2010 FIFA World Cup seeding

The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup occurred in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009, at 19:00 local time (UTC+2). In preparation for the draw, the qualified teams were seeded and organised into pots.

Seeding

The criteria for the seeding was released on 2 December and was, in contrast to previous World Cup seeding criteria, based solely upon the October 2009 FIFA World Rankings. Use of the most recent rankings prior to the draw (November 2009) was thought to unfairly benefit those nations who had played competitive fixtures in qualification playoffs during that month, at the expense of those who had already booked their place in the tournament.^[1]

The seven highest seeded teams according to the ranking criteria were placed in Pot 1, alongside the host nation South Africa (who were predetermined to be in Group A).

Association	FIFA Ranking October 2009
South Africa (hosts)	85
Brazil	1
Spain	2
Netherlands	3
Italy	4
Germany	5
Argentina	6
England	7
France	9
Portugal	10
United States	11
Switzerland	13
Cameroon	14
Greece	16
Chile	17
Mexico	18
Ivory Coast	19
Serbia	20
Paraguay	21
Australia	24
Uruguay	25
Denmark	27
Algeria	29
Nigeria	32
Slovakia	33
Honduras	35
Ghana	38
Japan	40
South Korea	48
Slovenia	49
New Zealand	83
North Korea	91

The draw

Teams were organized into four pots of eight teams. The seeded teams were placed in Pot 1 and the remaining teams were placed into Pots 2-4 on a geographical basis, as below.

The basic draw procedure was to draw out the pots starting from Pot 1. One team from each pot would be placed, in order of being drawn, into one of eight groups from A to H. After each team was allocated to a group, its position in the group was also drawn. This determined the team's placement in the predetermined fixture schedule. This was with the exception of the seeded teams, who were automatically placed in their group's Position 1.

In order to maintain geographical separation of teams, the basic draw procedure had to be modified for the drawing of Pot 3. No South American teams could be placed into Brazil or Argentina's groups, and no African team could be placed in South Africa's group. In order to accommodate this, the first two African teams drawn would be placed immediately into Brazil and Argentina's groups. South Africa's group (predetermined to be Group A) was to be left vacant until filled by the first South American team drawn. Beyond these considerations, the principle of filling from A to H applied.^[2]

In the event, the first two teams drawn from Pot 3 were Nigeria and Ivory Coast, who were placed in Argentina's Group B and Brazil's Group G respectively. Algeria were then placed in Group C so that a South American team, Uruguay, could be placed with South Africa in Group A.^[3]

References

FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea/Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 2026 Qualification 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Finals 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Squads 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Seedings 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Broadcasters 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Bids 2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030 Statistics All-time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat-tricks milestone goals own goals Penalty shoot-outs Player appearances Records Red cards Referees Team appearances Teams with no appearances Miscellaneous Awards Balls Broadcasters Economics History Hosts Mascots Official films Official songs Trophy Video games Notes: There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage.