Quote:

---

What do people think about the way that the groups are done

---

Quote:

---

France v Senegal anyone?

---

• The eight seeded teams (Pot One) will be drawn into eight different groups.
  
• Eight unseeded European sides (Pot Three) will be drawn into the eight different groups.
  
• The lowest-ranked European side Serbia and Montenegro will be allocated to one of the groups containing either Brazil, Argentina or Mexico to ensure there is no more than two European sides in any group.
  
• A pot of the five African countries (Pot Two), Australia and the two remaining South American sides drawn into eight different groups.
  
• A pot containing the four Asian countries (Pot Four), the USA, Costa Rica and Trinidad drawn into seven different groups.
  

Forget England, we want to play the Yanks
By Greg Prichard and Michael Cockerill

LEADING football figures in Australia are staggered by the arrogance of US coach Bruce Arena's dismissal of the Socceroos as likely World Cup easybeats. Former Socceroos stars Robbie Slater, Alex Tobin and Craig Foster variously described Arena's comments as naive, ignorant and laughable, and Sydney FC striker Dwight Yorke joined the chorus as FIFA announced the seedings for the tournament in Germany in June. The World Cup draw will be made on Saturday.

Arena, whose team has achieved a FIFA world ranking of eight due largely to a system widely regarded as flawed, told Sports Illustrated's website: "The last time around [in the World Cup], the easy games were China and Saudi Arabia. This time around you'd probably say Australia and Trinidad & Tobago are the weak ones." Arena seemed to grudgingly concede Australia and Trinidad & Tobago had some claims to being there, adding: "But Australia has basically all of its players in Europe, and Trinidad have a guy [in Yorke] who was arguably the top striker in soccer."

Trinidad & Tobago star Yorke last night bristled at Arena's suggestion. "The manager of the American team is entitled to his opinion," he said. "Hopefully when he comes up against one of us we can shove the words right back in his face. America was in our [qualifying] group. They know they were very fortunate to beat us. They are not a brilliant team like they are making out to be … we've been playing them for years, they are not that special."

Foster laughed when told of Arena's comments. "I just wonder where he's coming from," he said. "He's got the right to voice his opinion, but it's laughable to suggest we rate that lowly. He'll have to eat his words if we come up against the US. There's no issue we can beat them. We can beat any team on our day." Slater said he would be delighted if Australia and the US were grouped together. "I would rather the Socceroos got into a group with the US than any of the other teams that may be ranked in the top tier," he said. "And that's not being disrespectful, that's based on fact. We have nothing to fear from the US. I would back us against the US - any game, anywhere. Our squad has a lot more quality than theirs and I would back [Socceroos coach] Guus Hiddink against any coach. I think [Arena's] comments might just show what he knows about the real world. I find his comments naive, but it doesn't surprise me, coming from a US coach. I mean, where has he been?"

Tobin, who captained Australia in their most recent game against the US seven years ago - 0-0 draw in San Jose - said: "I'd say he just doesn't know a lot about Australian football. I'd dismiss it. I think Australia will be very competitive at the World Cup. I'd be very, very confident about Australia knocking off the US, with all due respect to the US."

The seedings are: Germany, Brazil, Italy, France, Argentina, Spain, Mexico and England. Australia are in pool two with Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia, Ecuador and Paraguay. Pool three consists of Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. The US are in pool four with Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago. Each of the eight four-team groups in the draw will consist of one team from each tier, with Serbia & Montenegro in a special pot.

There had been concern about the formulation of the seedings. England and the Netherlands were worried they might miss out on a top-tier spot to the US. The seedings were based on a blend of results at the past two World Cups and FIFA rankings for the past three years. The US have had good results at recent World Cup tournaments but always had easy routes to qualification through the weak CONCACAF group, compared with Australia's task of having to beat the fifth-best South American nation.

Australia beat the world 18th-ranked Uruguay in a two-leg play-off to qualify for the finals. The most recent result for the US was a 1-1 draw with 61st-ranked Scotland in a friendly in Glasgow last month. The Socceroos are ranked 49th, ahead of four other World Cup finalists.

Slater described the rankings as "very misleading". "It's based on the number of games you play and win, rather than who you actually play," he said. Foster thought Arena was underestimating Australia based on results from years ago. "I hope he keeps underestimating us, because he'll get a shock if we play them," he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-cup-2006/us-sledge-fires-up-socceroos/2005/12/06/1133829597323.html

Socceroos insult
By JOHN TAYLOR

THE high-flying Socceroos have received a slap in the face from US coach Bruce Arena who has rated Australia one of the two weakest teams at next year's World Cup. Despite Australia having beaten world No.18 Uruguay to qualify, Arena considers Australia and Trinidad & Tobago to be the easybeats of the event starting next June.

