PROBABLE POTS FOR WORLD CUP DRAW

Excitement is growing as the world gears up for the World Cup draw which will take place in Cape Town on December 4.

FIFA will not announce their seeding system until two days before, but here's what we might expect the four pots to look like:

POT ONE

South Africa
Germany
Brazil
Italy
Spain
England
France
Argentina

POT TWO

Holland
Portugal
Switzerland
Greece
Serbia
Denmark
Slovakia
Slovenia

POT THREE

Mexico
USA
South Korea
Japan
Australia
Honduras
New Zealand
North Korea

POT FOUR

Paraguay
Ghana
Cameroon
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Uruguay
Algeria
Chile


To determine pot one (the seeded teams) FIFA's usual policy is to take into account the dual factors of world ranking and performance in the last two tournaments. The other pots are put together according to confederation to ensure an equal distribution. What is sure is that any non-European team in Pot One (South Africa and Brazil for sure, and probably Argentina as well) will only have one European team in their group (drawn from Pot Two), whereas any seeded European team will definitely have to face one other side from Europe in the group stage.

The 32 sides that have qualified are considered by many to constitute the strongest World Cup line up for a long time.