( CNN ) -- Switzerland and Belgium will shake up the seedings ahead of next year 's FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil . The appearance of those two countries in the top bracket of seeds means it is possible that hosts Brazil could be drawn in a group with Italy , or Argentina with Netherlands . Ottmar Hitzfeld , who on Thursday announced he 'll be stepping down after the tournament , led the Swiss through their qualifying campaign unbeaten . Switzerland won seven of their group matches , drawing the other three and have leaped seven places up the official FIFA rankings to seventh . Belgium were also unbeaten in qualifying , finishing nine points of second place Croatia . The population of Switzerland and Belgium ( 7.9 million and 11.1 million respectively ) is dwarfed by many of the other nations , with the exception of Uruguay ( 3.3 million ) . Hosts Brazil and defending champions Spain , along with Germany , Argentina and Colombia are all seeded while England and Italy , both unbeaten in qualifying , narrowly miss out . Uruguay will be seeded should they win their two-legged qualification playoff with Jordan , but if they miss out then Netherlands -- who won nine of their ten group matches -- will take their place . The draw for the finals will be held in Bahia in Brazil on December 6 , by which time the results of the playoffs in various territories will be known . France go into the European playoffs unseeded due to their current ranking of 21 which means they could face Cristiano Ronaldo 's Portugal in the two-legged tie . As well as Portugal , Greece , Croatia and Ukraine are seeded while Iceland , Sweden and Romania are not . The draw for the playoffs will be conducted on October 21 with the matches played on November 15 and 19 . Hitzfeld said his decision to relinquish his role as Switzerland coach after the World Cup was the `` most difficult decision of my coaching career . '' The 64-year-old , who has held the post since 2008 , led the Swiss to a famous 1-0 win over world and European champions Spain at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa . `` The association 's management , with the players and the staff is absolutely ordered for the best , so this is the most difficult decision of my coaching career , '' Hitzfeld said on the Swiss Football Association 's official website . General Secretary Alex Miescher added : `` Ottmar Hitzfeld is a gentleman from head to toe , and leaves us plenty of time ( to find a successor ) . ''
Switzerland are among eight seeded teams for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil . Brazil , Spain , Germany , Argentina , Colombia , Belgium and Switzerland all seeded . Uruguay could be usurped by Netherlands if they lose World Cup playoff to Jordan . Italy and England both miss out on seedings , Portugal and France in playoffs .