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The big story from this evening’s 2010 World Cup draw in Cape Town came from Group G where Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal were positioned together along with North Korea in the ‘Group of Death’. Here it is the comment of tke Manager’s about the draw :

Dunga, Brazil coach
I don’t like all that ‘Group of Death’ stuff. If you look at the draw, you’ll see that all the groups, perhaps with the exception of Spain’s, are very even. North Korea are, in theory, a weaker side, but it’s tricky playing against a team you don’t know much about. For us, our opening game is the most difficult one. Then it will be our second game and so on. Côte d’Ivoire are going to make us work very hard. Most of their players are at big European clubs and they have [Didier] Drogba, who is one of the world’s best strikers. African teams no longer fit with people’s preconceptions; they’ve allied competitiveness to their technical ability. And of course we’ve got a huge rivalry with Portugal. (continue reading…)

The 32 teams participating at next year’s FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

While South Africans learned that the host nation’s Opening Match on 11 June would be played against Mexico at Soccer City, it was the Group D lineup which caused arguably the biggest stir. Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana will battle it out for two qualifying places for the Round of 16, meaning two nations with passionate support will depart the tournament early. There could be a high-profile casualty from Group G too, after Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal were drawn together.

An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold. With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England’s David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating occasion, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed. (continue reading…)

England, go into the World Cup 2010 draw as one of the eight top seeds but Beckham insists they should not be concerned about who will end up in their group.

The England midfield, who is currently in Cape Town promoting England’s 2018 World Cup bid, said: “It’s always good to be seeded and be up there with the best teams in the world but in the World Cup it’s not about staying away from certain teams.
“If you want to go all the way in the competition you have to come up against them at some point. You are going to have to beat the best teams and the best players so it doesn’t really matter when you come up against them.”

England head coach Fabio Capello echoed Beckham’s sentiments but also said he believes an African side will make it to the semi-finals in South Africa next summer.

“I think about the Africans and I believe this will be one of the most important World Cups for the African teams,” he said. (continue reading…)

England manager Fabio Capello insists he is not afraid if the Three Lions find themselves facing a ‘Group of Death’ ahead of Friday night’s draw for the World Cup finals.

England were named as one of the eight top seeds for the draw, and so will avoid having to play some of the bigger names such as favourites Brazil, holders Italy and European champions Spain in the group stages.

The likes of Portugal and France, however, are among the unseeded European teams who could end up in England’s group, along with some tough African teams such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

But speaking ahead of the draw, Capello insisted that he was not worried about the potential opponents facing his side, and insisted England would have to be prepared to face every team. (continue reading…)

The Final Draw of the FIFA World Cup™ is an occasion that the fans of the 32 qualifying nations and football lovers in general always look forward to, though the same cannot be said of the national coaches involved. That same blend of anticipation and dread will be in evidence once more on Friday evening when the Final Draw of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa takes place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The show gets under way at 19.00 (local time) and no matter who gets drawn with who, there are sure to be some coaches smiling at their good fortune and others who might be more inclined to burst into tears.

The whole of South Africa has been eagerly awaiting this moment since it was given the honour of being the first African country to organise the finals in May 2004. The tournament hosts will be hoping that actress Charlize Theron, one of the country’s best-known ambassadors, will bring them luck when she joins FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke in presenting the Final Draw.

Bafana Bafana are one of the seeded teams and will be in good company in Pot 1, where they will be joined by five former winners of the competition with 15 wins between them: Brazil (5), Italy (4), Germany (3), Argentina (2) and England (1). Completing the elite octet are Spain and Netherlands. (continue reading…)