France, the 1998 champion, and Cristiano Ronaldo’sPortugal aren’t among eight seeds in the draw for the 2010 World Cup.

Record five-time champion Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England -- the top seven-ranked teams in October -- and host South Africa are seeded, soccer ruling body FIFA said in a statement.

They won’t be picked in the same group when the draw takes place in Cape Town at 7 p.m. local time on Dec. 4.

Officials will draw from four pots, partly based on geographical region, FIFA said. Apart from European teams, no two squads from the same region will be pooled together.

France and Portugal, ninth and 10th-ranked in October, qualified via playoffs. France beat Ireland on a goal that followed a handball by striker Thierry Henry that went unpunished by the referee. Portugal forward Ronaldo, the reigning FIFA world player of the Year, has recovered from injury and played last weekend for his club, Real Madrid.

Croatia, which was ranked eighth in October, failed to qualify. South Africa, the first African host of the World Cup, was ranked world No. 85.

Pot one: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England

Pot two: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, U.S., New Zealand

Pot three: Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria

Pot four: Denmark, France, Greece, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland