ZURICH (AP) – The top seeded teams for the Dec. 5 World Cup tournament draw were determined Wednesday. Germany is included, but Croatia is not. FIFA releases new rankings The day after finishing the Four Continents preliminaries.
In addition to co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico, the first-seeded pot will include top-ranked Spain, defending champion Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Croatia reached the semi-finals in 2022 and the final in 2018, losing to France, but were pushed to pot 2 in the second leg. Lottery ceremony at Kennedy Center In Washington DC. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend.
The latest FIFA rankings also determined the seeds for Thursday’s draw for March’s playoff spots, which will determine the final six teams in the expanded 48-nation lineup.
The 22 teams participating in the playoffs include 16 teams from Europe vying for four World Cup spots and six teams from other regions chasing two intercontinental spots.
Four-time world champions Italy are looking to avoid a humiliating third consecutive play-off defeat and remain top of the European spots.
Italy, ranked 12th in the rankings, took second place in the qualifying group won by Norway and advanced to the play-offs. Erling Haaland’s Norwegian team will form as a dangerous option from Pot 3 in two weeks’ time.
Italy will play the fourth-seeded team at home on Thursday. It could once again be North Macedonia, which shockingly eliminated the Italians in 2022.
The winner on March 26 will advance to the playoff final against the team that advances from the knockout bracket’s No. 2-seed vs. No. 3-seed pairing five days later. Home advantage in the single-game playoff final will be determined by a draw on Thursday rather than by FIFA rankings.
The teams that ultimately make it out of the four European play-off spots are expected to be placeholders from the bottom four pots in the December 5th draw.
In the intercontinental bracket, top seeds Iraq and Congo will each await the winner of a play-off semi-final featuring Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
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European playoff seeding
Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Türkiye, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
Pot 3: Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.
Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia.
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intercontinental playoffs
Seed: Congo, Iraq.
Unseeded: Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Suriname.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
