Friday 11 December 2009
2010 FIFA World Cup Draw - LIVE!
11:00GMT - Proceedings are underway here in Cape Town! FIFA Online would like to welcome you to our live text commentary of the Group Stage draw. Dignitaries from the participating nations are all present, along with thousands of journalists from all over the globe. The event has started with a video celebrating the history of the FIFA World Cup, starting with Uruguay's victory on home soil in 1930 all the way through to Italy's shock triumph in Germany three years ago.
11:12GMT - Our World Cup hosts in June/July 2010 are South Africa, and Charlize Theron, Academy Award winning actress, steps onto the stage to get the draw underway.
11:14GMT - Charlize introduces us to the various ex-footballers and stars who are helping to draw the teams from the four different pots. Speaking of which, here are the pots...and there could be some tasty groups lined up with heavyweights facing each other during the group stage:
Pots listed in reverse order from the order of the draw:
Pot A: BRAZIL, PORTUGAL, ARGENTINA, RUSSIA, FRANCE, ITALY, SERBIA, SPAIN
Pot B: NETHERLANDS, ENGLAND, PARAGUAY, AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN, GERMANY, USA, GHANA
Pot C: CHILE, MEXICO, CANADA, EGYPT, NORTHERN IRELAND, SWITZERLAND, GREECE, ECUADOR
Pot D: MOROCCO, CAMEROON, SOUTH AFRICA, SAUDIA ARABIA, TUNISIA, SOUTH KOREA, NORTH KOREA, JAPAN
11:20GMT - Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA President, takes to the stage to introduce a short video detailing the different locations for matches in South Africa. This is followed by one of Sepp's famous speeches [
ahem]
11:25GMT - Finally, about ten minutes later than it should have, the draw is properly underway. Check out Beckham in that suit...and Charlize, just wow!
11:30GMT - Right. First off is Pot D - can any of these hopefuls (including the hosts) actually work their way out of what will be very tough groups. Cameroon reached the quarter finals in 1990 and South Korea finished fourth in 2002.
11:32GMT - The first four teams from Pot D have been drawn - this is how the groups are looking:
GROUP A - Tunisia;
GROUP B - Morocco;
GROUP C - Cameroon;
GROUP D - South Korea
11:33GMT - Three of the six African teams have already been drawn. The world's fans are certainly hoping that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be a breakthrough year for the African Federation.
11:34GMT - Pot D is completed...here are the remaining groups so far:
GROUP E - North Korea;
GROUP F - South Africa;
GROUP G - Japan;
GROUP H - Saudi Arabia
11:40GMT - Pot C rushed through here...typical Beckham. Pot C entrants in italics
GROUP A - Northern Ireland, Tunisia
GROUP B - Canada, Morocco
GROUP C - Switzerland, Cameroon
GROUP D - Egypt, South Korea
GROUP E - Chile, North Korea
GROUP F - Ecuador, South Africa
GROUP G - Greece, Japan
GROUP H - Mexico, Saudi Arabia
11:43GMT - We seem to be having a few technical issues at the moment out in Cape Town, and the draw is being delayed for a few minutes. Oh...wait, it's a toilet stop for Charlize. Beckham is following...we'll update you if there's anything more on that front!
11:47GMT - Nope. 100% JUST a toilet break. Victoria, everything is fine! So, now Michel Platini to draw the teams from Pot B - including some very high profile European teams. Sweden were beaten finalists in 1958, England won the World Cup in 1966 and Germany...need I say more?
11:50GMT - Excellent job there, Mr Platini (who happens to be kitted in official UEFA gear this afternoon!). Here are the updated groups:
GROUP A - Paraguay, Northern Ireland, Tunisia
GROUP B - Sweden, Canada, Morocco
GROUP C - Australia, Switzerland, Cameroon
GROUP D - Serbia, Egypt, South Korea
GROUP E - England, Chile, North Korea
GROUP F - USA, Ecuador, South Africa
GROUP G - Ghana, Greece, Japan
GROUP H - Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia
11:52GMT - There are some very tough looking groups out there for the big teams from Pot A. Of course there are the big clashes with England and Germany. However, Group C features some highly ranked teams and could provide some tough games. Group D has a solid European qualifier, one of the top African nations and possibly the best Asian qualifier. Group B on the other hand, looks to provide an easy route to the second round.
11:56GMT - Pot A is being drawn as we speak by Benni McCarthy, one of South Africa's top players.
GROUP A - Italy, Paraguay, Northern Ireland, Tunisia - this looks to provide a fairly easy route for the defending champions. Though the other three have potential to cause problems, particularly Northern Ireland.
GROUP B - Russia, Sweden, Canada, Morocco - Russia seem to have been handed the 'easy' draw.
GROUP C - Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, Cameroon - the five-time winners have been handed a draw in arguably the toughest pool, however, they should still qualify. No idea who'll come second, though!
GROUP D - Netherlands, Serbia, Egypt, South Korea - the somewhat struggling Netherlands are drawn into a very tough pool. It's between C and D for the 'pool of death' at the moment. They may struggle to escape this one.
GROUP E - France, England, Chile, North Korea - France v England. Now that is a very tasty group game. Chile could cause problems for the leading two, however, North Korea will be home after their first two games.
GROUP F - Portugal, USA, Ecuador, South Africa - You'd have money on Portugal seeing their way through this relatively simple group. However, one certainly hopes to see a good performance from the hosts.
GROUP G - Spain, Ghana, Greece, Japan - The European Champions will face battles in all three of these games. But the Spanish should qualify, along with Ghana.
GROUP H - Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia - Argentina v Germany. Even tastier than France v England. These two are big rivals and will be playing for first and second in the group. Ironically enough, Argentina faced Mexico in the Last 16 in 2006 before losing to Germany on penalties in the Quarter Finals.
12:00GMT - So, that's it. The draw is over. There are some very exciting, tough pools (looking at you Pools C and D) and some corkers in other groups. FIFA is very much looking forward to this World Cup getting underway on June 11 2010. See you there!
Next Update: BBC Sport Preview of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa - 9th June 2010.
