Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 A total of 170 countries will go into Sunday's draw in Durban for the 2010 World Cup preliminary competition. The teams are chasing 31 places at the World Cup finals, with only hosts South Africa guaranteed a spot at the tournament in 30 months' time. Even 2006 champions Italy must qualify to defend their title. There will be 861 qualifying matches to determine the line-up for the 2010 World Cup finals, lasting more than 800 days and finishing in November 2009. A total of 205 countries entered the preliminaries but five have since withdrawn. A further 30 were eliminated in pre-preliminary matches played in Africa, Asia and Oceania. The draw comes four months after the 2010 preliminary campaign kicked off in Samoa in August. Italy won the 2006 World Cup Holders Italy will be chasing one of 13 European spots at the finals The event will see Asia's groups drawn first, followed by those in the Concacaf region, made up of countries in central and north America and the Caribbean. About an hour into the draw, Europe will be put in the spotlight when its 53 teams are divided into nine qualifying groups - eight of six teams and one of five. The winners of each European group will qualify for the World Cup finals and the best eight runners-up play off for four more qualifying berths. The evening rounds off with the draw for the African Zone, where 48 teams will be placed into 12 groups of four teams. There is no draw for South America and the Oceania region, who have already started their preliminary competition. # Europe has the biggest representation at the World Cup finals with 13 places # Africa will have three rounds of qualification, the first of which is already completed. # Asia has five stages of qualification, two of which have been completed # All Concacaf's 35 members have entered four stages of qualifying, the first two of which will be played on a knockout basis. # The 10 South American countries began their super group in October. # Oceania is already deep into its qualifying campaign with a group competition involving Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Vanuatu. Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said the seeding for qualifying groups in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Concacaf region had been determined. However, he added that it needed to be ratified by the competition's organising committee, which meets in Durban on Saturday, before being announced. The Fifa rankings are being used to determine the seeds for the various continental qualification groups. Seedings for European draw: Pot 1 Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Croatia, Greece. Pot 2 ENGLAND, Romania, SCOTLAND, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Sweden, Israel. Pot 3 Norway, Ukraine, Serbia, Denmark, NORTHERN IRELAND, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium. Pot 4 Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova, WALES, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus. Pot 5 Georgia, Albania, Slovenia, Latvia, Iceland, Armenia, Austria, Kazakhastan, Azerbaijan. Pot 6 Liechenstein, Estonia, Malta, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands, San Marino. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Asian Draw Australia are drawn in Group 1 with Iraq, Qatar and China. Group 2: Oman, Thailand, Bahrain, Japan. Group 3: North Korea, Jordan, Turkmenistan, South Korea. Group 4: Lebanon, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia. Group 5: Syria, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 North American and South American groups next Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Group 1A: USA v the winner of Dominican Republic v Barbados. Group 1B: Guatemala will play the winner of Turks and Caicos Islands v St Lucia. Group 1C: Trinidad and Tobago will play the winners of Bermuda v Caymen Islands. Group 1D: Cuba will play the winner of Aruba v Antigua and Barbuda. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Group 2A: Mexico play the winner of Belize v St Kitts and St Nevis. Group 2B: Jamaica play the winner of Bahamas v British Virgin Islands. Group 2C: Honduras play the winner of Dominican Republic v Puerto Rica. Group 2D: The winner of Canada v St Vincent and the Grenadines gets a bye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Group 3A: Costa Rica plays US Virgin Islands or Grenada. Group 3B: Guyana plays Suriname or Montserrat. Group 3C: Panama plays El Salvador or Anguilla. Group 3D: The winner of Nicaragua v Netherlands Antilles gets a bye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Europe draw next, come on England! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Fucking hell, Croatia Again! Group 1 Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Malta Group 2 Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia, Luxembourg Group 3 Czech Republic, Poland, NORTHERN IRELAND, Slovakia, Slovenia, San Marino Group 4 Germany, Russia, Finland, WALES, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein Group 5 Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Estonia Group 6 Croatia, ENGLAND, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra Group 7 France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands Group 8 Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro Group 9 Holland, SCOTLAND, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Iceland Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Here is how the North and Central American draw works GROUP 1 USA vs Dominica/Barbados Guatamala vs Turks/St Lucia Trinidad vs Bermuda/Cayman Islands Cuba vs Aruba/Antigua GROUP 2 Mexico vs St Kitts/Belize Jamaica vs Bahamas/British Virgin Islands Honduras vs Dominican Rep/Puerto Rico Canada vs St Vincent GROUP 3 Costa Rica vs US Virgin Islands/Grenada Guyana vs Suriname/Montserrat Panama vs El Salvidor/Anguilla Haiti vs Nicaragua/Netherland Antilles Group 2 is f'n tough (for Concacaf anyway) and Group 3 is utter crap Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 I was all set to be excited about drawing St. Vincent and the Grenadines, until I found out they're 77th in the FIFA rankings. Not good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted November 25, 2007 I love our draw. Canada drew the worst of all possible teams in the pots to draw from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2007 Can't forget the African draw Group 1: Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Tanzania, Mauritius. Group 2: Guinea, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya. Group 3: Angola, Benin, Uganda, Niger. Group 4: Nigeria, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone. Group 5: Ghana, Libya, Gabon, Lesotho. Group 6: Liberia, Algeria, Senegal, Gambia. Group 7: Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar. Group 8: Morocco, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mauritania. Group 9: Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Burundi, Seychelles. Group 10: Mali, Congo, Sudan, Chad. Group 11: Togo, Eritrea, Zambia, Swaziland. Group 12: Egypt, DR Congo, Malawi, Djibouti. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2007 Can't forget the African draw Group 4: Nigeria, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone. I thought South Africa was automatically in for hosting? And how long has the defending champion not been exempt? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2007 I thought South Africa was automatically in for hosting? And how long has the defending champion not been exempt? Since 2006. And yes, South Africa is already in -- the World Cup qualifier is also the qualifier for the African Nations Cup, for which RSA is not exempt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
