|
FIFA has announced details of the group seedings for the Rio 2016 Olympic soccer tournaments. The draw will take place Thursday at the Maracana Stadium, which will host the women’s and men’s finals Aug. 19 and 20.
The men’s tournament will feature 16 teams in four groups of four. For the draw, the teams have been divided into four pots based on a ranking according to previous Olympic performances, which has produced the unlikely sight of world champion Germany in the lowest-ranked pot.
A German team has not competed at an Olympic soccer tournament since Seoul 1988, when West Germany took bronze.
Men’s draw
Pot 1: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan
Pot 2: Nigeria, South Korea, Honduras, Iraq
Pot 3: Sweden, Fiji, Portugal, South Africa
Pot 4: Algeria, Colombia, Denmark, Germany
One team from each pot will be drawn into each group — A, B, C and D. The top-two placed teams in each of the men’s groups will proceed to the quarterfinals.
The 12 women’s teams will also be split into four pots, based on the world rankings released March 25.
Women’s draw
Pot 1: Brazil, USA, Germany
Pot 2: France, Australia, Sweden
Pot 3: Canada, China, New Zealand
Pot 4: Colombia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
(SD-Agencies)
|