Football World Focuses on 2010 Draw in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN: Football World Focuses on 2010 Draw in Cape Town, The eyes of the football world focused on Cape Town on Friday, with fans of 32 competing nations hoping for a kind draw at next year’s World Cup.
Coaches, former football greats and celebrities were gathering for a draw ceremony to decide the eight groups of four teams.
Oscar-winning movie star Charlize Theron will help FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke in a lavish ceremony due to start at 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT).
Defending champion Italy, five-time winner Brazil and European champion Spain will be looking to avoid the sort of draw that makes it tough to get through the group phase. Teams from New Zealand to Mexico, Chile to North Korea, Slovakia to host South Africa will hope those conducting the draw will give them a chance of a place in the knockout phase.
The 32 nations in the draw have been split geographically into four pots which will eventually produce eight groups of four teams.
South Africa, as host, has been given one of the seeded positions along with Italy, Brazil, Spain, England, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina.
“Expectations are very high and this is the start of the World Cup for me and the other coaches involved,” said South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led his native Brazil to the 1994 title and has coached at three other World Cups. “I have been involved in World Cup draws before. As Brazil’s national coach, expectations were just as high but this one is extra special because we are the World Cup hosts.”
The other three South American teams — Paraguay, Chile and two-time World Cup winner Uruguay — are also in the same pool so they can’t meet in the first round. The same applies to the four Asian qualifiers, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Australia. and Africa’s other qualifiers, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Cafu, who captained Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title, said Africans will have an edge at the tournament “because of playing on home territory and because of the supporters.”
Only two African teams have advanced as far as the World Cup quarterfinals, with Cameroon reaching that phase in 1990 and Senegal matching it in 2002.
The 13 European teams in the competition can’t avoid each other altogether, but there can’t be more than two in any group.
The second band of European teams — France, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece and Serbia — are in the same pool. That has angered the French, who felt they should have been seeded after winning the title in 1998 and reaching the final four years ago.
Because France is in the European pot, there could be a repeat of the 2006 World Cup final in the group stage, with Italy possibly meeting the French.
With the draw ceremony for the June 11-July 11 championship taking place and hundreds of delegates and officials from around the world gathering in Cape Town, the bidding nations for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 are also taking the opportunity to impress observers.
David Beckham is one of the leading figures backing England’s bid. But the 1966 hosts face opposition from the United States, Australia, Russia, Japan, Qatar, Indonesia, South Korea and joint bids from Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium.
Football World Focuses on 2010 Draw in Cape Town was first posted on December 4, 2009 at 9:11 pm.
India Srilanka Live Cricket Scores
Mumbai: India Srilanka Live Cricket Scores, India Srilanka Live Cricket ScoresIndia vs Srilanka 3rd test live streaming: India Srilanka live match, score highlight, Sehwag out. Though Sehwag could not complete his triple century and gave his wicket to Muralitharan, he still managed 293 runs, just hundred runs short of what the whole Sri Lankan side scored.
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Sehwag on his way to 293 runs smashed not only fours and sixes, but also scored fastest 250 runs in the history of test cricket.
He always plays cricket in his own style and dictates terms to the opposition bowlers.
Update: Sachin completes his fifty. India 539 for 3 wicket’s loss.
Update: Tendulkar goes out for 53 runs.
Update: Laxman departs after playing a useful inning of 62 runs.
Update: Dhoni completes his 50 as Sreesanth departs. India 670/9
Update: Yuvraj fails again. Herath takes his wicket. Harbhajan and Zaheer depart in quick succession.
Update: Dhoni takes India’s score beyond 650 runs. He is playing at individual score of 39 runs. India are 652 for the loss of 8 wickets
He left India at a commanding position of almost 500 runs for the loss of just two wickets.
A mighty batsman known for his flamboyant style and long innings-if he stays at the crease-he was so impressive that everyone is praiseful for her.
Yesterday was a fest day for cricket loving Mumbaikars. Many people who heard that Sehwag has completed century reached the stadium. In recent memory I don’t remember seeing so many people coming to see a test match.
Sehwag holds several records, especially in test cricket. It includes
Fastest 250 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced.
Most Test runs in a single day by an Indian. Sehwag made 257 in a day against SA in Chennai. He surpassed this in making 284 in a day against Sri Lanka. The latter was the second consecutive innings in which India scored more than 400 runs in a single day in Tests. Sehwag also made a century at faster than a run a ball on the previous equation.
Only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in Test cricket. He is the third batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two triple centuries, alongside Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara.
Fastest century in ODI cricket by an Indian – 100 runs off 60 balls against New Zealand in 2009.
Second fastest ODI 50 by an Indian.[94] – a record, he shares with Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh – when he took 22 balls against Kenya in 2001[95]
Six double centuries – the first three of which came against Pakistan.[96] Greg Chappell is the only other player to have scored multiple double centuries against Pakistan (2). Sehwag is the only Indian to have made six Test double centuries.
Highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He first achieved this when he scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004, and bettered his previous record in March 2008 at Chennai against South Africa by scoring 319.
India Srilanka Live Cricket Scores was first posted on December 4, 2009 at 9:26 pm.
