The seedings have been announced for Friday's World Cup draw. The breakdown is as follows: #1 Seeds Germany England Brazil Spain Italy Mexico Argentina France #2 Seeds Croatia Sweden Czech Republic Poland Holland Portugal Switzerland Ukraine #3 Seeds Angola Ghana Tunisia Paraguay Ivory Coast Togo Ecuador Australia #4 Seeds Iran South Korea USA Costa Rica Japan Saudi Arabia Trinidad & Tobago Serbia-Montenegro Other than the #1 Seeds, these groups are based on geographic locations and makes sure that no two teams, other than European nations can be placed in the same group. The US is going to have a tough go of it. They will have a #1 seed and one of those #2 seeds will make for a tough draw on Friday for the US. As a fan of Poland, I am happy they are in the #2 seed group. I can handle a #1 seed and I will take my chances with one of the #3 or #4 seeds. The official World Cup draw is Friday at 1:30 Chicago time in Leipzig, Germany.
@#$@#42 Mexico!!!!!!!! No 3rd world preferences, there.. nossir! Never mind, they'll get knocked off early, anyway. But could they have made it ANY tougher on the US?
They affect the draw.. if it's like other comps. #1's draw out of #4's. #2's draw out of the #3's pools. That's why US should have been a second seed.
Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... That's what I don't understand, didn't the US and Holland just miss out in being #1 seeds, so how does the US end up being a #4?
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... Oh, and IMO Holland is better than Italy, so these seeds make no sense to me...it's worse than the BCS.
Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... Yup. If I remember correctly, Italy beat US by one point to make it into the top 8. I don't think Holland was much farther out. I'll accept 7 out of the top 8, but not Mexico.
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... The seeds are affected geographically as well. For example, other than European nations, no two teams in a group can come from the same confederation. For example, the US cannot be in the same group as Mexico or Trinidad and Tobago. There is more to it, but work is calling.
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... The top seeds based on past performances from 2002 and 1998 finals, as well as world rankings over the last three years. The 2, 3, and 4 groups were, as ChicagoTom mentioned, created geocraphically. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 89&cc=5901
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... It's nonsense to take into account results from 8 years ago. That would be like ranking the NCAA Basketball tournament based on results from four years ago. Who cares what a team did yesteryear? They're not the same players and probably not even the same managers. I understand the geographic seeding, but I don't like it all. The best teams should play the weaker teams in the group stages, period. It shouldn't matter that each region has to represented in each group, they made to the tournament now let's see how good they really are.
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... Well, it's a little clearer when you think about it.. had to be reminded how the draw works for WC Picture it as a menu: One from column "A" one from Column "B", and so on... is how the groups are made up in the draw. So it really has less effect than if seedings purely reflected strength. And, no matter how the pairings worked, someone would get the wrong end of the stick. Just like in the NCAA tourneys.. but the cream usually rises to the top, to coin a phrase. Hope US draws Mexico in it's group.. oh, I mean the other way round. OTOH, bet the #1 Seed that draws USA in its group will be cussin... Unless it's Brazil or Argentina
RE: Re: RE: Seedings Announced for World Cup.... I don't really understand all this seeding and draw business, but I do know this: I will be in Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen on June 12 for Match 10. I'm hoping for a good matchup. I will be anxiously watching the draw tomorrow.
my fake world cup draw i just drew out this from the pot? G1. Germany,Sweden,Ghana,Iran. G2. ENGLAND,Croatia,Ivory Coast,Iran. G3. Brazil,Holland,Paraguay,Japan. G4. Spain,Portugal,Ecudor,Costa Rica. G6. Mexico,Czech rep,Tunisia,Trinidad&T. G7. Argentina,Switziland,Togo,Saudi Arabia. G5. Italy,Ukraine,Australia,Serbia. G8. France,POLAND,Angola,USA. I would take that draw from a English point of view.
RE: my fake world cup draw International football is a little more complicated than simply comparing it to the NCAA basketball tournament. First off, NCAA cagers play eaach other and their players do not play in club leagues all around the world... so it's a little easier to get a sense of their level of play in one regular season. In seeding the WC06, you absolutely have to do a more complicated seeding process. When was the last time the US played a "non-friendly" against Brazil, Germany, Australia, Holland, ENgland, France, etc.... So you really never know how well a team will play against the world's best when you can only compare the US (who play T&T, Guatemala, Panama, etc.) to the likes of Brazil. Needless to say, the process is way too difficult to rank the teams based on "very recent" stats.
RE: my fake world cup draw I understand there are differences in setting up tournaments for different sports--that's just natural. I find Fifa's use of a team's performance (even if it's a small factor) during a tournament that occured 8 years ago a bit sketchy in ranking teams for a current tournament, like I said those players and managers are most likely no longer with the team. I don't think too many NCAA players, coaches, or fans would be happy if their team were subjected to ranking system based upon performances 4 years ago (which I think would be the equivalent of Fifa's 8 year cutoff). Players should have graduated in that time period, and the team and coaches have changed. Fifa's World Cup seedings is a system that is handicapped towards the incumbents or perennial winners--and I find that cheesy.
