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The road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ shifted firmly into focus as 166
countries around the globe discovered the challenges ahead at the
Preliminary Draw in Rio de Janeiro.
Eighty-one years to the day since Uruguay
became the first team to win the Jules Rimet Trophy on home soil in
Montevideo, world football’s biggest prize was in the limelight once
more and if FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, in his introductory
speech, described football as Brazil’s “beating heart”, there were
pulses accelerating inside the Marina da Gloria and far beyond as the
draw unfolded.
Some of the greats of Brazilian football helped FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke in conducting the draw – including Bebeto, Cafu, Ronaldo, Mario Zagallo and Zico – and it threw up some intriguing contests, not least in the European Zone where holders Spain were drawn against France, winners in 1998, in Group I. These rivals last met in the second round of the 2006 finals in Germany where France won 3-1 en route to the final. The third seeds in Group I are Belarus who have taken four points off France in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.
Some of the greats of Brazilian football helped FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke in conducting the draw – including Bebeto, Cafu, Ronaldo, Mario Zagallo and Zico – and it threw up some intriguing contests, not least in the European Zone where holders Spain were drawn against France, winners in 1998, in Group I. These rivals last met in the second round of the 2006 finals in Germany where France won 3-1 en route to the final. The third seeds in Group I are Belarus who have taken four points off France in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.
