France, as holders were automatically placed in Group A, South Korea were placed in Group D and Japan were placed in Group H. One of the two South American seeds (Brazil and Argentina) had to play in a group played in South Korea and the other had to play in a group played in Japan. In Pot C, China had to play in South Korea (either group A, B or C) which meant that the other Asian team in Pot C (Saudi Arabia) had to play in Japan (either group E, F or G). In Pot D, two or three African teams and one or two CONCACAF teams had to play in either South Korea or Japan.