ISSUE 203

LEIPZIG, Germany December 9, 2005 (CNN) -- Defending champions Brazil will face 1998 semifinalists Croatia in their opening match of the 2006 finals in Germany.

Friday's draw in Leipzig also placed Argentina with the Netherlands in a tough first-round group and hosts Germany will launch the tournament against Costa Rica in Munich .

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will come up against his home country, Sweden. in the third match, after openers against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago .

Five-time champions Brazil will face Australia and 2002 hosts Japan after their tough first game.

Argentina must clash with the Netherlands , their opponents in the 1978 final, after games with the Ivory Coast and Serbia/Montenegro.

France, the 1998 champions, and Switzerland , who met each other in the qualifying competition were placed together again in Group G, opening their campaigns against each other in Stuttgart on June 13.

South Korea and Togo complete the group.

Three-time winners Germany have fixtures against Poland and Ecuador after what should be a comfortable start against the Costa Ricans.

There are likely to be concerns about security at the match against Poland in Dortmund five days after the opening fixture..

Forces will be on high alert for the game following a recent brawl between 100 German and Polish hooligans in woods on their joint border.

The United States were placed in a tough group, which includes Italy , Ghana and the Czech Republic .

Perennial World Cup under-achievers Spain face a potentially tricky task against Ukraine , current African champions Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in Group H.

Mexico will hope to qualify along with Portugal from Group D which also includes Iran and first-timers Angola .

World Cup Finals line-up:

Group A: Germany , Costa Rica , Poland , Ecuador

Group B: England , Paraguay , Trinidad & Tobago , Sweden

Group C: Argentina , Ivory Coast , Serbia/Montenegro, Netherlands

Group D: Mexico , Iran , Angola , Portugal

Group E: Italy , Ghana , USA , Czech Republic

Group F: Brazil , Croatia , Australia , Japan

Group G: France , Switzerland , South Korea , Togo

Group H: Spain , Ukraine , Tunisia , Saudi Arabia

World Cup Group C: The Group Of Death

Group C is without a doubt the most difficult group to get past, as Argentina and the Netherlands can be considered to world powerhouses, while Ivory Coast and Serbia were two of the best teams in their respective qualifying zones.

GROUP C

Country Name: Argentina

FIFA Ranking: 4th

World Cup Participations: 13

Best Position in World Cup: Champion (1978, 1986)

How they Qualified: 2nd in South American zone

Players to Watch: Juan Roman Riquelme, Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi

World Cup Aim: Win it

Country Name: Ivory Coast

FIFA Ranking: 41th

World Cup Participations: first time

Best Position in World Cup: none

How they Qualified: 1st in group 3 African zone

Players to Watch: Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure, Etienne Zokora

World Cup Aim: Honor the country

Country Name: Serbia & Montenegro

FIFA Ranking: 47th

World Cup Participations: 9 as Yugoslavia , first time as Serbia

Best Position in World Cup: Joint 3rd place (1930, as Yugoslavia )

How they Qualified: 1st in group 7 European zone

Players to Watch: Mateja Kezman, Dejan Stankovic, Zvonimir Vukic

World Cup Aim: Quarterfinals

Country Name: Netherlands

FIFA Ranking: 3rd

World Cup Participations: 7

Best Position in World Cup: 2nd (1974, 1978)

How they Qualified: 1st in group 1 European zone

Players to Watch: Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart

World Cup Aim: Win it

Points of Interest: Two debutants and two teams who know each other very well will meet in the obvious “Group of Death” of the German main event. Netherlands , the victims of Argentina ’s first World Cup triumph in 1978, eliminated the ‘albiceleste’ from the France ’98 quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory in an what can be considered a World Cup classic.

It is the second time in a row Argentina have been drawn in what is considered as the most difficult of the eight groups, after they failed to qualify to the second phase in Corea-Japan 2002 when they were grouped together with England, Sweden and Nigeria.

Serbia & Montenegro will attend a World Cup for the first time since they changed their name from Yugoslavia , while Ivory Coast will be making their debut on the World Cup stage.

Flash Prediction: Their history and the caliber of their players puts Argentina and Netherlands , not only as the candidates to succeed from group C, but also as two teams that could go all the way, despite facing two very hard teams as Ivory Coast and Serbia .