A bullying, selfish FIFA Confederation President pursuing his own agenda to the detriment of the development of the beautiful game? No, not Jack Warner, but AFC boss Mohamed Bin Hammam.

That, at least, is the perspective of much of New Zealand's soccer media this week, following the AFC's ultimatum to New Zealand's Wellington Phoenix, who play in Australia's A-League: become a lot more Australian, or else.

It's time we started getting to know the 32 teams who will compete at World Cup 2010, and what better way to get familiar than with a nickname? Below you'll find a list of the 32 teams, followed by their most common nickname or nicknames.

Team nicknames usually refer to the colour of the shirt (eg the Azzurri or Les Bleus) or some element of the football association crest (eg The Three Lions).

Les presentos los grupos de como jugarán el mundial los equipos participantes para Sudáfrica 2010, claro es una simulación que hice, que puede resultar muy real.
El sorteo es hoy a las 12:00 del mediodia tiempo de México, tarde noche en Europa, tan pronto los grupos esten definidos actualizaré este mismo artículo con los definitivos y dejaré los mios a fin de comparar que tan acertado estuve, vaya no soy bueno pronósticando pero me divierte hacerlo.

The World's most exciting, popular and costliest competition had the final draw of the Groups in South Africa which turned out to be an exciting draw that has been ideal for many but nightmares for a few. The 32 teams have been divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each. Group A naturally has the hosts [.

Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana...that's what we get for Group D. Some people think this group is obvious in its outcome...me, not so much.

When you look at it from a "country" perspective you can easily see how Australia takes an edge over Serbia and Ghana to leave the group intact with Germany.

I'll have some Tuesday TV a little later, but first let's see how everyone is putting the USMNT's chances to advance from World Cup 2010 Group C play:- ESPN/Nate Silver (48%)- Castrol Index (73%)- The mighty, might Voros (64%)- BigSoccer poster NoSix (63%)And the "+1" comes in the form of Climbing the Ladder's MLS Plus/Minus season totals.

That is unlikely to be the final name for the stadium, but "rectangular" is a fitting working name as the 31,500 capacity stadium, which will host soccer and rugby, is being made in part to replace the reliance on the oval stadia of Melbourne suitable for Australian Rules Football and cricket.

Construction on the new stadium began last year, and here's the progress so far (live webcam here), with a scheduled opening of May 2010.

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Lucy Zelic, Patrick Bertrand and Eamonn Flanagan talk World Cup draw and who Australia would like, why Thierry Henry should be banned...yes we're still on that, and all the A-League chat, and why Paddy loved the Fury, watched the Mariners and thinks Sydney are...well not very good.

So the World Cup Draw has been made, and England are in Group C with USA, Algeria and Slovenia. I'm pretty happy with that. I think they will be trickier than some people appear to think, (USA beat Spain afterall, and England only managed to beat Slovenia recently due to a penalty), but I think we will get through the group, most likely as winners.

France's odds of winning the World Cup have been cut from 16/1 to 12/1 after landing a stomach churningly handy draw by landing in host nation South Africa's group A. England have also seen their odds tumble to 11/2 third favourites from 6/1 after landing in a group with the USA, Algeria & Slovenia. Paddy Power said, [.

The Socceroos have landed in a tough group.
Although the Germans have unearthed few new stars since the 2006 tournament, they always seem to lift when the World Cup comes around. Serbia have looked a very convincing unit throughout the European qualifiers, with Dejan Stankovic enjoying an Indian summer at club and international level.

In this mornings Herald Sun the Head of the AFL says,
An entire AFL season could be abandoned and some clubs would "cease to exist" if the MCG was unavailable for 16 weeks during a soccer World Cup in Australia
What a complete idiot!
At the end of the interview he thinks wiser heads will prevail and the AFL season wouldn't be cancelled.

A heavy dose of reality crashed down upon African hopes of a maiden Fifa World Cup title after Friday's draw pitched the continent's most-fancied teams in challenging groups.

In the build-up to the Cape Town draw, where locals flooded the city centre for the most colourful of street parties, most of the talk centred upon Ghana and Ivory Coast spearheading Africa's unlikely quest.

