FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, on Wednesday announced the seven nations to be seeded alongside host South Africa, and in a surprise move, France, the tournament runner-up four years ago, was not among them. That cleared the way for England, ninth in the FIFA world rankings, to claim a seeded spot in the World Cup tournament, to take place June 11 to July 11.
The other nations awarded seedings Wednesday were Spain, Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany and Italy. In Friday’s draw, the 32 World Cup qualifiers will be placed into eight groups, with four teams in each.
