The Republic of Ireland could still face a possible World Cup showdown with two of Europe's top sides despite being placed in a group alongside the non-seeded European nations following FIFA's announcement of the draw format this morning. Mick McCarthy's men will join Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey in the second pool of teams, while holders France, hosts South Korea and Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany and Spain have all been placed in the first seeded group.
The game's governing body also revealed that the draw will have two built-in safeguards, which will limit the number of European teams in the same group to two and will ensure that all South American nations will be evenly spread between the two host nations. The draw is open once the eight seeded nations are allocated a group, with eight European nations to be drawn and placed in each group from A to H. The three remaining European teams will then be drawn and placed in a group which does not already contain two other European teams. The Pot 3 and 4 teams will then be drawn with no two nations from the same continent to be placed in the same group.
The draw for the opening stages of the finals takes place on Saturday morning in Pusan, South Korea, and looking at possible pairings, Ireland could end up playing hosts South Korea, Ecuador and Senegal. A less favourable draw could see the Boys in Green meet reigning champions France, European Qualifying Group 2 winners Portugal and African giants Nigeria. The draw will be covered live on both RTÉ television and radio.
Meanwhile, FIFA have also announced a World Cup amnesty for players booked during qualifying matches, but confirmed bans imposed for red cards would be carried over into the opening games of the finals. That will mean all Mick McCarthy's players will commence the tournament with a clean disciplinary record next June.
FORMAT FOR WORLD CUP DRAW:Pot 1 (Seeds): France, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Spain
Pot 2: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey
Pot 3: Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, China, Saudi Arabia
Pot 4: Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Costa Rica, Mexico, United States
Filed by Shane Murray
