17:55 England were 28/1 to win the World Cup before this draw took place, they are now 40/1 which says something about the task England face to progress from this group.
17:37 Should England qualify from Group D they will play one of Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast or Japan in the last 16.
Some other potential ties in the knockout stages are Brazil v Spain/Netherlands; Germany v Belgium and Argentina v France.
17:24 So what do England fans think of that? It's a tough group but maybe that's what we need to get us going in an international tournament? I'm sure the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard etc will be relishing these big ties. Let us know what you think @footballuk
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea.
Group G: Germany, Ghana, Portugal and USA
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France and Honduras
Group D: Uruguay, England, Costa Rica and Italy
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan
Group B: Spain, Chile, Australia and Netherlands
Group A: Brazil, Mexico, Croatia and Cameroon
17:22 Here's a recap of all the groups.
17:19 Wow, so there we have it, England drawn in the group of death. Group D.
RUSSIA ARE IN GROUP H
PORTUGAL ARE IN GROUP G
BOSNIA ARE IN GROUP F
FRANCE ARE IN GROUP E
ENGLAND ARE IN GROUP D (D standing for death...)
GREECE ARE IN GROUP C
NETHERLANDS ARE IN GROUP B
CROATIA ARE IN GROUP A
SOUTH KOREA ARE IN GROUP H
USA ARE IN GROUP G
IRAN ARE IN GROUP F
HONDURAS ARE IN GROUP E
COSTA RICA ARE IN GROUP D
JAPAN ARE IN GROUP C
AUSTRALIA ARE IN GROUP B
MEXICO ARE IN GROUP A
17:07 Halfway through then, and Group E looks the 'easiest' so far. Group D looks tough.
ALGERIA ARE IN GROUP H
GHANA ARE IN GROUP G
NIGERIA ARE IN GROUP F
IVORY COAST ARE IN GROUP C
ECUADOR ARE IN GROUP E
CAMEROON ARE IN GROUP A
CHILE ARE IN GROUP B
ITALY ARE IN GROUP D
BELGIUM ARE IN GROUP H
GERMANY ARE IN GROUP G
ARGENTINA ARE IN GROUP F
SWITZERLAND ARE IN GROUP E
URUGUAY ARE IN GROUP D
COLOMBIA ARE IN GROUP C
SPAIN ARE IN GROUP B
BRAZIL ARE IN GROUP A
16:57 A reminder that there can be no more than two European teams in any one group.
16:55 Here we go then, the people who will draw the balls are out on stage.Geoff Hurst, Mario Kempes, Fabio Cannavaro, Lothar Matthaus, Zinedine Zidane, Fernando Hierro, Cafu and Alcides Ghiggia.
16:54 The mysterious 'Pot X' getting a lot of attention before the pre-draw...
16:52 Words from Brazil legend Pele:
"I really trust Brazil very much, I think they will be in the final. I will never forget the 1950 World Cup final in Brazil when I saw my dad crying as the home nation lost.
"I do not want my kids to see me crying in this World Cup. I want to tell the whole world of football that Brazil is waiting for you with open arms."
16:47 Roy Hodgson eagerly watching...
16:43 A pre-draw will be held to move one of the European non-seeds (potentially England) to pot 2
Pot 1 will then be drawn. Brazil will be placed in Group A, with all other seeds drawn sequentially in Groups B-H
The four South American seeds are temporarily allocated to Pot X and one team is drawn - meaning their group will include the European side moved to Pot 2 in the pre-draw
The remaining teams in Pot 2 will be then drawn
This is done sequentially from Group A to H, although groups may be skipped to guarantee geographical separation - i.e. Chile and Ecuador will not be drawn into groups containing South American seeds
The teams from Pot 3 will then be drawn sequentially from Group A to H
The teams from Pot 4 will then be drawn sequentially from Group A to H
Finally, the position within groups (A2, A3, A4, B2, B3, B4 etc) will be drawn for all teams in pots two, three and four. Only then will we know where and when teams will meet
16:32 If you were wondering what England's pre-draw chances of winning the World Cup were take a look at this:
Brazil 7/2
Germany 11/2
Argentina 6/1
Spain 13/2
Belgium 16/1
Holland 22/1
Italy 22/1
Columbia 28/1
England 28/1
Uruguay 33/1
France 33/1
Portugal 33/1
Chile 50/1
Russia 90/1
Croatia 150/1
Mexico 150/1
Ivory Coast 150/1
Switzerland 175/1
Japan 175/1
Ghana 200/1
USA 200/1
Bosnia Herzegovina 200/1
Ecuador 225/1
Greece 275/1
Nigeria 300/1
South Korea 600/1
Australia 600/1
Cameroon 800/1
Algeria 3000/1
Costa Rica 3000/1
Iran 3500/1
Honduras 6000/1
Courtesy of Odsschecker.com!
16:29 Pele, Ronaldo, Neymar and Oscar - and Big Phil Scolari - all get a round of applause as the opening address from Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff comes to an end.
16:21 Did you know: there are eight former World Cup winners and all eight have made it to the 2014 World Cup.
Uruguay's Luis Suarez, Netherlands striker Robin van Persie and Belize's Deon McCaulay were the top scorers in qualifying with 11 goals each
A total of 202 national teams played at least one 2014 World Cup qualifier
16:15 The pots are ready!
