Final draw - Football World Cup 2006

These are the results of the Football World Cup Draw



Some great groups and reaally looking forward to being in Muinch for the matches. All those Brazilans. I think group C is the group of death.

GROUP A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

GROUP B
England
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden

GROUP C
Argentina
Ivory Coast
Serbia & Montenegro
Holland

GROUP D
Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal

GROUP E
Italy
Ghana
USA
Czech Republic

GROUP F
Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan

GROUP G
France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

GROUP H
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi
Arabia

Who do you support and what are their chances of progressing through?

The locations and the schedules are below

http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo...ule/default.stm

Munich's matches are:

09-Jun-06 Germany vs Costa Rica
14-Jun-06 Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia
18-Jun-06 Brazil vs Australia
21-Jun-06 Ivory Coast vs Serbia and Montenegro

The Brazil match looks a good one!

The Allianz Arena, Munich will host these games:

The opening game: Fri 9 June 17:00 - Germany vs. Costa Rica

Wed 14 June 17:00 Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia
Sun 18 June 1700 - Brazil vs. Australia - Wooo!
Wed 21 June 1500 - Ivory Coast vs. Serbia & Montenegro

Sat 24 June 1600 - 2nd round 1st place Group A (Germany/Costa Rica/Poland/Ecuador) vs 2nd Group B (England /Paraguay/Trinidad & Tobago /Sweden)

Wed 5 July 20:00 - Semi-final

What would you do if your team wins.

I would eat a post it note. Its a bit tame but give me a few more days to think of a better idea.

Comon england

Germany placed top in their group and England 2nd in theirs would set up a major encounter to rival 1st September 2001 in Munich.

i only want to know what fans will be munich! this is a good mix. i am looking forward to brazil:australia...

This should be somewhat interesting...

GROUP E
Italy
Ghana
USA
Czech Republic

@PES

Don't under estimate the Czechs. Prone to occasional bouts of sheer brilliance.

Am going to see Paraguay v Sweden and Ukraine v Tunisia...roll on June 9th

Germany's group seems pretty easy, but poland could give them some problems, ecuador could surprise. not really sure about costa rica...

england's group is anything but easy...sweden is a tough team...they may not be as tough as they were in 2002, but they'll still give'm some problems. paraguay could also be problematic, but england should be able to beat them and trinidad ( without taking into account england's god given ability to scr*w themselves).

On the face of it both teams should qualify from their groups. then again that's what they said about man utd at the start of this season's champion's league...

I think groups A,B and F may have it a bit too easy. What do you think?
If USA win group E, then it will prove that they should have been seeded and that the suddenly new calculation was thrown in to stop them. I am actually looking forward to some USA kicking some ass. This could be a lot of fun (or heartache). Win or lose, for 50€ I will still kick you ass for you and if you are really interested, my uncle will sell you his patented self butt kicking machine.

Football Analysts apparently say that USAs high ranking (though non-seeding) was the accumulation of many points through their weakish qualifying groups.

Looks like they'll have a tough job against Italy and Czech Republic though but as Greavsie always said "Football is a funny old game"!

There are 8 groups and USA is rated 8th. Either the ratings mean jack or the seeding is biased? If the ratings mean jack then we should not have ratings and just simply let FIFA do whatever they feel like and no longer call it a World Cup, but a cup of what fifi decides is more euro centric. Oder?

Tough group! From CNN: "At some point you knew it would happen: The U.S. would draw into a Group of Death at the World Cup.

It finally happened on Friday as the No. 8-ranked Yanks were placed in Group E with three-time world champion Italy, the Czech Republic (ranked No. 2 in the world) and rising African power Ghana"

i will show my bare arse in Burton's window if this happens ffs

Go Sweden!!!

Interesting statistics - England haven't beaten Sweden since 1968, and they've played 11 times since then - Sweden has won 4 times and they've tied 7 times. And I think they'll be as tough, if not tougher, than 2002 (they still got Larsson and Ljungberg in top form, and Ibrahimovic is fuckin' ace these days in Juventus).

Paraguay is the wild card in this group I reckon - I've heard Trinidad & Tobago is considered the worst team in this world cup.

But, of course, anything can happen, and Sweden are famous for being crap under pressure...

now how do i get a ticket for brazil australia?

just letting you all know im on the lookout for one or two!

Ok, a good point, but for the seedings the rankings is only half the story. The other half is prior WC performances (I think Katrina posted this somewhere). Look at Current World Rankings... Czech Republic is 2 and the Netherlands are 3. Neither got a seed. In addition, the host team gets a seed and Germany isn't in the top 8. Therefore, if it were done only on rankings then the US would've still missed a seed.

While I would've liked to see the US seeded instead of perhaps the toughest (or 2nd toughest) group, unless I'm missing something here I don't think the seeding was biased. Just bad luck on the draw.

