By Jeff Dieffenbach

For the second consecutive World Cup, thirty-two teams will compete in the group stage for the right to move on to the elimination rounds.  And as with every group drawing, the focus of coaches, players, and fans immediately after the conclusion of the draw is on one’s group opponents, and the chances of advancement.

While every team hopes to avoid the ‘Group of Death,’ there are always four teams who open the tournament fighting an uphill battle.  The 2002 Group of Death is group F with Argentina (2), England (10), Sweden (16), and Nigeria (40—combined total 68), meaning that at least one top 16 team is assured of going home after the first round. Special condolences to England for its second cup in a row as a Group of Death “honoree.”

Brazil (3, Group C) faces a veritable walk in the park (if they have learned Spain’s lesson from 1998) against Turkey (23), Costa Rica (31), and China (55—combined total 112) in the tournament’s weakest group. Similarly, France (1, Group A) gets off easy (see: Spain, 1998!) with first round matches against Denmark (17), Uruguay (24), and Senegal (67—combined total 109).

Group H, with Belgium (20), Russia (22), Tunisia (28), and Japan (35—combined total 105) is the most balanced group, at sixth strongest.

And what of the United States? They were last in the third toughest group in 1994 (22nd, behind Colombia at 10, Switzerland at 12, and Romania at 13). In 1998, their standing improved to third, in the fifth strongest group (26th, ahead of Iran at 40 but trailing Germany at 2 and Yugoslavia at 20).

This time around, in Group D, they occupy the second slot, again in the fifth toughest group (20th—Portugal leads with 4, Poland and South Korea lag at 33rd and 43rd, respectively). Ideally, they would have taken Costa Rica’s spot in Group C against Brazil (against whom they traditionally play well), Turkey, and China. Still, no complaints. They are poised to move on to the second round, a solid result for a team ranked 20th in the world. The ball is in their hands.

The fat lady has sung for this year’s team so let the games begin.  But what does all this mean in relation to previous World Cups?  365’s Jeff Dieffenbach takes a look back at the last two World Cup and examined just how the higher seeded teams fared in the ‘Group of Death,’ and conversely how highly ranked teams in weak groups made out.

1998: In 1998 the number of teams climbed to 32. The top two finishers in each of the now eight groups played through to the second round. Period. No third place finishers need apply.

With 32 teams in the mix spreading out the highly ranked teams, the average group total climbed a bit. 1998’s Group of Death totaled 44 (compared to 1994’s 32).

England (Group G, 4) and Romania (7) escaped the group’s curse temporarily, outmatching Colombia (10) and Tunisia (23), both qualifying for the second round. As with 1994, but with more dilution of the top rankings, the 10th best team in the world finds itself at only third in its group.

Getting through may have taken too much out of England and Romania, however, as neither advanced any further. In the second round, England (4) lost to 17th ranked Argentina, and Romania (7) lost to 19th ranked Croatia, who went on to become the tournament Cinderella by winning the bronze medal game.

Ranked 11th, Spain had it the easiest in the weakest bunch, GroupD, facing Paraguay (29), Bulgaria (36), and Nigeria (71—combined total 147). Too easy. Spain netted 8 first round goals, second only to France’s 9, but could manage only a win and a draw to trail Nigeria (2 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws) and Paraguay (1 win, 0 losses, 2 draws).

Like Norway in 1994, Spain was the only team ranked in the top ten by FIFA to not make the second round. Back to Barcelona.

1994: Teams in six groups of four vied for berths in the second round. The top two in each group would make it through along with the four best third place teams.

The 1994 Group of Death totaled a FIFA ranking of 32 (Group E: Italy 2, Norway 4, Ireland 10, Mexico 16), well ahead of the Brazil-Sweden-Russia-Cameroon quartet’s Groupd B 49.

Put another way, the third team in the GROUP owned the number 10 ranking IN THE WORLD! The top two teams judge the difficulty of their task by the ranking of the third team in the group (and in this case, the fourth, at 16).

With only the top two teams in a group guaranteed to make it through to the second round, Group of Death membership carries a heavy price. Ask Norway. Ranked 4th in the world, they were the only team ranked in the top ten not to qualify for the second round.

In contrast, Germany (1) and Spain (5) breathed easy in Group C, looking down at 41st ranked South Korea and 58th ranked Bolivia in the weakest group (combined total: 105). Both qualified.

Saudi Arabia benefited the most from group weakness. Ranked 38th, they sat in Group F with The Netherlands (7), Belgium (25), and Morocco (30—combined total 100) in which only Morocco failed to move through to the second round.