As the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ draw will be held tomorrow in Durban (South Africa), I thought I would share some details with you guys...

Africa

53 teams -> 5 places + South Africa

ROUND ONE
1. The 10 lowest ranked PMAs (as per the FIFA ranking of July 2007) contested Round One.
2. The teams were paired into 5 home-and-away series.
3. The winners of each series advance to Round Two.

ROUND TWO
1. The 3 Round One series winners will then join the 45 remaining PMAs (incl. South Africa) in Round Two.
2. The 48 teams will then be grouped into 12 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.
3. The group winners and 8 best runners-up will advance to Round Three.

ROUND THREE
1. The 12 Round Two group winners and 8 best Round Two group runners-up will contest Round Three
2. The 20 teams will then be grouped into 5 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.

The 5 group winners from Round Three qualify for the FIFA World Cup™.
South Africa to participate in the FIFA World Cup™ as host.

South Africa will participate in the Preliminary Competition of the FIFA World CupTM as the competition also
serves as the qualifying competition for the Africa Cup of Nations. If qualified for Round Three, South Africa
will play in its group. The points it obtains will count towards the Africa Cup of Nations but not for the FIFA
World CupTM.


Pot "A"

01. Cameroon
02. Nigeria
03. Côte d'Ivoire
04. Morocco
05. Ghana
06. Tunisia
07. Egypt
08. Guinea
09. Senegal
10. Mali
11. Angola
12. Togo

Pot "B"

13. Zambia
14. South Africa
15. Cape Verde Islands
16. Congo DR
17. Algeria
18. Burkina Faso
19. Benin
20. Mozambique
21. Libya
22. Ethiopia
23. Congo
24. Zimbabwe

Pot "C"

25. Uganda
26. Botswana
27. Equatorial Guinea
28. Tanzania
29. Gabon
30. Malawi
31. Sudan
32. Burundi
33. Liberia
34. Rwanda
35. Eritrea
36. Namibia

Pot "D"

37. Gambia
38. Mauritania
39. Kenya
40. Chad
41. Lesotho
42. Mauritius
43. Niger
44. Swaziland
45. Seychelles
46. Sierra Leone
47. Madagascar
48. Djibouti

Seeding is according to July 2007 FIFA Rank.

Asia

43 teams -> 4.5 places

ROUND ONE
1.The PMAs seeded 1 – 5 receive byes to Round Three.
2. The remaining 38 PMAs will contest Round One.
3. The teams will be paired into 19 home-and-away series.
4. The 11 highest-ranked Round One winners earn byes to Round Three.
5. The 8 lowest-ranked Round One winners advance to Round Two.

ROUND TWO
1. The 8 lowest-ranked Round One winners will contest Round Two.
2. The teams will be paired into 4 home-and-away series.
3. The Round Two winners advance to Round Three.

ROUND THREE
1. The 11 top-ranked Round One winners (via byes) and the 4 Round Two winners will join the 5 remaining,
top-ranked PMAs in Round Three.
2. The round consists of 5 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.
3. All group winners and runners-up advance to Round Four.

ROUND FOUR
1. The 5 Round Three group winners and the 5 Round Three group runners-up will contest Round Four.
2. The round consists of 2 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 5 teams.
3. The 3rd placed teams from each group advance to Round Five.

The 2 Round Four group winners and the 2 group runners-up qualify for the FIFA World CupTM.

ROUND FIVE
1. The 3rd placed teams from the two Round Four groups will contest Round Five.
2. The teams will play one home-and-away play-off series.

The Round Five winner advances to the inter-confederation playoff with the top team from
Oceania.

Pot "A"

01. Australia
02. Korea Republic
03. Iran
04. Japan
04. Saudi Arabia

Pot "B"

05. Bahrain
06. Uzbekistan
07. Kuwait
08. Korea DPR
10. China PR

Pot "C"

11. Jordan
12. Iraq
13. Lebanon
14. Oman
15. United Arab Emirates

Pot "D"

16. Qatar
17. Syria
19. Thailand
20. Turkmenistan
29. Singapore

Seeding is according to World Cup 2006 Rank.

Europe

53 teams -> 13 places

STAGE ONE
1. All 53 PMAs will contest Stage One.
2. The stage consists of 8, round robin, home-and-away groups of 6 teams as well as 1 round robin, homeand-
away group of 5 teams.
3. The 8 best group runners-up advance to Stage Two.

The group winners qualify for the FIFA World CupTM.

