2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

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In the qualification process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the six FIFA confederations were allocated a share of the 31 spots available on the basis of the strength of their teams. The final distribution was as follows[1]:

Each .5 indicates a place in inter-confederation matchups for the last two spots, namely a playoff between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF and the inclusion of an OFC side in the latter stages of the AFC qualification process.

Contents

[edit] Qualified teams

The following teams have qualified to date.

Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance Best Performance
South Africa (h) 3rd 1 2002 1st Round (1998, 2002)

(h) = Qualified automatically as hosts.

[edit] Qualification Groups

204 nations (including hosts South Africa) have entered the qualification stages of the 2010 World Cup[2]. The qualification process is anticipated to begin in August 2007 and be completed by November 2009. The preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup will be held in Durban, South Africa on November 23, 2007 (so a number of confederations will have eliminated some of their teams before the actual draw - namely the OFC, CAF and AFC). As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically.

[edit] Europe (UEFA)

(13 berths)

The European qualification games will start in September 2008. The exact qualification process is not yet known.

[edit] South America (CONMEBOL)

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

(4 or 5 berths, playoff against North and Central America and the Caribbean to determine exact number)

The CONMEBOL qualification process will again feature a league system (home and away matches) for a single group of 10 associations. The provisional start date is September 8, 2007[3], although this date is subject to final confirmation. The fixture list will be identical to that used in the qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Conmebol intends to use only nine 'double match days' for the 18 rounds - implying the following match dates (which may vary by a day to either side).

2007 - September 8 and 12, October 13 and 17, November 17 and 21.

2008 - September 6 and 10, October 11 and 15.

2009 - March 28 and April 1, June 6 and 10, September 5 and 9, October 10 and 14.

November 14 and 18, 2009 would be the dates for the playoff against CONCACAF.

[edit] North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF)

(3 or 4 berths, with playoff against South America to determine exact number)

The proposed CONCACAF qualification process[4] is identical to that for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It would consist of two preliminary rounds to reduce the 35 entrants to 24 and then 12 teams, followed by 3 semifinal groups of 4 (likely to occur in the second half of 2008), with the top two in each group advancing to a final 6-team group (timeframe of all of 2009).

[edit] Asia (AFC)

(4 or 5 berths, with competition of Oceania champion at some stage of the qualification process to determine exact number)

While the AFC qualification process has not yet been officially announced, it was discussed at early February 2007 AFC meetings. An OFC press release[5] stated that the final round of AFC qualification would consist of 2 groups of 5 sides, with the top two sides in each to qualify for the World Cup and the two third placed sides to play-off for the fifth spot. Since the OFC champion would be included in the final round, this would imply 9 AFC second stage groups of 4 sides - and therefore a first round of knock-out matches to reduce the entrants to 36 nations.

More recent press reports[6] suggest the OFC will not be included in the final groups. Instead, the entrants will be trimmed to 32 by knock-out matches before the main draw, with 8 groups of 4 following. The winners from those groups would play in two groups of 4, with the top two in each group qualifying for South Africa, and the two third placed sides meeting for the right to play the Oceania winner for a final qualifying spot. The required group matches would all be played on mid-week dates in 2008 (first stage) and 2009 (second stage).

[edit] Africa (CAF)

(6 berths, including South Africa as host)

The CAF qualification process will begin on either 13 October or 14 October 2007, again (as was in 2006) in conjunction with the African Cup of Nations. The qualifying competition for the 2010 African Cup of Nations will be combined with the 2010 World Cup qualification process. At most, 48 nations will enter the main draw in Durban, with the October dates used for a preliminary qualification round if required.[7]

[edit] Oceania (OFC)

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

(0 or 1 berth, with berth in final round of Asia qualification process to determine exact number)

The winner of the 2008 OFC Nations Cup will be included in the final round of Asian qualification.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ FIFA (2006-12-06). Clear declaration to defend the autonomy of sport. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
  2. ^ FIFA (2007-03-30). Record number of 204 teams enter preliminary competition. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
  3. ^ CONMEBOL (2007-02-14). Se aprueban sistema y fixture de la Eliminatoria 2010. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  4. ^ CONCACAF (2007-03-27). CONCACAF Exco meets in Netherlands Antilles. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
  5. ^ OFC (2007-02-06). Solomon Islands - Waita wants international return. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
  6. ^ "Home of the Roos", The Daily Telegraph (Australia), 2007-03-06. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  7. ^ FIFA (2007-02-06). First steps to preliminary phase. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-03-29.
  8. ^ FIFA (2006-12-06). Clear declaration to defend the autonomy of sport. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
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FIFA World Cup qualification

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