The final draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to establish the first round of football matches has fans in Costa Rica worried about what teams their beloved La Sele will face. Everyone still remembers the ill-fated draw of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, when Costa Rica faced off against the host team right after the inauguration at the Allianz Stadium in Munich. Will the odds be any better this time around?

Costa Rica has been placed in the third “pot” of national football teams along with fellow CONCACAF teams as well as teams from Asia and Oceania. This means that the Costa Rica national football team will not play against the following teams in the first round:

Australia, which recently won a friendly match against the Ticos

• Japan
• Iran
• South Korea
• Honduras
• Mexico, which barely classified as a last chance, wild card team
• United States, the new arch-rival of Costa Rica in CONCACAF play

The final draw mechanism makes it unlikely that Costa Rica will face the host team of Brazil at the Maracana Stadium. That would be an honor for the players, but perhaps a disastrous final scoreboard. The current first round rivals that La Sele might face include:

• Switzerland
• Russia
• Cameroon

However, there is also a chance that Costa Rica might end up in a much more difficult group such as:

• Spain
• The Netherlands
• Chile

The draw venue will be Costa do Suaipe in Bahia, one of Brazil’s many tourist hotspots. The event will take place this Friday, December 6^th, and it will feature performers such as rapper Emicida, and musicians Alexandre Pires and beautiful Vanessa da Mata. According to FIFA:

The evening’s entertainment, to be presented by the actors Fernanda Lima and Rodrigo Hilbert, will represent the diversity and quality of Brazilian culture and music. Inspired by the official Brazil 2014 slogan “All in One Rhythm”, the show will take as its themes the five traits that make Brazil what it is: a cohesive society, the power of innovation, lush green nature, vibrant football and a land of happiness.

The Final Draw will be broadcast live from 17:00 CET (13:00 local time) and available to 193 countries, with nearly 1,300 guests expected to attend the event along with 2,000 reporters. The 32-team draw will decide who faces who in the group phase of the second FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil, which will take place between 12 June and 13 July 2014.