Davies needs to be a warrior again (cont.)

FIFA National-Team Seeding Values Team Seeding value Brazil* 59.7 Germany* 59.5 Italy* 56.5 Spain* 56.0 England* 51.3 Argentina 51.0 France 47.2 South Africa* host ---------------------------- Portugal 45.5 Netherlands* 43.0 Mexico* 36.0 United States* 34.3 Paraguay* 34.0 Switzerland 30.7 South Korea* 28.3 Russia 27.3 Ghana* 25.7 Australia* 25.0 Ivory Coast* 23.3 Greece 22.0 Japan* 22.0 Denmark* 21.7 Cameroon 21.3 Uruguay 17.7 Serbia* 17.3 Tunisia 13.0 Chile* 11.7 Honduras 7.2 Slovakia 5.8 Algeria 4.7 New Zealand 1.7 North Korea* 1.3 * Already clinched World Cup berth.

Other news in advance of Wednesday's final U.S. World Cup qualifier (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2, Galavisión):

• The U.S. has essentially zero chance to earn a World Cup seed. As much as the U.S. would like to earn one of the eight coveted top seeds for the World Cup draw on Dec. 4, a close look at the numbers reveals that it's basically impossible. Why is a seed so important? Simple: The eight seeded teams (the top seven teams per FIFA's seeding formula, plus host South Africa) are put into one pot during the draw, which means they won't have to play against any of the other seeded teams in the group stage.

How does FIFA arrive at its seeding values? In the draw for the 2006 World Cup, half of the value came from a team's performance in the previous two World Cups (with the most recent World Cup worth twice as much as the one before that). The other half of the seeding value came from a team's average place in the FIFA rankings at the end of the previous three years.

If we apply that formula to the teams likely to be in this year's World Cup draw, the chart at right illustrates what we get.

As you can see, the U.S. would need to leap four teams to get one of the golden seeds -- and there are only three teams above the U.S. that have yet to clinch World Cup berths.

There still may be some variability in the seed values between now and the draw. FIFA could tweak its formula. Teams might rise and fall a bit in the FIFA rankings. And a few teams expected to reach the World Cup might still choke.

But a seed for the U.S.? Not happening.

• Getting misquoted isn't fun. After the U.S. beat Honduras on Saturday, I began our mixed-zone interview of Donovan by congratulating him on clinching a World Cup berth. His response: "Yeah, we beat the best team in CONCACAF." Huh? Turns out that a Honduran newspaper had run a big article on Saturday in which I was quoted saying Honduras was the best team in CONCACAF. The U.S. players passed it around at lunch and found it to be useful bulletin-board material.

There was only one problem: I never said anything close to it. I did give an interview to a reporter for a Honduran paper in Miami last week, but that ludicrous statement wasn't part of it. If those sorts of things motivate the U.S. team, though, I'd be happy to provide more ammo for Wednesday night's game against Costa Rica:

"Costa Rica is the best team in CONCACAF."*

(* Don't really think so.)

Check back Wednesday night for updates, commentary and postgame reaction from the U.S.-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier in Washington, D.C.

Grant Wahl's New York Times Best Seller, The Beckham Experiment, is in bookstores everywhere. You can order it here. You can also find him on Twitter.