(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-26 10:32

DURBAN - Reaction to World Cup preliminary draw on Sunday:

Brian Barwick, English football chief, whose team was drawn against Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra:  "We have to play Croatia twice again and know what we need to do .. but there will be a lot of travel in this group for everyone involved. There will be a temptation to concentrate on just two teams, but we have a lot of work to do."

A screen shows the teams that will be playing in the European zone's Group 6 during the preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament in Durban November 25, 2007. England, humiliated at Wembley just four days ago, were drawn to face their tormenters Croatia once again when the preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup was made on Sunday. [Agencies]

He said when he returned from South Africa he would concentrate on finding a new manager. Steve McClaren was dismissed on Thursday after Croatia eliminated England from Euro 2008.

"We are determined to get the right man for the job and confident we will do."

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic told reporters in Split: "England will be a different prospect this time. They are the one second-seeded team we wanted to avoid and Ukraine from pot three will also be formidable opposition.

"However, we fear no one as none of the teams we have been pitted against are better than us. There is a reason why we are the top-seeded team and we are aware there are no easy matches."

Marco van Basten, Dutch coach after his team was drawn against Scotland, Norway, Macedonia and Iceland:

"I go to Scotland a lot to play golf. It's fantastic to go back there for football too. Scotland are very good opponents. They proved that by being involved in the Euros till the last day. It will not be easy."

Giancarlo Abete, Italian soccer chief after his team was drawn with Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro:

"It's a very good draw for us and really we could not have asked for better. It's a group we should win as we are champions of the world."

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said there would be few easy matches in the group.

"Bulgaria, Ireland, Georgia, Montenegro are nations that don't have a great footballing tradition but they are difficult teams," he told Rai television.

"Bulgaria on paper could be who we battle with for qualification. Montenegro, like all the nations from the former Yugoslavia, are a hard-to-beat, stubborn team."

France coach Raymond Domenech on being placed with Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria and the Faroe Islands in Group 7: "I'm neither happy nor disappointed. We will play several teams we know well (France were in the same Euro 2008 qualifying group as Lithuania and the Faroe islands).

"We will need to beat Serbia, Romania and Austria, which promises not to be easy," he said in a statement.

World Cup winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer said the draw could have been tougher on Germany, who will face Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein in Group 4.

"We have no reason at all to be unhappy about this group. There are more difficult groups and there are easier groups. We're in the middle somewhere," he told Premiere television. "Russia will be the most difficult, but they only made it into the Euro finals because of the incompetence of England. I think Russia should be beatable. Without being arrogant, you'd have to say we're the clear favourite in this group."

John Toshack, coach of Wales: "For a country like ours we can qualify if all of our players are fit and on form and when the big matches come around all of our best players are available.

"With one more win we could have finished third in our Euro group behind Germany and the Czech Republic which would have been some acheivement for us. Its going to be tough, but if we can get results against Russia and Finland, then who knows?"

Belarus coach Bernd Strange: "We already know we have a difficult task. It's a nice group. Croatia and England will be the focus but don't underestimate the other teams."

Paul Phillip, Luxembourg football president, whose team play Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova and Latvia: "We got three points in the Euro qualifiers. Our target this time will be to get more than three points."

Luiz Felipe Scolari, coach of Portugal: "We have a tough group but then they all are. I had no particular preferences. The one good thing for the Portuguese team is that we have no long trips like we did in the Euro qualifiers."

Portugal played Armenia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Klaus Toppmueller, coach of Georgia, also in Italy's group: "The group we played in Euro 2008 was much harder. In this group, all teams have a chance. In the last years we built a young team and we'll start the campaign with confidence."

Lars Lagerback, coach of Sweden, who play Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta: "The Danes again! It's bad. I think they have a really good team and were a little unlucky in the Euro qualifiers. If I could pick my group again, I wouldn't have Denmark in it."

Kobi Kuhn, coach of Switzerland, in the same group as European champions Greece: "Not all of them, but most are on the same level. Our focus for the next months is the Euro"

Luis Oliveira Goncalves, who led Angola to a surprise first appearance at the World Cup finals last year, said of the group with Benin, Uganda and Niger: "At first the group has worked in out favour but it's who we face in the second round that will be important."