Posts Tagged ‘france’
World Cup – Fear France: England’s group of death
December 3rd, 2009 | 
Author: France's shock exclusion from the top group of seeds for the World Cup increases England's chances of being in a group of death.
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Although Fabio Capello's men have been included among the eight elite teams, they could end up facing the French or Cristiano Ronaldo s Portugal in the first round.
The term 'group of death' was first coined in 1986, when Scotland were drawn with West Germany, Denmark and Uruguay – and duly came bottom.
However, England could face a draw that makes the Scots' challenge look like a walk in the park, with a host of strong sides awaiting including Les Bleus – whose 'hand of frog' goal against Ireland, set up by Thierry Henry s handball, caused a storm of protest.
The eight groups feature one team from each of the four pots, and the huge variation in quality within the pots mean Friday's draw in Cape Town will be absolutely crucial.
As well as France, England could face a USA side that beat Spain en route to this year's Confederations Cup final – Bob Bradley's team are the best in pot 2, which features teams from Asia and Central America.
And a strong Ivory Coast side, starring Didier Drogba, could complete the Group of Death, with pot 3 containing African and South American countries.
Teams from outside pot 1 will be desperate to be grouped with a mediocre South Africa side who, as hosts, are included along with the seven top-ranked nations.
ENGLAND'S GROUP OF DEATH
England
USA
Ivory Coast
France
ENGLAND'S GROUP OF LIFE
England
Algeria
Slovakia
New Zealand
The pots for Friday's World Cup draw to be hosted in Cape Town.
Pot 1 (seeds): South Africa (Group A), Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain
Pot 2: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand
Pot 3: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
One team from each pot will be drawn into the eight opening round groups for the tournament from June 11-July 11.
Follow the draw LIVE on uk.eurosport.yahoo.com, with the action getting under way at 16:00 UK time on Friday!
Republic of Ireland ask for extra 2010 World Cup place
Fifa's Sepp Blatter has revealed the Republic of Ireland have requested a spot in the 2010 World Cup finals as an extra team after their play-off defeat.
The Republic lost to an extra-time goal against France when Thierry Henry handled the ball during the build-up.
"I will bring it to the attention of the Executive Committee," said Blatter.
The president of football's world governing body added that goal-line technology and extra referees would be considered for the South Africa finals.
The executive committee will hold an emergency meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday, two days ahead of the draw for the finals, to assess the idea of extra match officials, one behind each goal.
If they recommend the proposal it will go before football's rule-making international board in Zurich in March for a final decision.
"It's possible we will make additional officials for the World Cup but we have to see if it is feasible or realistic," added Blatter. "Something has to be done in terms of match control.
"We have only one man on the field of play who shall intervene in this matter. He has two assistants for the time being, perhaps more in the future. He has to make an immediate decision.
"He has only two eyes. So match control is now is on the agenda. How shall we avoid such situations as we have seen in this very specific match?"
Regarding the Republic's case, Blatter added that Costa Rica, who also believe they were unfairly denied a place in the finals – this time because of an offside goal from Uruguay – would also have to be acknowledged if extra places are discussed.
The Football Association of Ireland released a statement, confirming Blatter had agreed to a meeting in Zurich last Friday, which lasted for 90 minutes.
"A lot was discussed at the meeting and at one stage the FAI asked if Ireland could be accommodated into the World Cup 2010," read the statement.
"Other suggestions were also made to mitigate against further occurrences of such incidents, including the use of additional goal-line assistant referees for Fifa international matches, further use of video technology for matches at the highest level, stronger provisions to discourage players from engaging in such blatant breaches of the laws of the game and provisions to strengthen referee selection for such important matches."
The Republic originally asked for the play-off to be replayed but that request was turned down by Fifa.
The man at the centre of the storm, former Arsenal striker Henry, released a statement two days after the infamous match in which he said a replay would have been "the fairest solution". 