Thanks for nothing FIFA!

Could someone explain to me this?

The US has won two of their last three competitive matches against Mexico, including a famous 2-0 win in the last World Cup in Korea. The US won the most recent CONCACAF (North/Central America and Carribbean) championship with Mexico crashing out at the quarterfinal stage. The US also won the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group, ahead of Mexico. Yet somehow Mexico got a top seed for the 2006 World Cup qualifying draw and the US didn't. (In reality, neither deserved it, but certainly Mexico was less deserving)

As a result, the US got paired with European powerhouses Italy and the Czech Republic as well as four-time African champions Ghana.

Mexico will have to face perpetual underachiever Portugal and minnows Iran and Angola.

Thanks for nothing FIFA!

(Incidentally, several non-seeded countries, like the Czech Republic, Holland and the US, were ranked above seeded countries like England and Italy, in FIFA's computer rankings. I realize that the rankings generated by soccer's world governing body are completely worthless from a sporting perspective. But if FIFA is not even going to use them to figure out seeds, then why bother having them at all? What's point of saying the Czechs are #2 in the world if six lower ranked teams are going to get preferential treatment come seeding time?)