France, Portugal, Russia and Greece have been confirmed as the seeded teams for Monday’s World Cup play-off draw.

The quartet, who all finished second in their respective European qualifying pools, earn their seeded status due to being the top four of the eight play-off teams in the latest FIFA world rankings.

The unseeded pot includes the other four best runners-up – the Republic of Ireland, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland moved up four places to 34th after their recent draw with world champions Italy.

Raymond Domenech’s France are the top-ranked play-off team in ninth, one ahead of Portugal who clinched second place in Group One on Wednesday. Carlos Queiroz’s side have risen seven places in the rankings thanks to their positive end to the qualifying campaign.

Guus Hiddink’s Russia, who finished second in Group Four behind Germany, slip six spots to 12th while 2004 European champions Greece lie 16th.

Ukraine, who spoiled England’s perfect qualifying record with a 1-0 win in Dnipropetrovsk last Saturday, are the top-ranked unseeded team at 22nd with Bosnia-Herzegovina 42nd and Slovenia 49th.

At the top of the FIFA world rankings issued today, Brazil have maintained a slender advantage over European champions Spain, Holland and Italy – who topped Groups Five, Nine and Eight respectively.

Germany dropped one place to fifth while Argentina, who clinched their place in South Africa from the South American qualifying zone with a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo on Wednesday, climb two places to sixth.

Hosts South Africa (85th) and North Korea (91st) are the only teams from outside the top 50 who will be present at next year’s event.

The Republic of Ireland must face a seeded team in the play-offs for the World Cup finals on November 14 and 18.

The draw takes place in Zurich on Monday, and here we examine their possible opponents.

FRANCE

Raymond Domenech’s side were beaten to top spot in Group Seven by Serbia, completing a disappointing qualifying campaign marred by reports of a bust-up between the coach and his players – among them Thierry Henry. They still possess formidable talent and are punching well below their weight.

RUSSIA

The only side Republic boss Giovanni Trapattoni singled out when considering his play-off rivals – because of their artificial pitch – Russia are the highest ranked team in the draw. Coached by Guus Hiddink, two defeats by Germany saw them finish second in Group Four.

GREECE

The surprise winners of the 2004 European Championships sealed their place in the play-offs with a 2-1 victory over Luxembourg in the final round. Made a strong start to qualifying but finished second behind Switzerland, despite being in a weak group. An experienced, well-drilled team that can be hard to beat.

PORTUGAL

The lowest ranked of the seeded teams in the play-offs, Portugal recovered after a dismal start to Group One to win their last three matches and pip Sweden to second place. They have struggled to gel as a unit and score goals, despite possessing a glittering array of talent – including world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo.

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