FIFA gave France better odds of avoiding Brazil and
Argentina with a new procedure for the World Cup draw.
As the lowest-ranked of nine unseeded European
qualifiers, France was expected to go in the Africa-dominated pot — meaning it
could not be placed in the same group as a top-seeded European team.
But instead of following its format from 2006, FIFA
decided Tuesday that all nine European teams enter an open ballot to decide
which can be drawn alongside the five African teams, plus Chile and Ecuador, in
Pot 2.
France could still face the top South Americans, but now
it also has the chance of drawing seeded Switzerland or Belgium.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter says the decision followed
talks with confederation presidents, including UEFA’s French President Michel
Platini.
Culled from WashingtonPost
0 comments:
Post a Comment