Brazil vs Italy. Twice a World Cup final, it could be the World Cup opening match in Sao Paulo on June 12.

And the second match the next day could be a 2010 final repeat: Spain vs the Netherlands.

Thank the FIFA rankings that decide which teams are seeded if the World Cup receives such a blockbuster kickoff.

The rankings will surely be criticized on Thursday when they decide the eight top seeds in the World Cup groups being drawn on Dec 6.

The powerful Dutch, runners-up in 2010, and the Italians, 2006 champions, should miss out despite going unbeaten through qualifying.

Belgium and Colombia are likely in, despite failing to qualify for the 2010 tournament. They will join Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina plus Uruguay, if it beats Jordan in a playoff.

Also likely is Switzerland, which will spark questions about how FIFA grades national teams over a four-year results cycle.

Indeed, Switzerland's surge up the rankings might cast doubts on the value of being seeded.

The intention of seeding is to reward the best by ensuring they avoid the other strongest teams in the group stage.

Host Brazil is automatically seeded in Group A. The decision to allocate the other seven seeds by the October rankings was agreed on by the FIFA executive committee this month.

That leaves the Netherlands, Italy and England - all seeded at the 2010 World Cup when FIFA rankings were again decisive - lurking as potential opponents for Argentina early in the tournament.

England coach Roy Hodgson expects "two very good teams in every group," with FIFA set to allocate the other places by geographical spread rather than ranking.

"It's pretty unnecessary to worry too much about whether we are first or second out of the hat," Hodgson said on Wednesday.

Still, Lionel Messi and Argentina might prefer to face Switzerland instead, after their 3-1 victory in a February 2012 friendly at Bern where the world's best player scored all three.

Euro 2012 was almost the perfect place to score ranking points in a FIFA system that gives greater weight to recent results, competitive matches, beating higher-ranked opponents and wins against European and South American teams.

So Italy's slip beneath Switzerland is a little mystifying given its run to the Euro 2012 final, including beating Germany in the semifinals.

However, Italy is penalized for drawing its final qualifiers 2-2, in Denmark last Friday and at home to 55th-ranked Armenia on Tuesday. Victory in either would have guaranteed a seeding in Brazil.

"I'm not disappointed. The goal was qualifying," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "At the European Championship we weren't a top seed either and we finished second, so we shouldn't let it bother us. It doesn't worry me."

Portugal and France could have fared better under FIFA's old system of seeding teams based on performances at recent World Cups. France being runner-up in 2006, when Portugal got to the semifinals, counts for nothing now.

Though Portugal also reached the Euro 2012 semifinals and France was a quarterfinalist, both have dropped below a Swiss team that neither has played in the past four years.

(China Daily 10/18/2013 page24)