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.
-------------
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...
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.
-------------
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...
. Oh and the old enemy drawing Croatia again hahaha!! 
More likely they'll be busy with Croatia 
