Group F sees the top seeds, and World Cup champions, Brazil, drawn together with the former hosts of the World Cup, Japan, Croatia from the Europe zone, and with Australia's ‘Socceroos’, coached by Guus Hiddink the fourth team, in the group draw for the World Cup finals in Germany next Summer.

Brazil’s coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is confident that Brazil will easily qualify from Group F for the second, knockout phase of the World Cup 2006, and is currently worrying about who Brazil’s ‘Seleção’ will face in the last sixteen.

Brazil are firm favourites to top Group F, with group rivals Croatia, Japan, coached by the former Brazil legend Zico, and Australia’s ‘Socceroos’ into a fight for the remaining place to take them into the last sixteen.

Parreira is thinking ahead to the rival that if they, as expected, win the group. Brazil will play the second placed team from Group E, a tough group that contains Italy, the Czech Republic, Ghana and the United States.

Italy and the Czech Republic are the favourites to go through to the last sixteen from Group E, but both Ghana’s ‘Black Stars’, and coach Bruce Arena’s U.S team have qualified strongly from their zones, and could be considered dark horses in the tournament.

“Italy is a three-time World Cup winner. Just for that they deserve our respect. They’re a team that have grown a lot since Marcello Lippi took over", said Parreira.

"The Czech Republic played an impressive Euro 2004, making it to the semis, and they’re currently second in the FIFA rankings. They’re two great nations, and it’ll be a tough draw.”

Italian coach Marcello Lippi himself saw the possibility of the two teams meeting each other. "This clash does have a high chance of taking place. Basically, all we have to do is come second in our Group” said the ‘Azzuri’ boss.

The Seleção fans won’t want to remind themselves of the fact that the last time that Brazil faced a former World Cup winner in the last sixteen it was in Italia ‘90. The same World Cup that saw Diego Maradona’s Argentina beat Brazil 1-0, to knock Lazaroni’s Canarinha’s Brazilian team out of the tournament.

Since then Brazil has had fairly easy competition to contend with in the last sixteen in each World Cup. They faced the U.S in USA ‘94, Chile in France in 1998, and Belgium in their most recent World Cup triumph in Korea/Japan in 2002.

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