Firstly, there will be four pots of eight teams, with one team from each pot drawn for each group. The exact composition of the pots will be revealed on December 3. Pot 1 is already known. It comprises hosts Brazil plus the seven highest-ranked teams: Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland and Uruguay. The three other pots will likely be: Pot 2 (Rest of Europe): Italy, the Netherlands, England, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Russia, Greece and Portugal. Pot 3: The remaining unseeded South American nations – Ecuador and Chile, the five African nations – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria – and France.

Pot 4: The four Asian qualifiers – Australia, Japan, South Korea and Iran – and the four North/Central American nations – USA, Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica. No group can have more than two countries from the same continent, and Brazil as hosts will play in the opening game and are guaranteed to be team 1 in Group A. GROUPS OF DEATH The 1970 World Cup group of reigning champions England, eventual champions Brazil along with Czechoslovakia and Romania is widely considered one of the most difficult groups in World Cup history, but that could realistically be surpassed by several possibilities in the upcoming tournament. With the likes of Italy, England, the Netherlands and Portugal unseeded, we could be treated to four mouth-watering match-ups, such as:

Group A: Brazil, the Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Mexico Group B: Argentina, Italy, France, Japan Group C: Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, South Korea Group D: Germany, England, Chile, United States Of course, this would lead to a lopsided draw and ensure a large number of strong nations stumbling at the first hurdle. However, it would promise a captivating opening fortnight to the tournament.

AUSTRALIA'S BEST HOPE Australia have been dealt a blow by being included in a pot among many of the weaker nations, meaning they cannot draw them in a group. They can have few complaints with that, however, as they will enter the draw as the lowest-ranked nation at the World Cup, at 59th in the world in the latest rankings. Although, with Switzerland, Colombia and Uruguay seeded at the expense of seemingly stronger nations and the possibility of drawing some of the lower-ranked nations such as Algeria, Greece and Cameroon, there is still hope of receiving a favourable outcome. The Socceroos could be included in a "Group of Life" alongside Switzerland, Greece and Algeria. With two teams from each group advancing to the knockout rounds, it's not integral to avoid drawing one of the stronger teams from the seeded Pot 1, rather to hope to avoid drawing a strong nation from either of the other two pots. For example, drawing the likes of Argentina, Spain, Brazil or Germany would not be a disaster so long as we avoided the likes of Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, England or Croatia from the European pot, or France, Ivory Coast or Chile from the third pot. After all, the Socceroos' best performance at the World Cup occurred when they drew Brazil in the group stage in 2006.

The best outcome for Australia has divided local football experts, with some believing that a tough draw might bring out the best in the Socceroos. Although there seems to be a consensus that being selected alongside Italy or the Netherlands from the European pot will consign Australia to an early exit. John Aloisi, Melbourne Heart coach and former Socceroo Best draw for Australia: Uruguay, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Algeria Worst draw for Australia: Brazil, Italy and France "We've got a bit of history with them [Uruguay] and we know what to expect from them. I think Bosnia wouldn't be a bad team to draw. You want to draw teams from countries that haven't played a lot in the World Cup."

Ned Zelic, SBS football pundit and former Socceroo Best draw: Switzerland, Greece and Algeria Worst: Argentina, Italy and France "Basically avoid Italy in pot two and the third pot is tough, avoid Chile or France." Mark Rudan, football pundit and former Sydney FC captain

Best draw: Switzerland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Algeria Loading Worst: Brazil, Italy, France "I just hope that we don't play a negative style of football and put on a good show . . . You want to avoid the teams you played in the last year or so."