khay 8 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 England have been placed among the top eight seeds for the 2006 World Cup. Sven-Goran Eriksson's side are in a top pool of hosts Germany, holders Brazil as well as Argentina, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. England will now avoid meeting those countries in the group stages when the main draw for the tournament is made in Leipzig on Friday evening. Under the seeding system used by Fifa, England came out second to Brazil while Italy narrowly beat the US into eighth. Fifa's ranking co-effiecient saw performances at the 2002 World Cup, when England reached the quarter-finals, given twice as much weight as at 1998. They also took into account a country's world ranking over the last three years. "It's excellent news," Eriksson told the English Football Association website. "I think it's right too. We are one of the teams that have the potential to do very well in Germany and we have some of the best players in the world. "Finishing top of our qualification group with the second best record in the whole of Europe was a big achievement and I'm sure that has played a part in this decision." Serbia & Montenegro were the lowest placed European qualifier and have been placed in a special pot to stop three countries from the zone being in the same group. For the draw on Friday, around 3,700 people will be present in the auditorium at the huge trade fair hall in Leipzig's Neue Messe exhibition centre. It is being transformed into a football stadium for the occasion. The World Cup finals in Germany begins on 9 June 2006 and the final takes place in Munich on 9 July. POT ONE Germany (hosts) Brazil (holders) Argentina England France Italy Mexico Spain POT TWO Australia Angola Ghana Ivory Coast Togo Tunisia Ecuador Paraguay POT THREE Croatia Czech Republic Netherlands Poland Portugal Sweden Switzerland Ukraine POT FOUR Iran Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea Costa Rica Trinidad & Tobago US Special pot: Serbia & Montenegro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheInspiration 1 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 No Holland or Czech Republic, yet there is Mexico... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 0 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 My dream group: England USA Anyone from that other pot AUSTRALIA When we top that group coming out ahead of both England and America will make the experience all the sweeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathras 234 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 No Holland or Czech Republic, yet there is Mexico... 64851[/snapback] Might have to do with the fact that Holland failed to make it to the last world cup.... And the Czechs failed to make 98 or 2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathras 234 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 That said, Mexico are shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 sven looked absolutely stunned last night that England were SECOND and well he might god forbid that TV receipts have anything to do with it...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheInspiration 1 Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 England Angola Poland Saudi Arabia Would IMO be our ideal group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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