"We haven't got an easy group. Sweden and Ireland always do very well in qualifying," Joachim Low, Germany coach
Perennial qualifiers Germany will be expected to dominate Group C of European qualifying, although Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Austria will all be confident of making an impression.
The draw for the European zone yielded some potentially thrilling sections, with local rivalries set to be stirred and the world champions left to do battle with another winner of football's ultimate prize.
FIFA has today replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland to replay their FIFA World Cup play-off match against France in Paris.
France, Portugal, Slovenia and Greece were the teams left celebrating at the end of a dramatic evening of play-off action in the European Zone.
France stumbled through to South Africa 2010 with an unconvincing 2-1 aggregate win over an excellent Republic of Ireland side in Paris.
