32 teams will compete in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with one place allocated for the hosts, South Africa. In the qualification process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the six FIFA confederations were allocated a share of the 31 remaining spots. The distribution is:[1]
- Europe (UEFA): 13 places
- Africa (CAF): 5 places (+ South Africa qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 6 places)
- South America (CONMEBOL): 4 or 5 places
- Asia (AFC): 4 or 5 places
- North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 or 4 places
- Oceania (OFC): 0 or 1 place
UEFA and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between the highest placed teams in the qualification tournaments not guaranteed a place in the finals:
- CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place
- AFC 5th place v OFC winner
At the close of entries on 15 March 2007, 204 out of the 208 FIFA members had entered the preliminary qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup. South Africa was amongst these teams, as the qualification procedure in Africa is also due to act as the qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
Only three AFC members: Brunei, Laos and the Philippines had failed to register for the tournament.
Bhutan were allowed to enter at the last minute and were included in the Asian preliminary draw, Papua New Guinea were disqualified from the Oceania Preliminary competition, and Brunei and the Philippines had their entries rejected (having missed the deadline). The final number of teams entered breaks the previous record of 199 entrants set in 2002.[2] However, five of those teams withdrew during qualifying without playing a match: Bhutan, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guam and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Contents
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Qualified teams
The following teams have qualified to date, in chronological order:
| Team | Qualified As | Date of qualification | Finals Appearance | Consecutive World Cups | Last Appearance | Previous Best Performance | Current 1 FIFA Ranking [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Africa |
Host | 15 May 2004 | 3rd | 1 | 2002 | Group stage (1998, 2002) | 70 |
 Japan |
AFC Fourth Round Group A Runner-up | 6 June 2009 | 4th | 4 | 2006 | Round of 16 (2002) | 40 |
 Australia |
AFC Fourth Round Group A Winner | 6 June 2009 | 3rd | 2 | 2006 | Round of 16 (2006) | 16 |
 Korea Republic |
AFC Fourth Round Group B Winner | 6 June 2009 | 8th | 7 | 2006 | Fourth (2002) | 48 |
 Netherlands |
UEFA Group 9 Winner | 6 June 2009 | 9th | 2 | 2006 | Runner-up (1974, 1978) | 3 |
 Korea DPR |
AFC Fourth Round Group B Runner-up | 17 June 2009 | 2nd | 1 | 1966 | Quarterfinals (1966) | 83 |
Note 1: As of July 1, 2009.
Summary of remaining qualification
| Team qualified for the World Cup. | |
| Team may still qualify for the World Cup. | |
| Team cannot qualify for the World Cup, but still has qualifying matches left. | |
| Team eliminated from World Cup qualifying. | |
| Country did not enter World Cup. | |
| Country is not part of FIFA. |
| Legend for following table |
|---|
| Confederations whose qualifying campaign is ongoing |
| Confederations whose qualifying campaign is finished, but a team awaits intercontinental playoffs |
| Confederations that have finished their qualifying campaign |
| Confederation | Teams started | Teams that can still qualify | Teams that have secured qualification | Places in finals | Qualifying end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA | 53 | 44 | 1 | 13 | 18 November 2009 |
| CAF | 52 +1h | 20 | 0 +1h | 5 +1h | 14 November 2009 |
| CONMEBOL | 10 | 9 | 0 | 4 or 5 | 18 November 2009 |
| AFC | 43 | 2 | 4 | 4 or 5 | 14 November 2009 |
| CONCACAF | 35 | 6 | 0 | 3 or 4 | 18 November 2009 |
| OFC | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 or 1 | 14 November 2009 |
| World | 203 +1h | 82 | 5 +1h | 31 +1h | 18 November 2009 |
h=host
Qualification groups
The qualification process commenced in August 2007 and will be completed by November 2009. An initial draw for preliminary qualification (qualifying groups in Oceania, and knockout ties in CAF and AFC) had been announced for Zürich on 28 May 2007, but none was held.
Initial groups for the Oceania qualification were eventually held in Auckland, New Zealand in early June, with preliminary draws for the Asian and African qualification announced in August.
The draw for the main 2010 World Cup qualifying groups was held in Durban, South Africa on November 25, 2007 (34 teams were eliminated before the actual draw - 6 from OFC, 5 from CAF and 23 from AFC). CONMEBOL qualification also had started, and there were no draw for this confederation, as all 10 members play in the same group, and the order of fixtures is the same as for the 2006 qualification rounds. The 4 remaining teams from OFC had started playing the final stage as a single group, so no draw was needed also. Therefore, the draw of 25 November involved 156 FIFA members from the original 205 entries, divided as follows: UEFA–53 entries in draw; CAF–48 entries in draw (original 53 minus 5 preliminary round losers and withdrawals); AFC–20 entries in draw (original 43 minus 23 1st and 2nd round losers and withdrawals); and CONCACAF–35 entries in draw.
