nzherald.co.nz will have live coverage of the World Cup draw from 6am on Saturday.
From 6am tomorrow the eyes of the football world will be on Cape Town's International Convention Centre, where the draw for next summer's World Cup finals will be made in the now customary extensive and complex ceremony.
With luck, complications may even be fewer than usual, as the number of
representatives from the different parts of the world is for once quite convenient.
After the eight teams were nominated by the organising committee yesterday (Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England and South Africa - the hosts gaining direct entry), a further eight European countries remain, one to go into each group.
There will also be eight teams left from Africa (five) and South America (three), who can therefore be kept apart, leaving eight from the remaining regions.
It is those last eight which offer the widest differential in ability, as it is possible to be drawn against anyone from the United States (ranked 14th in the world) to Australia (21st) and North Korea (84th).
SERIOUS CONTENDERS
ARGENTINA (Fifa ranking 8th)
Made hard work of qualifying under Diego Maradona's unstable leadership but still have abundant talent.
BRAZIL (2nd)
Physically tougher and technically better than almost every other side at the tournament. They have serious pedigree.
GERMANY (6th)
Euro 2008 runners-up and unbeaten in qualifying. Badly affected by goalkeeper Robert Enke's death but will be over that by next June.
HOLLAND (3rd)
May not be seeded and could therefore be dangerous opponents for any top seed. Won all qualifying games, conceding only two goals.
ITALY (4th)
Reigning champions were poor at Euros and Confederations Cup, but have quality in midfield and defence, if not attack.
IVORY COAST (16th)
Best of the six Africans, who drew away to Germany recently and will be formidable if Didier Drogba stays fit.
SPAIN (1st)
European champions and Fifa's top-ranked team, this talented squad can consign Spain's long history of World Cup failure to the past.
ENGLAND (9th)
Coach Fabio Capello has instilled steel in their ranks in the past three years and the squad is strong in ball-playing talent. With a better World Cup pedigree than they are given credit for, few teams will intimidate England.
TRICKY CUSTOMERS
CHILE (17th)
"At times it seemed like we were playing Barcelona," said Slovakia's coach Vladimir Weiss after losing 2-1 at home to Chile.
FRANCE (7th)
Strong performers on the big stages and cheeky enough to ride into the party on a dodgy hand ball. Lucky to qualify at Ireland's expense, but have talent almost in spite of coach Raymond Domenech.
GHANA (37th)
Physically powerful squad with the quality of Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari at the heart of their midfield. Could do well.
PORTUGAL (5th)
Made a tasty habit of knocking out England at major tournaments. With most of the golden generation departed, Cristiano Ronaldo will hold the eye.
SERBIA (20th)
Finished ahead of France, who took four points off them, in a weak group. Nemanja Vidic would enjoy kicking most top-flight strikers.
USA (14th)
Finalists in the Gold Cup and Confederations Cup this year. More and more players are gaining experience with European clubs.
HAPPY TO MEET
ALGERIA (28th)
Showed character to come through a volatile play-off against Egypt after being denied during the group stage.
AUSTRALIA (21st)
Happy with their move to Asia, our transtasman cousins will be boosted by a strong run in 2006 which signalled they can mix it with the best. But without Mark Viduka they lack an experienced striker.
CAMEROON (11th)
Coach Paul le Guen rescued their qualifying campaign. Their sixth World Cup out of the last eight, but they are heavily dependent on Samuel Eto'o.
DENMARK (26th)
Good to see some of the most colourful supporters back after eliminating their old rivals Sweden. Well beaten by England in 2002.
GREECE (12th)
Deadly dull European champions in 2004, still under Otto Rehhagel. Pulled off the same trick with a 1-0 play-off win over Ukraine.
HONDURAS (38th)
Wigan and others have found capable players such as Wilson Palacios, Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas.
MEXICO (15th)
Had to sack Sven Goran Eriksson to get their qualifying group back on track. Will field Arsenal's Carlos Vela, but they have no obvious scorer.
NIGERIA (22nd)
Pipped Tunisia in qualifying with a late goal by Obafemi Martens. Less dangerous than Ivory Coast or Ghana.
PARAGUAY (30th)
Fourth successive finals, but have not scored in three meetings with England, the last of them a dull 1-0 defeat at the 2006 World Cup.
SLOVAKIA (34th)
Thrilled to finish ahead of the Czech Republic in qualifying, but looked poor at Wembley in March, falling apart to lose 4-0.
SLOVENIA (33rd)
The Slovenes came through the same group, then beat Russia. Also lost at Wembley, 2-1 in September.
SWITZERLAND (18th)
Achieved their highest Fifa ranking for 15 years under Ottmar Hitzfeld. Still lost at home to Luxembourg before winning the group.
SOUTH AFRICA (86th)
Failed to qualify for the forthcoming African Nations Cup and as their ranking suggests they have only home advantage in their favour.
SOUTH KOREA (52nd)
Fourth in 2002, but the end of their long unbeaten run to Serbia recently was a more realistic indication of status.
URUGUAY (19th)
Play-off winners over Costa Rica to reach only second finals since 1990. Even coach Oscar Tabarez says: "There is a lot to improve on."
THERE FOR THE RIDE
JAPAN (43rd)
Struggled to score goals while finishing runners-up to Australia. Must hope for something from set-piece specialist Shunsuke Nakamura.
NEW ZEALAND (77th)
Our heroes have a hard road ahead. Once Australia departed for Asia, we had little to beat in Oceania and scrapped through against Bahrain.
NORTH KOREA (84th)
Almost as mysterious as in 1966, but can hardly expect to beat Italy this time. Defensive team will be happy to keep scores down.
THE TOP EIGHT
The eight teams nominated by the World Cup's organising committee yesterday:
* Brazil
* Spain
* The Netherlands
* Italy
* Germany
* Argentina
* England
* South Africa
- INDEPENDENT
