2010 FIFA World Cup seeding

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.

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).

Association FIFA Ranking
October 2009
 South Africa (hosts)85
 Brazil1
 Spain2
 Netherlands3
 Italy4
 Germany5
 Argentina6
 England7
 France9
 Portugal10
 United States11
  Switzerland13
 Cameroon14
 Greece16
 Chile17
 Mexico18
 Ivory Coast19
 Serbia20
 Paraguay21
 Australia24
 Uruguay25
 Denmark27
 Algeria29
 Nigeria32
 Slovakia33
 Honduras35
 Ghana38
 Japan40
 South Korea48
 Slovenia49
 New Zealand83
 North Korea91

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)
 South Africa (hosts)
 Argentina
 Brazil
 England
 Germany
 Italy
 Netherlands
 Spain
 Australia
 Japan
 North Korea
 South Korea
 Honduras
 Mexico
 United States
 New Zealand
 Algeria
 Cameroon
 Ghana
 Ivory Coast
 Nigeria
 Chile
 Paraguay
 Uruguay
 Denmark
 France
 Greece
 Portugal
 Serbia
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
  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.

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
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