England face Argentina again, Turkey land Brazil
December 1, 2001
England were placed in Group F with favourites Argentina, the country who knocked them out in 1986 and 1998, when the World Cup draw was made in Busan on Saturday.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson's side open their campaign against Sweden in Saitama on June 2 (06:30), then face Argentina on June 7 (10:30), before finishing against Nigeria in Osaka on June 12 (07:30).
"There are no easy games," said Eriksson. "They are all very good teams. It is difficult, but anything is possible.
"We have to be prepared and hope we can go on and not have only three games at the World Cup. I think we can beat any team in the world on a good day. It has not been a lucky evening, but hopefully the luck will come in June," he added.
Sweden star Teddy Lucic added: "I think England have plenty of respect for us. Our style doesn't suit them very well.
"We don't know so much about Argentina, but they have a fantastic team with a lot of great players. Nigeria are definitely among the top sides in Africa. They have a lot of technically gifted players."
Turkey landed Brazil in Group C (June 3), while the Republic of Ireland face Germany in Group E (June 5) and Spain open their Group B fixtures against Slovenia (June 2).
Germany coach Rudi Voller said: "Ireland have knocked out Holland in qualifying, but I think we can do it.
"Ireland may not be a top name, but you have to look at their current form and, from what they did in qualifying, they have to be regarded as very dangerous.
"They have many players in the Premier League and will be extremely tough."
Champions France open the competition against Senegal in Seoul (May 31) and also face tricky Group A opponents in Uruguay and Denmark.
Marcel Desailly, the France captain, said: "Against Senegal, there will be a lot of folklore and joy, they have a lot of very good players. We're happy to start against Senegal. The main thing was to avoid England and Nigeria, they're in the same group so that's positive.
"Uruguay will not be easy at all, they have some good players like (Alvaro) Recoba. Denmark, we played them in a friendly this season, it won't be easy.
"But we cannot complain if you compare our draw with the England group. We're moderately satisfied. Denmark are the most difficult team in our group but Senegal could be a surprise."