Johannesburg- Lady Luck smiled brightly on the hosts of the 2009 Confederations Cup on Saturday as they were drawn into Group A with Iraq, New Zealand and Spain.

Group B will consist of Italy, Brazil, US and Egypt.

The opening game of the tournament will see South Africa take on Iraq in the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg on June 14, 2009.

Although ranked behind the other seven teams in the competition, South Africa were seeded as the hosts and could thus not be drawn into the same group as Brazil.

The competition will be held in four venues June 14-28, 2009. (dpa)