2014 World Cup qualifying

[bennocelt]

Just know engerland are going to get Switzerland

[ArdeeBhoy]

Hope you're wrong. And they get one of the 'better' top seeds.

[Charlie Darwin]

England are out already.

[Stuttgart88]

Bad location and bad draw for England.

Reckon Australia could be in for a hiding.

[bennocelt]

Just know engerland are going to get Switzerland

Well not quite, but god what a great group for Switzerland, should be no problem to come out of that group, should be!
One question is, I was sure that France as the worst European team with the lowest fifa ranking were to be the team that was placed with the SA/African group, but it looks like the French got the goalposts changed again!
And as for England, now that's a hard group!

[geysir]

Was it just a speculation that France would end up in pot 2 rather than a team picked at random?

[Charlie Darwin]

Was it just a speculation that France would end up in pot 2 rather than a team picked at random?

It was based on the assumption they would continue to use the procedure they used in 2006, where the lowest-ranked European side, Serbia & Montenegro, were put in a special pot to ensure they weren't drawn with two other European sides. Instead, they returned to the process of 2002 where there were 11 European teams in the European pool and three were drawn first to ensure they remained separate from the European teams. This wasn't an issue in 2010 as there were enough European sides in Pot 1 to make up for it - I don't know what their contingency was in that case.

[geysir]

So Platini pulled off a Charlie Byrne type stroke.
You get the impression that there are a wide variety of precedents existing, that FIFA can just pull one out that suits the present predicament.
I guess that means 4 more years for Blatter?

[bennocelt]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/...160323229.html

One for the conspiracy theorists!

[geysir]

I see from the photos on that link that I might have been more interested in the actual draw, had I known the view would be so spectacular.

[bennocelt]

I see from the photos on that link that I might have been more interested in the actual draw, had I known the view would be so spectacular.

Ha, yes that was def one of the highlights, strange it wasnt commented on by the Beeb, but then they are awful, generally.

[geysir]

There were other highlights?