England drawn against Croatia in WC Qualifying

[Mavrik]

England and Croatia drawn together again; Korean neighbors are World Cup foes

DURBAN, South Africa: England will again face Croatia in qualifying, and South Korea will play North Korea in the tournament to decide who reaches the 2010 World Cup.

The qualifying draw pulled out some surprises Sunday, but most of the powerhouse teams were handed comparatively easy opponents.

"Everyone in Croatia was saying 'Give us England again,' but I wanted to avoid England," said Croatia coach Slaven Bilic, who led his team over England on Wednesday to keep the English from qualifying for next year's European Championship. "It is a very, very hard draw because they are by far the best team from the second pot."

The other teams in Group 6 are Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra.

Italy, which won its fourth World Cup title last year, drew Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and newcomer Montenegro in its qualifying group.

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"Bulgaria, Ireland, Georgia, and Montenegro are countries that do not have a great soccer tradition but they are difficult teams," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. "On paper, Bulgaria could be the one that competes with us for qualification."

Three-time World Cup champion Germany has Russia, Finland and Wales as its toughest opponents. Spain and the Netherlands, who also will be among the main contenders from Europe, have relatively easy tasks, too.

France, the 1998 World Cup champion and runner-up last year, is in probably the toughest European group with Romania and Serbia.

The nine European group winners are guaranteed spots in the final tournament in South Africa. The eight best runners-up will move on to the playoffs to decide the other four spots.

France coach Raymond Domenech wasn't at the draw, but French soccer federation Jean-Pierre Escalettes was satisfied.

"It's never easy but it could have been worse," Escalettes said. "Romania is solid, Serbia is solid. Austria you never know what they are capable of doing. We will do everything to finish first."

Greece, which defends its European Championship title next year, must play Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg in Group 2. Spain, which has never won the World Cup, faces Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia.

Group 1 has Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta, and Group 3 includes the Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino.

In the only group with five teams, the Netherlands drew Scotland, Norway, Macedonia and Iceland.

"(Scotland is) going to be an interesting opponent," Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. "I think last week when they played Italy they looked very good so we have to be very careful. If look at the group they are the second (in the rankings) so it's pretty logical. Also they haven't lost in Scotland for a long time."

The highlights of the Asian leg of the draw was the meeting of North and South Korea and Australia's first group opponents since moving from Oceania.

The Korean neighbors, who fought a war in the early 1950s, remain political foes although relations have warmed in recent years. Now they must meet competitively on the soccer field with Jordan and Turkmenistan completing the group.

Australia, which lost to Italy on a disputed penalty in the second round of last year's World Cup, switched from Oceania to get a better chance of qualifying. The Socceroos will face China, Iraq and Qatar.

The other groups are: Japan, Bahrain, Oman and Thailand; Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Singapore; and Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Syria.

The five group winners and five runners-up move to another stage of group games to decide four Asian qualifiers. A fifth team will take part in a playoff with a team from Oceania, which has already begun qualifying.

The draw was held before an audience of 3,000, including South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, at Durban's International Convention Center.

United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller pulled his team out of the bowls to face either Dominica or Barbados in its first qualifying game of group matches.

The Americans were among the top seeded teams with Mexico and Costa Rica. The Mexicans face either Belize or St. Kitts and Nevis in their first game, while Costa Rica meets the winner of the U.S. Virgin Islands or Grenada.

"There is no easy draw as players and teams continue to improve," Keller said.

Twelve teams will move on to the semifinal group stage. The three group winners and three runners-up will play in a final round to decide three teams who go to the final tournament. A fourth team will play off with the fifth-place South American team for another spot.

haha. sweet irony.