@ eurovol. Good point, eurovol, but here's (one reason) why: Germany. As host, Germany is automatically seeded, although Germany is not ranked among the top 8 teams in the FIFA rankings. that's why some teams such as the US or the Czech Republic and Holland were left out in the cold. What also hurt them (the Dutch in particular) is that they did not qualify for the last WC. That also is factored in heavily, which also explains why the Czechs and the Dutch - two of the top-ranked teams - were not seeded.

For the most part, I thought the seeding and pots were fair, but given their performance last time, the US were certainly more deserving of a seeding than Spain, which has done absolutely nothing at ANY international tourney.

england are also known to be crap against so called weaker teams and only pull themselves together against stronger teams i.e germany,brazil,argentina

You can stick those stats where the sun don't shine tubbsy old pal! That's all yesterday's news and by the time that game comes round T&T and Paraguay will probably already have qualified so we'll win it cos it won't matter any more

someone i spoke to on the plane was convinced england had drawn "paraguay, T and T, and Swindon"

i didnt know swindon had come on so well.

Is that Paraguay, Toytown and Swindon?

FiFa world rankings are completely meaningless and highly unreliable as an indicator. Ther is no way that the USA is the 8th best team in the world. FACT. The only reason teams like the USA get such a ridiculously high ranking, is thru the accumulation of points gained by beating teams like guatemala, st kitts and nevis, dominica, anguilla , british virgin islands etc etc

All right, I have to chime in. I can understand not handing over the Soccer World Crown to the US, but if you think they are less deserving of a seed then Mexico, you're insane. While I would not say the US is the 8th best team in the world, they won their world group, they only lose to Mexico in Azteca stadium because of the ridiculous environment (altitude + smog). I could round up a squad of Sherpas to play Brazil on the summit of Mt. Everest while forcing all players to smoke a pack of Lucky's, and I bet they could make a game of it.

Reality is that CONCACAF is weak, but I love people who claim the WC is the "be-all-end-all" of soccer, yet feel the US being about 15 minutes from a shootout to go to a WC semi-final is somehow a fluke. Which one is it? Is the WC the ultimate tournament or just a lottery? Is Brian McBride's success in the Premiership aslo crap? DeMarcus Beasley's Erdivise Championship or Champions League performance a joke.

That being said, the USA deserves no credit until they beat a World Power in the Knock-out phase (which according to many, Mexico seems to be and the US dominated them in the last cup)...that is European Power or Brazil/Argentina. Scratch that...USA needs to win the Cup before A) they receive any credit and Enland will be the best place to meet women as all of the males will have drowned themselves in disgust.

BTW...in case you haven't noticed, Brazil only plays Argentina in their group and then the rest is complete crap. So please don't use that as your criterion for quality. The players can only play the team that suits up on the other side of midfield.

Team I would love to see win the whole enchillada...Japan!

How about Brazil winning the WC 5 times, including the last time round, would that fit your criteria for quality?

No argument against Brazil, but you missed my point. Just because you play crap, doesn't mean you are crap. Until 2 years ago, that same logic would have proclaimed the All Blacks the world champs in every Rugby World Championship, but England did pretty good last time around, didn't they?

I didn't miss the point, it's just that it works both ways. The FIFA WC seeding/ranking isn't really a good representation of the teams current form/ranking because it also takes into account previous qualifications. When it comes down to it anything can happen on the day... but whatever happens it may affect the seeding/ranking for the next WC!

But as far as my team is concerned, it really does mean that if you play crap, you are crap (so we'll just say crap!!) and no they didn't qualify!

My favorite team didn't qualifiy either, so I guess we are both just bitter lemons out of season

scotsport roundup (jock equivalent of MotD) has a commentry team that fully supports the anyone against england philosophy, with special support for T and T due to some scottish based players in their setup.

even i was a bit taken a back, but agreed fully.

What about group H? I don't see how Spain can lose any of their games except if they forget to show up.

I can't figure out how you think Group F is easy. For Brazil maybe, but I reckon all three of the other teams could beat Spain (going by their track record in previous WCs) ... and give England a run for their money!

My tip? Spain will finish third behind Tunisia and the Ukraine, narrowly beating Saudi Arabia on goal difference!

That's the game I am expecting to see (and I have tickets for this!!). I think Germany will take Group A, and Sweden will take Group B. That leaves Germany vs. England for the game I will attend!

What about Group G then? France, Switzerland, South Korea and Togo would hardly fill me with fear either considering that the top 2 qualify.

Groups C and E are both evil if you ask me. Whoever qualifies from them will have to play extremely well.

As for the Brazil group, maybe no big hitters apart from Brazil but all the other teams are certainly capable of producing a result on the day. It will be a very interesting group to see who qualifies alongside Brazil (unless something amazing happens I can't see Brazil not getting out of the group).

Will also be interesting if England and Germany qualify and one top of the group and one in second. England vs Germany in the 2nd round anyone? If so I hope Ballack is injured as if not Germany are guaranteed to be awarded at least 1 penalty due to his consistent diving.

that would be the same calculation that has been used for the last couple of world cups then...

