Soccer: Cup draw from hell for England

After the drums, singer Anastacia and the dignitaries came the news that England feared.

It was the day Sven Goran Eriksson's luck ran out - not just a group of death, more a group of annihilation.

The sighs of relief from other major nations at the luck of the draw for next year's World Cup finals could be heard in distant lands, partly a celebration of England's fate, partly an acknowledgment of their own good fortune.

Eriksson has to navigate England through the minefields of Group F with the bookmakers' favourites, Argentina, old foes Sweden and former Olympic champions Nigeria.

The Swede is not one for the instant sound bite, but his claim that there are no easy groups in the World Cup for once rang true with the force of hammer on anvil.

In 1998, England got a draw made in heaven. Their group opponents were Tunisia, Colombia and Romania.

If England again progress to the knockout stages, it will seem like winning the World Cup, though their joy might be overshadowed by the prospect of meeting the champions, France.

England's misfortune is compounded by the obvious slack in the draw. This World Cup, like the last, is bloated with mediocrity. Since Fifa, the world governing body, extended the draw from 24 to 32 teams in 1998, the competitiveness of the tournament has been diluted.

Tourism is an essential attraction for the host countries, but too many of the sightseers are liable to be footballers.

Fifa can mount a coherent counter-argument on the back of the fairytale pairing of France and Senegal in the opening match of the tournament.

Senegal, a former French colony, will take on its former masters as a curtain-raiser to the biggest spectating and commercial extravaganza in world sport. Quelle surprise!

There could be no more meaningful illustration of the footballing authorities' determination to spread the word into every corner of the globe.

It will more like French A v French B; Senegal are coached by a Frenchman, Bruno Metsu, and a majority of their players ply their trade in the French league. Only the harshest critic, though, could deny Senegal (population 8.5 million) their 90 minutes of footballing fame on May 31 in Seoul. Or deny El Hadji Diouf, the 21-year-old striker born in Dakar whose goals have launched Lens to the top of the French league a rightful stage for his considerable talents.

Lack of organisation, corruption, in-fighting and the drain of talent away from the continent has hindered Africa's progress to the pinnacle of international football.

Nigeria and Cameroon have become Olympic champions, but Cameroon's thunderous march to the 1990 quarter-finals remains the most significant contribution by an African nation to the history of the World Cup.

Cameroon may again prove the surprise package. Past champions, Uruguay, the last of the 29 teams that had to qualify, Poland and Turkey are others with the potential to damage fancy reputations.

From afar, Argentina are worthy favourites. Any side which can afford to leave Gabriel Batistuta on the bench has to be respected.

Of the European challengers, Italy and Spain look more likely champions than Germany, though Michael Ballack has begun to emerge as the midfield playmaker the three-times champions have lacked in recent years.

The format and the humidity will reward teams who can pace themselves and keep hold of the ball, neither exactly strengths of English football.

Rarely have Brazil entered a major tournament with so many question marks hanging over them.

Their qualifying campaign was a shambles, but the thought of a World Cup without the ultimate representatives of the beautiful game was still unthinkable.

Television and organisers will demand more personality than in 1998 and will want a Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Beckham, Owen, Raul or Totti to step forward to claim his birthright.

For all its complexity, the draw has whet the appetite. Some 777 qualifying matches were played between 193 countries to produce 29 qualifiers.

It is the next 64, spread over 30 days and two countries, which really count.

- INDEPENDENT