FIFA officially announced the pots for this week’s World Cup draw as well as the prize money on the line in next summer’s international football showcase. The draw itself, which will place the 32 teams into eight groups, is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 6.
Pot 1 (top eight seeds): Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay
Pot 2: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ecuador
Pot 3: Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras
Pot 4: Bosnia, Croatia, England, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, France
National Team | FIFA Ranking |
Brazil | 10 |
Spain | 1 |
Germany | 2 |
Argentina | 3 |
Colombia | 4 |
Uruguay | 6 |
Switzerland | 8 |
Belgium | 11 |
Pot 1 is comprised of host nation Brazil and the seven top-ranked teams from FIFA’s October rankings. These will be the headline squads for each group, and those outside it will likely be rooting for a spot alongside Switzerland, or at least to avoid Brazil, Spain, Germany or Argentina.
National Team | FIFA Ranking |
Algeria | 26 |
Cameroon | 51 |
Ivory Coast | 17 |
Ghana | 24 |
Nigeria | 36 |
Chile | 15 |
Ecuador | 23 |
At the outset, Pot 2 only has seven teams, made up of national teams from Africa and the South American squads not in Pot 1. Eventually, another European team will be drawn into this pot, but there will be a separate “Pot X” created to avoid three teams from UEFA ending up in the same group.
National Team | FIFA Ranking |
Australia | 59 |
Iran | 45 |
Japan | 48 |
Korea Republic | 54 |
Costa Rica | 31 |
Honduras | 41 |
Mexico | 20 |
United States | 14 |
FIFA
Pot 3 is straightforward. It’s comprised of teams that qualified from the Asian and North American regions, which includes the United States and Mexico. Teams from this pot will need luck in order to avoid a very difficult draw.
National Team | FIFA Ranking |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 21 |
Croatia | 16 |
England | 13 |
France | 19 |
Greece | 12 |
Italy | 7 |
Netherlands | 9 |
Portugal | 5 |
Russia | 22 |
FIFA
Finally, the fourth pot is all of the remaining European teams. Since there are nine sides, it creates an imbalance that will get sorted out when one is drawn into Pot 2. But again, FIFA is going to immediately draw a South American team from “Pot X” and European team together to avoid three UEFA teams ending up together, as explained during the press conference.