Socceroos write off Warriors

Australia will get one round-robin group opponent from each of the following three pots when the draw is conducted in Leipzig tomorrow. So who would the Socceroos most like be drawn with and who are they hoping to avoid?

SEEDS POT: Brazil, Germany, England, Argentina, Italy, France, Mexico, Spain.

Love to get: ENGLAND.

A chance to renew the great sporting rivalry between the two nations on a new stage. The England players, from David Beckham to Wayne Rooney, are household names to Australian football fans. England always seem to put in one horrible game at every World Cup and Australia won 3-1 the last time they met in a friendly.

Of the others, Mexico seem the least intimidating of a frighteningly good lot. They have not progressed past the group stages at the past three World Cups and qualified through the weak CONCACAF group.

Hate to get: GERMANY. BRAZIL. ITALY. ARGENTINA. FRANCE.

Germany have not been playing well in the lead-up, but hosts always perform above themselves and the Germans have a history of being at their best when it matters most. Champions Brazil, ranked No 1 in the world, would also be a nightmare, as would Argentina, Italy, France and even Spain, despite having to qualify through a play-off against Slovakia.

UNSEEDED EUROPEANS POT: Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.

Love to get: CROATIA. SWITZERLAND.

Croatia has contributed much to Australian football, including the current Socceroos of Croatian heritage, Mark Viduka, Zeljko Kalac, Tony Popovic and Josip Skoko. But it would be nice to get one over those Australians who chose to jump ship, chiefly former AIS graduate Josip Simunic, who will be a key member of the Croatian squad.

Switzerland qualified as runners-up in possibly the weakest European group and squeaked through an ill-tempered play-off against Turkey.

Hate to get: NETHERLANDS. CZECH REPUBLIC.

The Dutch only just missed out on the seedings and are loaded with talented players. Have never won the World Cup but have come very close on a few occasions. They also went through qualifying undefeated.

Australia’s one advantage is coach Guus Hiddink, who knows even the less-heralded Dutch players from his club job with PSV Eindhoven. The Czech Republic were also unlucky to miss out on the seedings and are ranked second in the world. They scored 35 goals in their 12 qualifying matches.

ASIA/AMERICAS POT: Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, USA.

Love to get: SOUTH KOREA, USA.

The South Korean squad is still largely made up of the remnants of the 2002 team that Hiddink guided to the semi-finals, so the Socceroos coach will know the location of all the cracks he managed to paper over. As for the US, after coach Bruce Arena’s comments this week that the Socceroos, along with Trinidad and Tobago, were "the weak ones" in the tournament, Australia have made no secret of the fact they would love to get a chance to prove him wrong.

Hate to get: IRAN.

Before the salvation of that win over Uruguay, Australian players and fans would get a chill down their spine from the mere mention of Iran after the agony of the 1997 World Cup qualifier, which they drew 2-2 after two late Iranian goals that stymied Australia’s qualification bid.

Australia are in the same pot as African qualifiers Ghana, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Angola and Togo and the two lowest-ranked South American teams, Ecuador and Paraguay, so will not face any of them in group stage. Serbia and Montenegro are in pot of their own as lowest-ranked Europeans, so will play in group that has only one other European team.

THE SEEDINGS

Pot One: Germany (hosts), Brazil (champions), Italy, France, Argentina, England, Mexico, Spain.

Pot Two: Australia, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia, Ecuador, Paraguay.

Pot three: Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.

Pot Four: Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States.

Special Pot: Serbia and Montenegro.