The Republic of Ireland have been included in the group of second seeds for their World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign.
Brian Kerr's side are one of eight teams named in Pot B of the European section of the qualifying competition. The seeding means Ireland will avoid Holland and Croatia but will face top seeds such as France, England, Italy and Spain when the groups are drawn in Frankfurt on Friday.
Euro 2004 rivals Russia are also seeded in Pot B while Switzerland, who qualified ahead of both Ireland and Russia for Portugal, must be content with a place in Pot C.
England have been placed among the top seeds in Pot A, Scotland will be in Pot C, Wales in Pot D and Northern Ireland in Pot E.
Teams will be divided into three groups of seven and five groups of six. The top side in each group will qualify for the finals automatically along with the two best-placed runners-up. The other six second-placed teams will then be paired off to play each other over two-legged play-offs for the remaining three places.
The qualifying competition will include Kazakhstan for the first time. They are one of three teams, with Andorra and Luxembourg, in Pot G for the draw.
Draws for qualifying in other FIFA confederations will also be drawn on Friday with the exception of South America, where competition has already started. A total of 198 nations have enrolled for World Cup 2006.
Pot A
France, Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, England, Turkey.
Pot B
Netherlands, Croatia, Belgium, Denmark, Russia, Republic of Ireland, Slovenia, Poland.
Pot C
Bulgaria, Romania, Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia, Austria.
Pot D
Ukraine, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Latvia, Wales.
Pot E
Hungary, Georgia, Belarus, Cyprus, Estonia, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Macedonia FYR.
Pot F
Albania, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, San Marino, Liechtenstein.
Pot G
Andorra, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan. There are 51 European countries bidding for a place in the finals - hosts Germany qualify automatically - and each has been allocated a place in one of seven seeding pots.