Third seeds Ireland could face England or Scotland in World Cup draw

DESPITE dropping three places to 35th in the latest FIFA world rankings, the Republic of Ireland will be third seeds in the World Cup 2010 draw in Durban tomorrow.

With nine nations going into each pot, it means that Ireland already know the eight countries they will definitely not be meeting in the qualifying round for the next World Cup – Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Serbia, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Belgium.

But while a north-south contest is ruled out, the Republic could end up in a group with either England or Scotland, both of whom are installed as second seeds.