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FIFA meets to seed eight W.C. teams
MARSEILLE (AP) -- Defending champion Brazil and host France? Already decided. European champion and three-time winner Germany? Of course.Italy, despite only making it through the playoffs? Yes. England, who finished above Italy in their qualifying group? Only maybe.
FIFA and the World Cup organizers will effectively make a draw today before THE draw to decide which of the 32 qualifying countries will be seeded in Thursday's ceremony.
After the obvious candidates, which also include 1996 winner and 1990 runner-up Argentina, it becomes a little complicated.
Although the 28 members of the FIFA committee haven't yet made up their minds, the criteria for deciding the eight seeds, which will be deliberately kept apart in the opening group stage, are likely to be based on their World Cup records, especially the last three competitions, in conjunction with their positions in the latest FIFA rankings.
That's what happened for the 1994 finals.
England, for example, has climbed to sixth place in the rankings but is a borderline case to be seeded because it failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 1994. Yet in 1990 it was a semifinalist and in 1986 a quarter-finalist.
Failure to be seeded means that Glenn Hoddle's rapidly improving team could face powerhouse Brazil or Germany in the group stage with only two teams from each group of four reaching the second round.
Italy will be seeded because it was runner-up to Brazil in 1994 and was a semifinalist when it hosted the finals four years earlier. It stands 10th in the rankings, having climbed six places after its World Cup playoff victory over Russia.
Belgium, a semifinalist in 1986 and now in its fifth World Cup in a row, may be regarded as more entitled to be seeded than England, even though it is a modest 41st in the rankings and only made the '98 finals through the playoffs. The fact that it hasn't missed a World Cup since 1978 will be in its favor.
Spain, third in the rankings, likely will be seeded having reached the quarter-final in both 1986 and '94 and second round in 1990.
But FIFA, which has actively encouraged the development of soccer in Africa and has increased the number of its qualifiers to five, may decide to seed one of the five African countries to avoid the seedings being dominated by European and South American teams.
Olympic champion Nigeria, African Nations Cup holder South Africa or Cameroon, which has made it to the last three World Cups, could be among the selected eight.
What goes against that is their places in the rankings. South Africa is 35th, Cameroon 51st and Nigeria 71st, largely because they have played few of the other teams above them.
The other problem FIFA has is how to measure a team that hasn't qualified before.
Croatia is in the finals at the first attempt so shouldn't be penalized for lack of appearances. South Africa has made it at the second attempt. Japan and Jamaica have tried and failed to qualify several times before making it this time.
Bulgaria, a semifinalist in '94, may lose out because it failed to make it to the 1990 finals and also has slipped six places in the latest rankings to 24th.
Another candidate is Romania, which is a steady fifth in the rankings after gaining the best qualifying record (9-1-0) of all 32 nations. Romania was a quarter-finalist in 1994 and reached the second round in '90.
The Netherlands, also a quarter-finalist in '94, has slipped four places to 12th in the rankings but is another contender.
Mexico, 11th in the rankings, was a second-round loser in '94 having reached the quarter-final when it last hosted the championship in 1986.
"It's very much a wait and see situation," FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said Monday on the eve of the meeting.
"The committee hasn't met yet and that's what it's here for -- to decide how the seedings will be decided and who the seeded teams will be."
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan
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