. [2]

In the event, the first two teams drawn from Pot 3 were Nigeria and Ivory Coast, who were placed in Argentina's Group B and Brazil's Group G respectively. Algeria were then placed in Group C so that a South American team, Uruguay, could be placed with South Africa in Group A. [3]

References

  1. "Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup – note to media". Cape Town. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  2. "2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Final Draw Procedure" (PDF). FIFA. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  3. Final Draw Animation Fifa.com