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Whilst the recriminations for the absence of Bahrain are still ongoing the World Cup draw was made in South Africa on Friday night and it was a star-studded affair led by Hollywood actress Charlize Theron.
The hosts will be hoping the tournament itself runs as smoothly as the draw did and with 670,000 of the three million tickets sold by ballot along with half having already gone to the home nation they can expect a sellout at every game.
The television audience will also be huge especially in Europe where the kick-off times will provide an ideal time for sponsors to show off their goods to avid football supporters.
As with all international draws it is now obligatory to have a 'group of death' and this was no exception when Brazil were paired with Portugal, the Ivory Coast and North Korea. The five times winners, whilst wary, will still be very confident of going through as they should be given their record.
They are the only nation to have qualified for every World Cup and they are the only ones to win the competition outside their own continent. This outlines their pedigree and without question, given their qualifying form, they are the ones to beat next summer.
This will mean that Ivory Coast or Portugal will make an early exit and I favour the African team to make it through. Portugal is not the force of old and unless Ronaldo has a sparking tournament then it is unlikely they will threaten the stronger nations.
England, meanwhile, according to most onlookers, received the kindest of draws when the USA, Slovenia and Algeria were placed alongside them in Group C. However, whilst this was not the most challenging of groups it may not be as straight forward as at first glance.
Algeria are a very technical side who are often the type England struggle against and the USA made it to the finals of the Confederations Cup beating Spain along the way. Slovenia, meanwhile, ousted a Gus Hiddink-coached Russia over two legs which is no mean feat and although England beat them in a friendly it will be very different game next summer.
Italy's group has a very poor New Zealand side so the top team needs to only beat one of the other two teams to ensure qualification. England will have to be wary that any overconfidence from the press and supporters is not translated to their performances.
If they make it through as group winners they are likely to face either Germany or Ghana in the last 16 but again this group has Serbia in it and they are a country whose football is developing fast and are not without hope of progressing further.
This is a much more open tournament than ever before and, Brazil and Spain apart, a case can be made for many of the top names to be vulnerable to an emerging nation. The fact that it is not being played in Europe increases the chances of upsets as the World Cup in Korea and Japan demonstrated in 2006.
It is essential for a good World Cup that the hosts stay in the competition to at least the quarter-final stage and South Africa, whilst not a strong team, have at least received a draw that gives them every chance of achieving this. With an ageing French side as the main opponents and likely second round fixtures against Nigeria or Argentina they could not have been given a kinder opportunity. The hosts open the finals with a game against Mexico.
The final on July 11 in Soccer City will be a wonderful event and expect to see the usual suspects contesting it and if Brazil bring their 'A Game' then there is no reason to think they will not be lifting the coveted trophy for the sixth time.
