TEN POT OBSERVATIONS.
1. FIFA got the seedings right. Pot 1 seeds earned their ranking. France did not. France’s final appearance was four years ago.
2. Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay have come out of the pot alignment better than most. Each of the smaller South American nations will avoid the big five African qualifiers in the 1st Round.
3. Argentina and Brazil cannot avoid the African qualifiers from Pot 3. The seeds for two potential Groups of Death have now been sown. Has FIFA put Brazil at risk for an early bath?
4. The most frightening Group of Death would be: Brazil, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Portugal.
5. The dark horse of Pot 2 is Honduras.
6. The tournament’s top scorer will probably find his country drawn against New Zealand in the 1st Round.
7. Slovenia will not be the dark horse of Pot 4. Slovakia might be.
8. South Africa need the luck of the draw more than most. The hosts will hope to be grouped with both New Zealand and Slovenia. So will every other team from Pots 1 and 3, for that matter.
9. Algeria could draw both France and Germany. The Desert Foxes will appreciate the luck of being thrown into that particular garlic and beer feed chicken coop.
10. Italy could renew some old acquaintances. North Korea can beat Italy, again. And Chile can beat Italy up, again.
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3 replies on “Pot Observations”
I see England being drawn in with the hosts and New Zealand. Jermaine “the Poacher” Defoe ane Wayne “Thug” Rooney will feast like Hyenas at the watering hole.
I was wrong in my supposition that England and SA would be in the same pot. As group leaders that would have been impossible. With that in mind, know that the Golden Boot winner will probably be Italian.
That’s cool, England defeated South Africa by seven wickets to enter the final of 2013 ICC Champions trophy on Wednesday.