STAGE TWO
1. The 8 best Stage One group runners-up will contest Stage Two.
2. The teams will be paired into 4 home-and-away series.

The winners qualify for the FIFA World CupTM.

STAGE TO BE DRAWN
1. Stage One will be drawn at the Preliminary Draw in Durban, South Africa.

DRAW FORMAT
1. The 53 Stage One PMAs will be allocated 6 pots (5 pots of 9 teams, 1 pot of 8 teams) based on the
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of November 2007. The top 9 teams will constitute Pot A; the next 9
teams Pot B; and so on until Pot F which will contain the 8 lowest ranked teams.
2. The teams will be drawn into 8 groups of 6 teams and 1 group of 5 teams for Stage One.
3. The draw starts with Pot F and ends with Pot A. Each pot is completely emptied before moving on to the
next pot.
4. The teams in Pot F are placed in position 6 (of Groups 1 to 8); the teams in Pod E in position 5; the teams
in Pod D in position 4; the teams in Pot C in position 3; the teams from Pot B in position 2; and the teams
from Pot A in position 1.
5. Groups are filled starting with Group 1 and ending with Group 9 (Group 8 in the case of Pot F).

Pot "A"

01. Italy
02. Spain
03. Germany
04. Czech Republic
05. France
06. Portugal
07. Netherlands
08. Croatia
09. Greece

Pot "B"

10. England
11. Romania
12. Scotland
13. Turkey
14. Bulgaria
15. Russia
16. Poland
17. Sweden
18. Israel

Pot "C"

19. Norway
20. Ukraine
21. Serbia
22. Denmark
23. Northern Ireland
24. Republic of Ireland
25. Finland
26. Switzerland
27. Belgium

Pot "D"

28. Slovakia
29. Bosnia-Herzegovina
30. Hungary
31. Moldova
32. Wales
33. FYR Macedonia
34. Belarus
35. Lithuania
36. Cyprus

Pot "E"

37. Georgia
38. Albania
39. Slovenia
40. Latvia
41. Iceland
42. Armenia
43. Austria
44. Kazakhstan
45. Azerbaijan

Pot "F"

46. Liechtenstein
47. Estonia
48. Malta
49. Luxembourg
50. Montenegro
51. Andorra
52. Faroe Islands
53. San Marino

Seeding is according to November 2007 FIFA Rank.

North & Central America

35 teams -> 3.5 places

ROUND ONE
1. The 23 PMAs ranked 13 to 35 (FIFA ranking as of May 2007) constitute the 23 Round One teams.
2. The round consists of 11 home-and-away series and one bye, St. Vincent / Grenadines.
3. The winners and St. Vincent / Grenadines advance to Round Two.

ROUND TWO
1. The 11 Round One series winners and St. Vincent / Grenadines will then join the 12 remaining PMAs in
Round Two.
2. The 24 teams will be paired into 12 home-and-away series.
3. The winners advance to Round Three.

ROUND THREE
1. The 12 Round Two series winners will then contest Round Three.
2. Teams will be grouped into 3 round-robin, home-and-away groups of 4 teams.
3. The group winners and runners-up advance to Round Four.

ROUND FOUR
1. The three Round Three group winners and 3 Round Three group runners-up will contest Round Four.
2. The six teams will form 1 round-robin, home-and-away group.

The top 3 teams qualify for the FIFA World CupTM.
The 4th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 5th placed South American team.

Pot "A"

01. Mexico
02. USA
03. Costa Rica

Pot "B"

04. Honduras
05. Panama
06. Trinidad and Tobago

Pot "C"

07. Jamaica
08. Cuba
09. Haiti
10. Guatemala
11. Canada
12. Guyana

Pot "D"

13. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Pot "E"

14. Barbados
15. Suriname
16. Bermuda
17. Antigua and Barbuda
18. St. Kitts and Nevis
19. Dominican Republic
20. El Salvador
21. Bahamas
22. Nicaragua
23. Grenada
24. St. Lucia

Pot "F"

25. Turks and Caicos Islands
26. Netherlands Antilles
27. British Virgin Islands
28. Dominica
29. Cayman Islands
30. Puerto Rico
31. Anguilla
32. Belize
33. US Virgin Islands
34. Montserrat
35. Aruba

Pot "W"

11 "winner" Balls

Seeding is according to May 2007 FIFA Rank.



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Well here's my opinion about the whole qualifications especially the African...
Very very long...The teams will need to play 12 games to qualify...It's hard for some poor countries to afford it...