As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically. As in 2006, the holders - Italy - do not qualify automatically. If they do qualify they will be seeded similarly to the way Brazil was in the 2006 tournament.
League format tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages the method used for separating teams level on points is the same for all Confederations, as decided by FIFA themselves.[4] If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:
- goal difference in all group matches
- greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
- goal difference in matches between the tied teams
- greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
- drawing of lots, or a play-off (if approved by FIFA)
This is a change from 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, where results between tied teams was the first tiebreaker.
Africa (CAF)
(53 teams competing for 5 berths, host South Africa occupying a 6th berth)
The CAF qualification process began with a preliminary round played on 13 October and 17 November 2007 to narrow the field to 48 teams, and then 12 groups of 4 teams were drawn in Durban in November 2007.[5]
The 12 groups winners and 8 best runners-up advanced to the next stage. The procedure was complicated due to two of the groups being reduced to just 3 teams due to the withdrawal of Eritrea (before the commencement of the group) and the exclusion of Ethiopia (which saw all their results annulled). As a result, the comparison of the 12 runners-up did not include results against teams finishing fourth in 4-team groups.
The remaining 20 teams were placed in 5 groups of 4 teams at a draw held in Zurich on 22 October 2008. The winners of these groups will qualify to the World Cup finals.
The qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup is combined with the qualification process for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. Since South Africa is hosting the World Cup, it has automatically qualified, although it (unlike hosts in previous qualifying tournaments since 1938) played in the qualifiers themselves to facilitate the use of the same set of qualifying matches for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
Had South Africa advanced to the third round (second group stage), their matches would not have been counted in determining who advances to the World Cup finals. However, South Africa were eliminated from the qualifiers after the second round. This means that they cannot qualify for the African Cup of Nations, and all matches in Round 3 count towards World Cup qualification.
- Next match day: September 5 (5 matches, with a total of 31 matches left ending on November 14).
Current positions (Third Round)
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Group E
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Asia (AFC)
(43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths; a playoff against OFC determines which confederation gets the extra berth)
Two preliminary rounds (one in October 2007 and one in the first half of November) narrowed the field from 43 to 20 prior to the group stage draw in Durban on 25 November 2007.[5]
The group stage draw divided the 20 remaining sides into 5 groups of 4, which were played from February to June 2008, from which the winners and runners-up advanced to the final group stage. The winners and runners-up from 2 final groups of 5 nations (playing from September 2008 to June 2009) will qualify automatically for the World Cup finals, with the 2 third-placed sides playing off in September 2009 for the right to compete against the Oceania winner for a final qualification spot (with matches played in October and November 2009).
The knock-out preliminary rounds themselves were somewhat unusual, with all 38 AFC sides that did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup playing in the first knock-out round, but the 11 best-ranked winners from that round receiving byes in the second round (and only the 8 lowest-ranked winners competing to reduce the fields of teams to 20).
- Next match day: September 5 (1 match, with a total of 2 matches left ending on September 9).
Final positions (Fourth Round)
Group A
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Group B
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Play-off for 5th place (Fifth Round)
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bahrain  |
 Saudi Arabia |
5 September | 9 September |
Winner will advance to the AFC-OFC playoff, against the winner of OFC (New Zealand).
Europe (UEFA)
(53 teams competing for 13 berths)
The European qualification games started in August 2008 after Euro 2008.[5] Eight groups of six teams and one group of five will contest the European qualifying competition. As a result the nine group-winners will qualify directly, while the best eight of the nine second-placed teams will contest home and away play-off matches for the remaining four places.[6] In determining the best eight second-placed teams, the results against teams finishing last in the six-team groups will not be counted for consistency between the five- and six-team groups.
The group stage will be completed on 14 October 2009. A draw for the play-offs will be held in Zürich on 19 October, with the matches held on 14 and 18 November.
- Next match day: August 12 (5 matches, with a total of 104 matches left ending on October 14).
Current positions
Group 1
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Group 2
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Group 3
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Group 4
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Group 5
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Group 6
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Group 7
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Ranking of second-placed teams
The play-offs will be contested by the top eight runners up. With one group having one team fewer than the others, matches against the sixth-placed team in the group are not included in this ranking.
| Grp |
Team
|
Pld | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |  Russia |
5 | 12 | a,b |
| 7 |  France |
5 | 10 | a,b |
| 5 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
5 | 9 | a,b |
| 1 |  Hungary |
4 | 7 | a,b |
| 2 |  Switzerland |
4 | 7 | a,b |
| 8 |  Republic of Ireland |
5 | 7 | a,b |
| 3 |  Northern Ireland |
5 | 7 | a,b |
| 9 |  Scotland |
5 | 7 | a |
| 6 |  Croatia |
4 | 5 | a,b |
Key to notes
- a - Team is not guaranteed second place in their group
- b - Sixth-placed team in group may change (so ranking of second-placed team may improve or worsen even if they do not play)
North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
(35 teams competing for 3 or 4 berths; a playoff against CONMEBOL determines which confederation gets the extra berth)
The CONCACAF qualification process[7] is identical to that for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, except that as Puerto Rico competed this time (they were the only CONCACAF member not to enter 2006 qualification), there were 11 matches instead of 10 in the first preliminary round, and thus 13 teams instead of 14 received a bye to the second preliminary round. The two preliminary rounds, played in the first half of 2008, reduced the 35 entrants to 24 and then 12 teams. 3 semi-final groups of 4 were played between August and November 2008, with the top two in each group advancing to a final 6-team group to be held during 2009. The top 3 of this group will qualify to the World Cup finals; the 4th-place team will go to the playoff against the 5th-place CONMEBOL team.
- Next match day: August 12 (3 matches, with a total of 15 matches left ending on October 14).
Current positions (Fourth Round)
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Oceania (OFC)
(10 teams competing for 0 or 1 berth; a playoff against AFC determines which confederation gets the extra berth. Tuvalu also played in the qualifying tournament, but was not an entrant to the World Cup qualification)
The qualification process began with a tournament at the 2007 South Pacific Games in August 2007. The top three (New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, respectively) joined New Zealand in a 4-team group, which was also the 2008 OFC Nations Cup, playing home and away. The winner would play a home and away playoff with the fifth-place Asian nation for a World Cup berth.[5]
- In this zone, the qualifications finished on November 19, 2008.
Final positions (Second Round)
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New Zealand advanced to the AFC-OFC playoff, against the 5th-placed team of AFC (Bahrain or Saudi Arabia).
South America (CONMEBOL)
(10 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths; a playoff against CONCACAF determines which confederation gets the extra berth)
The CONMEBOL qualification process again features a league system (home and away matches) for a single group of 10 associations, with matches played from October 2007 to October 2009. The fixture list is identical to that used in the qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. To limit the amount of travel by European-based players to South America, CONMEBOL's schedule uses nine 'double match days' (with two sets of matches held within a few days of each other). The top 4 teams will qualify to the World Cup finals, the 5th-place team will go to a playoff against the 4th-place CONCACAF team, which will be played on November 14 and 18, 2009.
- Next match day: September 5 (5 matches, with a total of 20 matches left ending on October 14).
Current positions
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Inter-confederation playoffs
There are two scheduled inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots to the finals. The ties themselves were not drawn, but were allocated by FIFA as:
- AFC 5th place v OFC winner
- CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place
The draw for the order in which the matches will be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.[8]
AFC 5th place v OFC winner
The winner of the OFC qualification tournament will play the winner of the play-off between the two third-placed teams in the AFC qualification round four (considered to be the 5th placed team in the AFC). New Zealand qualified for the play-off by winning the OFC competition in September 2008.
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain /Saudi Arabia |
 New Zealand |
10 October | 14 November |
CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place
The team from fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round will enter into a play-off against the team which finishes fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group.
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONCACAF 4th place | - | CONMEBOL 5th place | 14 November | 18 November |
References
- ^ FIFA (2006-12-06). Clear declaration to defend the autonomy of sport. Press release. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/releases/newsid=108198.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ FIFA (2007-03-30). Record number of 204 teams enter preliminary competition. Press release. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/media/newsid=122766.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 2009-06-03. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-04.
- ^ "Regulations 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa" (PDF). FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. July 2007. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/fifa_wc_south_africa_2010_regulations_en_14123.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ a b c d FIFA.com
- ^ EXCO unveils World Cup programme
- ^ CONCACAF (2007-03-27). CONCACAF Exco meets in Netherlands Antilles. Press release. http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.asp?id=3757. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
- ^ Intercontinental play-off dates confirmed
External links
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