Japan and the Netherlands will battle it out in next year's World Cup, but the Dutch coach has some homework to do after failing to recognise his Japanese opposite number at a Cape Town dinner. Japan's Takeshi Okada said he was speaking with Australia coach Pim Verbeek, a Dutchman, on the ...

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We cover the World Cup Draw, why the AFL Leader is an idiot, all the W-League Semi Final coverage and of course the unleashing of Australia's new full-back Troy Hearfield and are Sydney back, is Aloisi really back, will The Jets win three in a row, can the Mariners do it again and Andrew Baresic follows Ned Zelic, Joe Simunic, Stephen Lustica and Kofi Danning all from the same Junior Canberra Club.

Who Will Advance From World Cup Group D?(answers)

Who do you think will advance from Group D in the 2010 World Cup? It's definitely a difficult group featuring one of the best teams in Africa, Ghana, as well as the gritty determinism of Serbia, the machine-like Germany and the underdogs Australia.

The seedings for the World Cup draw were announced today and there were a couple surprises. Namely the news that the great Fabio Capello has effectively wiped Euro 2008 from statistical history and that France will need a small miracle not to be drawn into a Group of Death. Going into today's meeting it was [.

The seedings for the World Cup draw were announced today and there were a couple of surprises. Namely the news that the great Fabio Capello has effectively wiped Euro 2008 from statistical history and that France will need a small miracle not to be drawn into a Group of Death.

Going into today's meeting it was undecided which methodology FIFA would use to determine the seeds for Friday's draw.

In a matter of hours, the 2010 World Cup field will be officially set. The draw is set to be made at 17:00 GMT time and 19:00 South Africa time. At a FIFA executive meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, FIFA decided eight seeds: hosts South Africa, title holders Italy, Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, the Netherlands and [.

The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is set to kick off in about 30 minutes and we will update the proceedings as the groups fill out. After they're done, I will attempt to make the fastest sweet 16 prediction in the world.Get your refresh button ready, the lottery basket starts spinning at 10 minutes before the top of the hour.

"Wahay!"

So, this is what F-Cap's plucky men lads next summer:

GROUP C: ENGLAND, USA, ALGERIA, SLOVENIA

England's order of play: USA (Sat 12 June, Rustenburg), Algeria (Fri 18 June, Cape Town), Slovenia (23 June, Port Elizabeth)

What do you make of the draw?

The draw for the 2010 World Cup is done and Jogi Löw and Oliver Bierhoff can start preparing for Germany's World Cup campaign. Or Africa Safari in Bierhoff marketing speech. Group D Germany Australia Serbia Ghana Group Stage Games 13th June 2010, Durban, Moses Mabhida Stadium: Germany - Australia 18th June 2010, Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium:

Sorteggiati i gironi dei mondiali 2010 che si svolgeranno in Sudafrica quest'estate. Ecco i risultati dell'urna:Girone A: Sudafrica, Messico, Uruguay, FranciaGirone B: Argentina, Nigeria, Corea del Sud, GreciaGirone C: Inghilterra, Usa, Algeria, SloveniaGirone D: Germania, Australia, Ghana, SerbiaGirone E: Olanda, Danimarca, Giappone, CamerunGirone F: Italia, Paraguay, Nuova Zelanda,

Conoce a fondo cada una de las selecciones de este grupo, da clic en su nombre Alemania Australia Serbia Ghana Partidos Fecha Hora Estadio Alemania vs Australia 13/06/2010 08:00:00 a.m. Durban Stadium Serbia vs Ghana 13/06/2010 12:30:00 p.m. Loftus Versfeld Stadium Alemania vs Serbia 18/06/2010 05:30:00 a.

Alemania

Primer lugar de su grupo en las eliminatorias de la UEFA. Aunque su futbol no convenció a muchos, sabemos del potencial que tienen los germanos. Tienen la "espina clavada" por no ganar el mundial en su propio territorio el mundial pasado.

Australia

Demostró que tiene mucha calidad, ya que termino por encima de Japón en su grupo de las eliminatorias de Asia.

Holanda

La mala imagen que dejó en el mundial pasado fue factor fundamental para que en esta eliminatoria peleara con todo para conseguir su boleto a Sudáfrica 2010.