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8629/drawok6.jpg

Poland was lucky! :)


Oh England :p

It's like Euro 2004 qualifying again, Finland, Azerbaijan and Russia with Yegor Cheatov (H). Oh and the old enemy drawing Croatia again hahaha!! :bob:

Pfff England vs Croatia (H)

oohaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha

hahahahahahahahahahahaha....oh that's just brilliant!!!!!

couple of interesting groups there..

Germany VS Russia. i have a feeling England will be rooting for us.

why is Israel taking part in European Competitions? even Syria is more European then them geographycaly speaking....

Germany VS Russia. i have a feeling England will be rooting for us.
I don't think they're gonna care :D More likely they'll be busy with Croatia (H)

same goes for turkey, but it is the way it is.. so..

Turkey is at least a part of Europe,geographycaly.But why israel?I know the answer but not gonna explain it,because it has more to do with political and religieus reasons.

****. England Croatia and Ukraine. We are ****ed.


Who the hell though of CONCACAF pot seedings? Some pots got 3, some got 10, some got 1. How is that supposed to work?

Turkey is at least a part of Europe,geographycaly.But why israel?I know the answer but not gonna explain it.
There is about 3% of Turkey's territory in Europe :crazyboy:

Turkey is at least a part of Europe,geographycaly.But why israel?I know the answer but not gonna explain it.

explain it...:p

Europe as a whole feels bad for the holocaust......






alright, I really see no other reason why they are part of Europe, that or JudeoChristian influence in European culture

anyway, look at England, ready to suffer again, tough Ukraine and Croatia again!

why is Israel taking part in European Competitions? even Syria is more European then them geographycaly speaking....

Here you go:
Israel was originally part of the Asian association (AFC), but after pressure from the Arab countries (who refused to play against Israel), they were excluded in 1976. In the years that followed, Israel had to play World Championship qualifying matches in the Oceania group, before getting accepted as a member of the UEFA in 1991.

(From: World Soccer Dictionary of Football)

I see....

wow, that's pretty sad on the Arab's part....big ups to UEFA

There is about 3% of Turkey's territory in Europe :crazyboy:

And of israel?:sleep:

Guyana is 100% in South America, yet play in CONCACAF.
East Timor is 100% in Oceania but play AFC. Who cares?
Only you, Israel haters, bring it up every year.

anyway, look at England, ready to suffer again, tough Ukraine and Croatia again!
True, but at the same time any team in the second pot will have wanted to draw either Greece or Croatia as a top seed.

Hmmm, we could have had it much worse. Still pretty difficult. I have every confidence in Scotland that we can win this group though.

What's with these groups always looking more or less the same? I swear, I don't think I've ever seen Italy or Spain get a tough group..

Quite pleased with our draw, not to tough and finally we're not in a group with a bunch of ex-Sovjetunion teams.

What's with these groups always looking more or less the same? I swear, I don't think I've ever seen Italy or Spain get a tough group..

Considering how Denmark have been playing lately combined with Olsen's tactics, I'd say you guys have a pretty easy group aswell, with practically only Sweden to provide a real challenge. :( And if there's any group that looks piss-easy it's Greece's.

Croatia vs. England again should be interesting to say the least. (H)

My Picks:

1- Qualified: Portugal
Runner Up: Denmark

2- Qualified: Greece
Runner Up: Switzerland

3- Qualified: Czech Republic
Runner Up: Poland

4- Qualified: Germany
Runner Up: Russia

5- Qualified: Spain
Runner Up: Turkey

6- Qualified: England
Runner Up: Croatia

7- Qualified: France
Runner Up: Romania

8- Qualified: Italy
Runner Up: Ireland

9- Qualified: Scotland
Runner Up: Netherlands

haha oh man all these groups are so whack :D

Sweden and Denmark in the the same group again.
Latvia ftw in Group 2. (H)
The Slavic group in Group 3. (:/)
EC2004 qualifiers again in Group 4. + plus Germany. Molotov-Ribbentrop draw anyone? And let's not forget the Winter War. (H)
Group 5, what an easy draw for Spain. They're bound to f*ck up (H)
hahaha, Croatia and England again, like Denmark and Sweden lol. And Ukraine and Belarus shud be fun in Group 6.
Tough Group 7; All teams except for Faroes have a chance.
Group 8, Finally a group with a mix up; And it took Montenegro to do so. :D
Group 9 looks competitive, with two teams who barely missed out on Euro.

Go Belarus!!!

