World Cup 2014 draw: Englands chances of landing tough group rise • Fifa reveals unexpected change of plan for Fridays draw • England could end up in group with Brazil, and Italy or Holland Englands high chances of landing in a tough World Cup group increased further after Fifa threw a procedural curveball that could lead to Roy Hodgsons team facing Brazil, USA and Italy or Holland. In an unexpected change to Fridays draw Fifa announced that one of the nine unseeded European teams in Pot Four, which include England, will be picked at random to switch to Pot Two. That pot currently has only the seven unseeded African and South American teams, so the switch will balance the numbers. It means two unseeded European teams will end up facing one another and raises the possibility for the first time that England could end up in a group of death with Italy or Holland as well as Argentina or Brazil. Or they could still get lucky and draw Colombia, Greece and Honduras. The change was announced on the day Fifa admitted not all of the 12 stadiums required for next summers tournament would meet existing deadlines amid rising concern over the construction timetable. World footballs governing body had the option of naming France, the lowest-ranked European nation, in Pot Two but decided instead that the one European team should be drawn at random. The French president of Uefa, Michel Platini, expected to rival Sepp Blatter, the incumbent, for the Fifa presidency in 2015, is believed to have been the driving force behind that decision. Both Blatter and Platini have said they will decide after the World Cup whether to stand in 2015 but the shadow boxing has clearly begun. The four South American seeds – Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay – will then be ring-fenced in Pot X. One of them will be paired with the floating European side to ensure two South American countries are not drawn together. Fifas secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, admitted the plan was complicated but said it maintained the principle of geographic separation and ensured all 32 teams were involved in a real draw with no predetermined outcome. If England remain in Pot Four with Italy and Holland, potentially the toughest group they could face would include Spain or Germany or one of the South American giants, plus Chile and USA or Mexico. An easier group might feature Switzerland, seeded in Pot One as one of the seven best-ranked countries at the end of October that joined the hosts Brazil, as well as Algeria and Iran. But Hodgson has said he is more concerned with where England will play their group matches than whom they will face. Given the vast distances between host cities and the huge disparity in temperatures and humidity between Porto Alegre in the south and the Amazonian city of Manaus in the north, the logistics and conditions will be testing. Hodgson was due to arrive on Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro to make a final check on Englands proposed base camp at the Royal Tulip hotel, before heading to the venue for the draw on Brazils north-east coast. Valcke said the idea of tinkering with kick-off times to avoid the middle of the day in the hottest cities had been rejected. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, added: In Mexico [in 1986] we played lots of matches at noon at altitude in different cities in big heat. History also shows that England have often toiled in supposedly easier groups, as in 2010, and played better in ostensibly harder ones. At a press conference in the resort of Costa do Suípe, 100km north of Salvador, Valcke also admitted not all 12 stadiums would meet a longstanding January deadline for completion. But Blatter insisted he was confident they would be ready for the tournament to kick off in June. Valcke said the stadium in Curitiba, on which construction was briefly paused this year due to safety concerns, would definitely not be ready until the end of February. There are also ongoing concerns about the Arena Amazonia in the heart of the rainforest in Manaus and the Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá near the Bolivian border. Blatter said he had trust and confidence in the government, the various state governments and the host cities to deliver. I am an optimist. But remember optimists live better and longer. So we go with optimism into the future. The collapse of a crane at the new Corinthians stadium in São Pa the vast distances between host cities and the huge disparity in temperatures and humidity between Porto Alegre in the south and the Amazonian city of Manaus in the north, the logistics and conditions will be testing. Valcke said the idea of tinkering with kick-off times to avoid the middle of the day in the hottest cities had been rejected. Blatter added: In Mexico [in 1986] we played lots of matches at noon at altitude in different cities in big heat. History also shows that England have often toiled in supposedly easier groups, as in 2010, and played better in ostensibly harder ones. With regard to stadiums being completed by next months deadline Blatter said he was confident they would be ready for the kick-off in June. Valcke said the stadium in Curitiba, where construction was paused because of safety concerns, would definitely not be ready until the end of February. As for the Arena Amazônia in the heart of the rainforest in Manaus and the Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá near the Bolivian border Blatter said he had trust and confidence in the government, the various state governments and the host cities to deliver. I am an optimist. But remember optimists live better and longer. So we go with optimism into the future. The collapse of a crane at the new Corinthians stadium in São Paulo last week, killing two construction workers, raised new concerns. But the Brazilian deputy sports minister, Luis Fernandes, said the accident would not prevent the stadium being finished on time and Valcke expressed confidence it would be ready to host the opening game in São Paulo based on the information we have today. Blatter also faced fresh questions over security in the wake of the protests that swept through Brazil during the Confederations Cup over under-investment in public services and the amount of public money being spent on World Cup stadiums.Security is a matter of the state and the country. In relation to what happened at the Confederations Cup, I can only say that finally the security worked well and football was the winner, he said.ulo last week, killing two construction workers, raised new concerns. But the Brazilian deputy sports minister, Luis Fernandes, said the accident would not prevent the stadium being finished on time. Valcke added: I am confident they can deliver the stadium on time for us to be ready to host the opening game in São Paulo based on the information we have today. Blatter also faced fresh questions over security in the wake of the protests that swept through Brazil during the Confederations Cup over under-investment in public services and the amount of public money being spent on World Cup stadiums. Security is a matter of the state and the country. In relation to what happened at the Confederations Cup, I can only say that finally the security worked well and football was the winner, he said. Pot 1 Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay, Switzerland Pot 2 Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ecuador Pot 3 Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras Pot 4 Bosnia, Croatia, England, Greece, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia, France
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 08:28:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015