UEFA Decides 2014 FIFA World Cup Seeding Pots

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UEFA's 53 member associations have been split into six pots for Saturday's 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw (from 20.00CET) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from which nine groups will be determined.

The six seeding pots were based on the July FIFA World Ranking, which was released on 27th July, 2011. The top nine teams are placed in Pot 1 (including world champions Spain and 2010 runners-up the Netherlands), the next nine in Pot 2 and so on, with the lowest eight in Pot 6.

In the European qualifying competition, to be played between 7 September 2012 and 15 October 2013, the teams will be divided into eight groups of six teams and one of five. Each pool will contain one team from each pot, except for the five-team Group I, which will have no country from Pot 6.

The nine section winners progress straight to the finals in Brazil − to be held from 12 June to 13 July 2014 − and the eight best runners-up will play off for the remaining four berths over two legs from 15 to 19 November 2013, with the winners of those matches also competing in South America.

Pot 1
Spain
Netherlands
Germany
England
Portugal
Italy
Croatia
Norway
Greece

Pot 2
France
Montenegro
Russia
Sweden
Denmark
Slovenia
Turkey
Serbia
Slovakia

Pot 3
Switzerland
Israel
Republic of Ireland
Belgium
Czech Republic
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Belarus
Ukraine
Hungary

Pot 4
Bulgaria
Romania
Georgia
Lithuania
Albania
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Austria
Poland

Pot 5
Armenia
Finland
Estonia
Cyprus
Latvia
Moldova
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Azerbaijan
Faroe Islands

Pot 6
Wales
Liechtenstein
Iceland
Kazakhstan
Luxembourg
Malta
Andorra
San Marino

2014 FIFA World Cup seeding pots decided – UEFA.com