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2295/wcml8.jpg

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/9060/asiaxl2.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7648/usjt5.jpg

CONCACAF has to come out with the weirdest ******* format in the whole world.

Lol England vs Croatia, here we go (H)

Oh, as for my nation, it is a very tricky group. Albania is looking good year after year, Denmark is hard, and I would like to have avoided Sweden.

Oh well, not bad, we have chances, let's go.

P.S: GO ANGOLAAAAAA (H)

What's with these groups always looking more or less the same? I swear, I don't think I've ever seen Italy or Spain get a tough group..


exactly
i totally agree
ever year in these international draws the groups looka bit same..i mean andorra an england..cmonnn
everythin seems da same

Why is South Africa in a group?

Why is South Africa in a group?

because the african qualifications are not just for the world cup but also for the ACN 2010

I'm very satisfied with my group. Netherland will be though, but fun to meet some new teams. Iceland :D finally. Have been waiting for them. Nice away trip.
Macedonia is a little bit like Bosnia I think. Should be 12 points v Iceland and Macedonia.
Scotland.. hi again.. We met each other in WC 06 qual too. Hope for another victory in Scotland. :D

I think we can make it this time. :)

For Ukraine it is interesting group:
Croatia vs England again; Belarus and Kazakhstan are allways difficult teams to win and it is allways interesting for Ukraine to play against other countries from USSR. But I think we can be on 2 or even on 1 position.

Romania's group is tough. France is a huge powerhouse, very hard for anyone to beat them. Serbia is a very solid team. I'll be very impressed if we qualify. (that means beating a team in the play-offs or getting 1st place)

What!? Play-off? :( god damn it.. I hate that.

damn. While the teams that Holland drew in the qualifying arent as good as they could have been, the fact that there are only 5 teams in the group makes it alot harder for us, as every game has alot more riding on it. One screw up could cost us the group :(

Stupidly easy group for England, we should demolish it.

Oh wait, Croatia, haven't we had them before...

Stupidly easy group for England, we should demolish it.

Oh wait, Croatia, haven't we had them before...

Damn English and their arrogance!!!!

Romania is gonna buttrape some people, not but seriously that will be tough.

Nah Dragan, someone's gonna get raped by England in the WC qualifying, the backlash is gonna be impressive.

I hope.

holy mother of god! why? :(

i don't remember us getting such a tough qualifying group, it's going to be hard..

Who is You Fil?

EDIT:
I read the Israel related posts and i think you guys got it all mixed up. Israel got screwed, they had better chances to qualify if they were to be in the asian side of the bargain.

Stupidly easy group for England, we should demolish it.

Oh wait, Croatia, haven't we had them before...
The group you were in for Euro 2008 was in the eyes of the Anglocentric media "a stupidly easy group".................. and look what happened! :p

Fili is portuguese. (I think, or he is joking me for months (H))

I think our group is hard, but we are favourites to go through, so wth. This, of course, if Sweden and Denmark don't start combining results. (H)

Hah... look at the groups the CONCACAF draw has set up for the semifinal round:

Group A

USA
T&T
Guatemala
Cuba

Group B

Mexico
Honduras
Canada
Jamaica

Group Cupcake

Costa Rica
Panama
Haiti
Guyana

I read the Israel related posts and i think you guys got it all mixed up. Israel got screwed, they had better chances to qualify if they were to be in the asian side of the bargain.

Yeah, but that's just because Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt would just forfeit the games instead of playing Israel.

Yeah, but that's just because Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt would just forfeit the games instead of playing Israel.
Egypt is not in the AFC.

Egypt is not in the AFC.
Nim got owned :p

Yeah, but that's just because Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt would just forfeit the games instead of playing Israel.

not just Iran & Saudi Arabia
let's just talk about the 25 teams in the 5 asian groups

may be Iraq
Qatar
Bahrain
Oman
Jordan
Turkmenistan
Saudi Arabia
Uzbekistan
Lebanon
Iran
Kuwait
U.A.E.
Syria

The the president of the AFC is arabian from Qatar ...
Arabians have the power in the AFC

one more thing, Egypt won 5 cups of the african nations so it's in CAF not AFC.

well im pretty nervous about the aussies lol i think they will be knocked out first round iraq i think will make there second world cup but the probaem with australia is they will never have there eurpean stars like kewell cahill bresciano ect they will have the crappy a league players we use to qualify to play 5th place south american team b4 because we were playing cook islands and tonga and somoa lol my team could beat them lol anyway australia wont qualify because the a league players are rubbish except robbie kruse and craig moore lol