There's a rumour down the pub that tickets for the Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia game in Munich are changing hands on the black market now for €3,20

I'm trying to convince myself that €35 is cheap to go see the new stadium.

Anyways, it's still a World Cup game, so nyah!

I hope not, seeing as the hosts don't seem to be allowed to get knocked out until the semi final stage at the earliest. Or can anyone else explain how South Korea made it to the semis last time? Although to be fair, Japan went out in the second round, so the above should probably read "... seeing as (at least one of) the hosts ...".

Oh well, at least Robert Hoyzer won't be the ref, even allowing time off for good behaviour.

True and as Ballack is likely to be awarded at least 1 penalty per game, every team playing Germany technically starts with a goal disadvantage.

As for the last World Cup, wasn't it perfect that one of the host nations played against the host nation of the next World Cup in the semi finals? Of course there was absolutely no dubious officiating in either of the teams stroll to the semi-final.

And who wouldn't have faith in American Blatter anyway? Such a dignified and trustworthy person.

We shall see, we shall see... I'm applying for some tickets for this game as well. Would be nice for me if it turned out to be Sweden vs Germany of course, but then again, having Sweden win their group instead would put them up against a decidedly easier opponent. So either way, I'm good (if I'm lucky enough to get tix for the game of course).

I actually can't believe so many people think Sweden will win their group, we're really not that good you know (there's some typical Swedish mentality for you btw)

Germany could screw up a bit and finish second in group A I reckon

I fear Trinidad & Tobago. Well... NOT Trinidad & Tobago per se, but the mentality England will probably stroll out of the tunnel with. I had a nightmare about losing to them 1:0 last night.

If England do finish second in the group, and Germany do finish top, then the game England v Germany will be in Munich, otherwise if England finish top the game will be in Stuttgart.

@BR - Thats my prediction too, Poland 1st, Germany 2nd. Our Group Sweden 1st England 2nd. I reckon we'll lose 1-0 to the Swedes, it will be another boring game as usual between us.

@eriiki_tubbs

This may have something to do with the reason many people believe the group is not a given. Last time England beat Sweden was in 1968.

England vs

Sweden 31/03/2004 L 0-1
Sweden 02/06/2002 D 1-1
Sweden 10/11/2001 D 1-1
Sweden 05/06/1999 D 0-0
Sweden 05/09/1998 L 1-2
Sweden 08/06/1995 D 3-3
Sweden 17/06/1992 L 1-2
Sweden 06/09/1989 D 0-0
Sweden 19/10/1988 D 0-0
Sweden 10/09/1986 L 0-1
Sweden 10/06/1979 D 0-0
Sweden 22/05/1968 W 3-1
Sweden 16/05/1965 W 2-1
Sweden 28/10/1959 L 2-3
Sweden 16/05/1956 D 0-0
Sweden 13/05/1949 L 1-3
Sweden 19/11/1947 W 4-2
Sweden 17/05/1937 W 4-0
Sweden 24/05/1923 W 3-1
Sweden 21/05/1923 W 4-2

When was the last time England beat Sweden? 1968 or summat like that

Edit: snap Wibble.

@btr - that would bring up an interesting situation... By the time England and Sweden play against each other, Group A will have finished all it's matches, and if turns out that Germany comes 2nd in their group, Eng and Swe will be fighting to lose the game! (not taking into account goal stats and if in fact England and Sweden do play up to expectations and proceed from group B )

Group C? Ivory Coast (41st = in FIFA rankings) and Serbia & Montenegro (47th)?? Taking into account that the top two teams qualify for the knockout stage, I'm sure Argentina and the Netherlands are quaking in their boots! The bonus is that those two teams wouldn't meet again until the final!

I agree with you on group E, though. If the FIFA rankings are anything to go by, the seeded team Italy (12th) should finish behind both USA (8th) and the Czech Republic (2nd). In my book, definitely the hardest group by a mile.

Looking at the third highest FIFA ranked team in each group as the only criterion for the difficulty of a group (since this is the "hardest" team you would expect to have to beat to progress to the second round), I came up with the following ranking for the groups (most difficult first, with the third highest ranked team and their position in parentheses):
E (Italy, 12th)
D (Iran, 19th)
F (Croatia, 20th)
A (Poland 23rd =)
B (Paraguay, 30th)
H (Saudi Arabia, 32nd)
G (Switzerland, 36th)
C (Ivory Coast, 41st =)

Even adding the second highest ranked team to the equation doesn't change much, except to move group C up to 6th.

Adding the worst ranked team makes things a bit too random for my liking (as everyone would expect to beat Angola or Togo, for example, plus it would make Germany's group [A] the second hardest, so it's obviously not a good yardstick) but even so, group E remains at the top of the list.

So whichever way you look at it: poor Italy! Personally, I can't wait!

good point. Could be interesting. I'm hoping both Sweden and England have 6 pts going into the final match