Roar Guru
After what has seemingly been a long and arduous process, the draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup is finally upon us. Join us for live results and reaction from 3.00am AEDT on Saturday morning as we look to see who the Socceroos have drawn.
For those not 100 percent familiar with the process, FIFA has divided the 32 teams that have qualified for the 2014 World Cup into four respective pots.
From these four pots, eight groups of four teams will be drawn, with the top two teams from those respective groups going on to qualify for the knockout stages of the Cup.
The pots for the draw are as listed below:
Pot A
Brazil Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay, Switzerland
Pot B
Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, Ecuador
Pot C
Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, USA
Pot D
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Russia (Note: just to be confusing, before the start of the draw one team from Pot D will be allocated into Pot B so that the pots are even. This is to do with geographical distribution of the pots—basically it’s best to trust me on this one!)
What that means for Australia is that they can draw any team except for those in the same pot as them.
In a worst-case scenario, this could mean that the Socceroos are drawn into a group that could look like them, Spain, Italy and France all in the same group.
In a best case scenario, they might draw Switzerland, Cameroon and Russia, though all of that still remains to be seen.
We’ll know exactly who the Socceroos will need to beat in the 2014 FIFA World Cup soon, though, so make sure you join us for live commentary, results and updates starting from around 2.50pm AEDT and then leading on through the morning.
Oh, and you might want to all cross your fingers that we don’t draw Brazil and France (having watched those friendlies that took place earlier in the year)!