honeric01: I also want Iran and Greece if possible or Switzerland.

Brazil World Cup: Opening match venue 'ready mid-April'

World football's governing body Fifa has admitted that the stadium where the opening match of the 2014 World Cup is due to be played in Sao Paulo will not be ready until April.

"We have received information that it will be ready on 14 or 15 April," said Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

But he reaffirmed that "there's no plan B" and the opening match will go ahead as planned in Sao Paulo on 12 June.

Five other stadia are still under construction.

Two people died last week at the opening match venue - Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians, or Itaquerao - as a construction crane collapsed.

But Mr Blatter said the venues will be ready in time: "We believe it is a question of trust. It will be done."

He was speaking at Costa do Sauipe, a seaside resort in Bahia state where on Friday Fifa will carry out the draw that will define the groups for the opening stage of the World Cup.
'Late bride'

On Thursday, Brazil's Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said six venues - in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Cuiaba, Manaus and Natal - would miss Fifa's original 31 December deadline and only be ready in January.

WORLD CUP DRAW REHEARSAL:
GROUP A – Brazil, Italy, France, Australia
GROUP B – Uruguay, Nigeria, USA, Croatia
GROUP C – Argentina, Ghana, Costa Rica, Russia
GROUP D – Switzerland, Chile, Japan, Greece
GROUP E – Spain, Ivory Coast, South Korea,
England
GROUP F – Colombia, Cameroon, Honduras,
Netherlands
GROUP G – Germany, Ecuador, Iran, Portugal
GROUP H – Belgium, Algeria, Mexico, Bosnia-
Herzegovina

homesteady:
Group A

CFCfan:
+100

However, if Greece is placed in pot 2, they will avoid Nigeria

Afam4eva: An Ogbaje Nigerian TV station just asked the viewers to predict the groups that all the teams will be in and they'll win a trip to the world cup. How wicked can human beings be.

Afam4eva: An Ogbaje Nigerian TV station just asked the viewers to predict the groups that all the teams will be in and they'll win a trip to the world cup. How wicked can human beings be.

CFCfan:

Like safarigirl said, no one will correctly predict all the groups.
What is the name of the wicked station?

Afam4eva:
It's your favourite station. I expected more from them.

Afam4eva: An Ogbaje Nigerian TV station just asked the viewers to predict the groups that all the teams will be in and they'll win a trip to the world cup. How wicked can human beings be.

CFCfan:

Channels??

CFCfan: ^
that hypothetical grp A would be the toughest ever WC group.

CFCfan: 'Best' case scenario for Naija:
Switzerland, Nigeria, Iran, Greece. Hondorus or bosnia

'Worst' case scenario: Spain/Brazil, Nigeria, Japan, Netherlands.

CFCfan: Will the ceremony be broadcast on terrestrial tv in Nigeria?

Austeenx:

One big team must go home from the group stage. I'm afraid, it's not Brazil, they're already home. Maybe France.
Australia will be the whipping boys.

homesteady:
Yea! France and Australia will be eliminated

Afam4eva:
Yes. it will be broadcast by BON/OSMI and will be shown locally.