2010 FIFA World Cup seeding
Encyclopedia
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.
. 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.
The seven highest seeded teams according to the ranking criteria were placed in Pot 1, along side the host nation South Africa
(who were also predetermined to be in Group A).
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.
In the event, the first two teams drawn from Pot 3 were Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, 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.
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
occurred in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on 4 December 2009, at 19:00 local time (UTC+2
UTC+2
UTC+02 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-Central Africa Time:*Botswana*Burundi*Democratic Republic of the Congo...
). 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 RankingsFIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
. 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.
The seven highest seeded teams according to the ranking criteria were placed in Pot 1, along side the host nation South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(who were also predetermined to be in Group A).
| Association | World Ranking October 2009 |
|---|---|
| (hosts) | 85 |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 | |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 27 | |
| 29 | |
| 32 | |
| 33 | |
| 35 | |
| 38 | |
| 40 | |
| 48 | |
| 49 | |
| 83 | |
| 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 (Host & Top seven FIFA World Rankings The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest... ) |
Pot 2 (Asia 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify... , North America 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) The CONCACAF qualification stage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa consisted of 35 national teams competing for the three berths given automatically to CONCACAF by FIFA. The United States, Mexico and Honduras qualified... & Oceania 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for the Oceania Football Confederation selected New Zealand to compete in a two-legged home-and-away playoff against Bahrain, the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa... ) |
Pot 3 (Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) The Confederation of African Football section of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw teams compete for five berths in the final tournament in South Africa... & South America 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... ) |
Pot 4 (Europe 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, after UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
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.
In the event, the first two teams drawn from Pot 3 were Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, 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.