16:01 Action! We have some action as Jaques Wagner, a local government official of some kind, addresses the packed tent. The draw is closing in!
15:56 The excitement is building as players and officials arrive ahead of the draw, here's Hurst accompanied by Zidane. Those two bring back some memories...
15.40 World Cup organizers said they would pay homage to the memory of Nelson Mandela ahead of Friday's draw, FIFA president Sepp Blatter told AFP.
""We knew he was unwell and that he was going to die," Blatter said, revealing there would be a presentation showing Mandela holding the World Cup trophy during the event in his homeland in 2010.
"You will see what we shall show today, him with the World Cup in his hands. It's his happiest moment. A dream became reality when we gave the World Cup to South Africa," the head of football's governing body said.
"It's the South Africa World Cup coming here and Mandela is sending a message here to the entire world," Blatter added.
15:34 Have you heard the news? Rio Ferdinand will be going to Brazil after all... but as part of the BBC's punditry team - read the full story here.
15:26 It's not just fans who are looking forward to the draw, Manchester City's and Belgium's Vincent Kompany has tweeted his excitement 'Looking forward to today’s World Cup draw #BelgiumtoBrazil'
15.00 Will England end up in Il Gruppo Della Morte? Knowing that going into the tournament may not be a bad thing. What do you think?
14.48 Coverage of the draw will start at 4:30pm UK time and the draw is expected to last for around 90 minutes so expect lots of padding and talking. The draw will be supervised by the FIFA secretary general who will be supported by a host of football legends including Sir Geoff Hurst and Zidane. Make no mistake, there are no easy games as the standard is so high in international football these days, especially the top 32 in the world.
14.30 Advice from the Foreign Office, 'be on the ball' when planning trips in Brazil -
Mark Simmonds, the Minister for Consular Affairs, said:
“Like me, England fans are looking forward to Friday’s draw but it is crucial that they do their research before they arrange flights to Brazil and, importantly, their onward travel within the country. There are some distinct challenges, notably the vast distances between venues, so we urge fans to prepare for these – remember to check the travel advice and FCO website before you book your flights.
“Many travelling fans will have attended international tournaments before but this tournament poses new challenges. We encourage all fans to plan thoroughly to ensure a safe and successful trip in Brazil. You wouldn’t expect Roy Hodgson and the team to be unprepared for the World Cup, so you shouldn’t be either.”
Kevin Miles, Chief Executive of the Football Supporters Federation, said:
“It’s really important that fans think carefully before they travel and know what to expect in Brazil. Every tournament is different and the travel distances to get between games will make an Exeter to Hartlepool away day look like a doddle.”
In addition to long travel distances between games the FCO is highlighting further advice their website.
14.12 The best England goals in qualification? Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole pick their favourite England goal from the qualifying campaign. Do you agree with their selection? Let us know who you think deserves the nod on Twitter @footballuk -
14.00 Theo Walcott on his comeback and looking forward to the World Cup draw -
13.51 World Cup schedule - The first match of the tournament will feature the hosts Brazil who will open the tournament in Sao Paulo on 12 June, the group stages run until 26 June. There will be fifteen consecutive days of games before the first break, on 27th June.
Day three is a significant one with a World Cup high of four fixtures running virtually back to back.
The round of 16 matches take place from 28 June to 1 July, with two fixtures each day. The quarter-finals are on 4 and 5 July, also two a day, and the semi-finals on 8 and 9 July.
The World Cup final will be in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday 13 July.
12.51 Draw rehearsals are all part of draw-day fun, especially when accusations fly about about the rehearsal draw also being rigged in some sort of Fifa jedi mind-trick.
Here's what was pulled out in the rehearsal, and therefore most definitely won't be the actual draw. And check out Group A. Crikey.
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.
After doing calculations, it turns out Scotland win it all.
11:44 - Roy Hodgson isn't the only one more concerned about the location of his team's group games, as opposed to the opponents in them. Vicente del Bosque agrees:
We hope to prepare well for the World Cup,” Del Bosque has told reporters this week ahead of the draw in Costa do Sauipe, Bahia.This is more important than the opponents we can be drawn against, because they are all difficult. In qualifying, over 200 countries compete and only 32 make it to the final phase.The heat and humidity will also be factors that will have an influence, so it is just as important where we are based as it is who we might play. If there are to be two timeouts in games for water then it is just a detail.
11:29 -Here's an interview with Roy Hodgson as he looks ahead to next years world cup.
10:55 - What other teams would you like to see England face as things stand? There's some quite interesting permutations at the moment but of course that can all change!
10:50 - Good morning and welcome to the football.co.uk liveblog.
The draw itself is not for a little while, but there's much to explain, keep you updated on and fill your brains with in the intervening hours, so sit back and allow us to take you through the whole thing.
Will England be jiggered by being shunted into the dastardly 'Pot Two'? Will Michel Platini personally intervene to ensure that Roy Hodgson's brave boys have the worst draw possible? Will this make the slightest difference to their prospects of being anything more than vaguely disappointing in Brazil?
The answers to those questions will be 'Maybe', 'No' and 'No', but stick with us nevertheless.
Source: DSG
