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.

Chief Executive John Delaney and President David Blood are representing the FAI at the draw in Durban tomorrow evening.

The first task facing Steve McClaren’s successor has also been made that much tougher after England slipped out of the group of top seeds for tomorrow’s Durban draw.

England’s defeat by Croatia on Wednesday has seen them leapfrogged by Greece in FIFA’s world rankings announced yesterday and drop out of the top nine countries in Europe.

The seedings for the draw for the European qualifying groups will be based on those world rankings, and England will now join Scotland among the nine second seeds.

It means England will have to face one of the top seeds – the likes of Italy, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain – and as only the nine group winners automatically secure qualification, the task may not be a straightforward one.

Northern Ireland ranked 32nd in the world respectively, will be among the group of third seeds while Wales, ranked 58th in the world, will one of the group of fourth seeds.

The draw will split the 53 European countries into eight groups of six teams, and one group of five. The nine group-winners will qualify automatically and the best eight runners-up will go into home and away play-off matches for the remaining four places.

Tomorrow’s draw starts at 3pm.

The cheapest tickets for the 2010 World Cup will be reserved for residents in South Africa, tournament organisers have announced.

The category four tickets will be priced so that ordinary people in the country, who are on tiny salaries compared to supporters in western countries, can still afford to go to matches.

THE European qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will see 53 countries competing for 13 places. The 53 countries will be split into eight groups of six teams, and one group of five.

The nine group winners will qualify automatically and the best eight runners-up will play home and away play-off matches for the remaining four places.

POT ONE: Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Holland, Croatia, Greece

POT TWO: England, Romania, Scotland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Sweden, Israel

POT THREE: Norway, Ukraine, Serbia, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium

POT FOUR: Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova, Wales, Macedonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus

POT FIVE: Georgia, Albania, Slovenia, Latvia, Iceland, Armenia, Austria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan

POT SIX: Liechtenstein, Estonia, Malta, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands, San Marino.