Arena, whose US team is controversially ranked at No.8 in the world, has overlooked the fact that at No.49 Australia are ranked higher than four other sides at the World Cup finals in Germany next year - Ghana (50), Trinidad & Tobago (51), Togo (56) and Angola (62). "The last time around the easy games were China and Saudi Arabia," Arena said. "This time around you'd probably say Australia and Trinidad & Tobago are the weak ones."

The American coach's comments give the Socceroos ample reason to hope they are selected in the same pool as the Americans when the World Cup draw is completed in Lepzig, Germany, on Saturday morning (AEDT). Former Socceroos skipper Alex Tobin, who captained Australia in their last meeting with the US seven years ago (a 0-0 draw in San Jose), said Arena's comments came down to "ignorance". "I'd say he just doesn't know a lot about Australian football," said Tobin, now development manager at A-League club Central Coast. "They don't get a lot of information about our football and we don't really get a lot about theirs. I think Australia will be very competitive at the World Cup. In fact, I'd be very, very confident about Australia knocking off the US."

Tobin said there were no countries at the World Cup that could be written off as easybeats. "You look at Togo and you look at Angola, and go, 'OK, we don't know them well', but on the flip side they beat Cameroon, they beat Nigeria and all those other countries that you expect to be there, so there must be something in their ability as well."

Former Socceroos coach Raul Blanco also hit back at the American's caustic comments. "They come as a surprise to me. I thought he was an intelligent man," said Blanco, who coached the Australian team - a mixture of senior and Olympic team players - that drew with the US in San Jose. "His comments are in very poor taste. They're not only disrespectful but unethical. It shows he doesn't have a good knowledge of us and how many players are in top leagues in Europe."

While Australia's qualification has essentially come down to playing a two-legged playoff every four years, FIFA has virtually guaranteed the US a spot in the finals by offering automatic qualification to the top three teams in CONCACAF - the North American, Central American and Caribbean zone.

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

Becks looks forward to Yorke Reuters England captain David Beckham believes his team have a genuine chance to win the World Cup after being drawn with Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago. "If we work hard and play to our potential we have a genuine chance of winning the World Cup," Beckham told the FA website after Friday's draw for the 2006 finals. "Watching the World Cup draw today has already excited me as I think about the tournament ahead. We meet a familiar opponent in Sweden - one that both the players and manager know well." "I am looking forward to playing my old (Manchester United) team mate Dwight Yorke (now of Sydney FC) with Trinidad & Tobago. He is someone who I share many great memories with. "Paraguay are a bit of an unknown quantity but we will be prepared fully when we meet them," added the Real Madrid midfielder after England were drawn in Group B. www.theworldgame.com.au

Socceroos are ready: Hiddink AAP The euphoria of World Cup qualification having abated, Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink feels his team is set to prove Australia's worth as a footballing nation. Speaking as the game's powerbrokers gathered for the World Cup draw, Hiddink indicated his players were ready to confound those who feel the nation will be an easy opponent. "We are not just here to complete the program. This team has shown it can be competitive," Hiddink said. "(Qualification) is something to be proud of, but the next step is coming. "The players will commit themselves and show the world they are not just there by accident." "The teams proved in the previous months to be very competitive, and that is what I demand from them - be competitive and you never know what you will achieve. The world will look at them as a good team, an experienced team. We will meet at the very least two very strong opponents. We are not a leading country, but step by step we have improved, and this is the ideal stage to take the next step." Waiting for his draw accreditation, Hiddink was catching up with a gaggle of fellow Dutch coaches who will lead World Cup nations - Holland's Marco van Basten, South Korea's Dick Advocaat and Trinidad & Tobago's Leo Beenhakker. Hiddink admits he would like to draw his native Holland - the team he led to the 1998 semi-finals - and South Korea, who he took to the semi-finals of the last World Cup. "It would be great to meet South Korea because they achieved a lot in the last World Cup, which has had a huge impact," Hiddink said. "It's good to meet your old teams. I'd like to meet Holland." Football Australia chief executive John O'Neill admitted he would like to take on England, and was revelling in the atmosphere in Leipzig ahead of the draw. "If we made it into the second round, I'd be thrilled," O'Neill said. "From a profile point of view, we know back in Australia football will be on everyone's mind for all of the first half of next year. It's the biggest sporting event by a country mile and we're in it. We're still pinching ourselves that we're here. To be here at the draw, it's really sunk in that we've made it - we're at the big table of the world game and it's a very, very exciting moment." O'Neill was also networking the game's powerbrokers, trying to finalise friendlies ahead of the World Cup, finalising Australia's ticketing entitlement - to be announced on December 19 - and no doubt sounding out some about Australia's chances of securing the 2014 World Cup. www.fifaworldcup.com : www.theworldgame.com.au