Un buen conjunto de jugadores es a lo que le apuestan los países bajos en esta ocasión, solo que esta vez jugando de manera más centrada y sin tantas especulaciones.

Group A France , Mexico , South Africa , Uruguay Group B Argentina , Nigeria , Greece , South Korea Group C England , USA , Algeria , Slovenia Group D Germany , Serbia , Ghana , Australia Group E Holland , Cameroon , Denmark , Japan Group F Italy , Paraguay , Slovakia [...]

The Socceroos will play in Group D for South Africa 2010, facing three-time champions Germany, African powerhouses Ghana and European surprise packets Serbia. Australia start their Group D campaign against Germany in Durban on June 13, followed by Ghana, in Rustenburg on June 19, and Serbia, in Nelspruit on June 23.

Upset special! Australia and Ghana are two teams that I have keenly followed through the qualification process. Serbia, not so much. And Germany is well Germany. Guess what?
Advance - Ghana and Australia

Finalmente quedaron definidos los grupos de las 32 selecciones que participarán en la Copa Mundial de Futbol Sudáfrica 2010, el sorteo mundialista más largo de la historia se realizó en Ciudad del Cabo con la presencia de más de 2,000 invitados y una audiencia televisiva global del orden de 200 millones de personas.

The following conversation happened on Facebook Chat:
Jacob: Lol. Good prediction by me (:. Bring that to South Africa we'll see how right it is.
Hamish: Ha ha. I'm back to my position that it's gonna be damn tough for Oz in group D though. Ghana has this Chelsea striker who wasn't playing when we played them, and a couple of other gun Euro players.

''How much do you want this World Cup?'' Demetriou was asking his constituents. ''Enough to miss an entire footy season?''

The AFL is feeling a bit vulnerable in Oz's embrace of the World's game.

The popularity of soccer in Australia shot through the roof because of its 2006 World Cup success.

Jabulani listo para el mundial 2010, originalmente cargada por prismatico.

En estos momentos todos ya saben en que grupo juega su selección nacional, ahora veamos el Calendario de la fase de Grupos y esperemos como todo parece ser que sera uno de los mejores mundiales de la historia:

Fecha Partido Hora (Local/ET)
Junio 11 South Africa vs.

Here's one big problem the US and England don't face with their World Cup bids: conflict with planned use of stadia by Aussie Rules Football and rugby league teams. The issue has caused a huge stir in Australia this week, with Football Federation Australia under fire for failing to consult with the governing bodies of the other football codes that share most of Australia's largest stadiums about potential scheduling conflicts (Melbourne's "rectangular" stadium currently under construction is so-named for its rarity as a non-oval shaped stadium suited specifically for soccer, though a rugby league team will also play there).

Ever since Australia's untimely exit from the 2006 WC (yes, I'm still harping on about that incident!), I've had an insatiable hatred for all teams Italian, so I really didn't care that Juve took the lead last night and then in true German style, had their arse's carved out of ...

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Last week, we covered the major dispute in Australian sport over the country's 2018/2022 World Cup bids, with the more popular rival footballing codes of Rugby League and Aussie Rules Football attempting to stick a knife into the bid over the use of the country's major multi-purpose stadia by complaining about potential scheduling interruptions and pushing for compensation.

Yes I am still alive!
In what has been a crazy month involving foreign travel missing bank cards, wandering passports and several uncomfortable coach journeys I have succesfully relocated in Australia and am ready to get blogging again. Congratualtions to the winners of the DVD and Football Manager 2010.

The World Cup is only six months away, but with the groups already drawn the speculation is already mounting. German captain Michael Ballack insists that Group D will be no easy walk in the park for the World Cup 2002 finalists.

Germany, as a top seed, were drawn with Serbia, Ghana, and Australia in Group D, one of the most difficult groups in the tournament.

Australia's best football writers have combined once more to provide you with the most independent views in Australian football.

Gary Dowden: English Premier League
R. Mehdi: Italian Serie A
"Dirty cheat Cannavaro stepped on Barreto's right foot as he tried to go past him in the box and Baretto took a dive to make sure he won a penalty. He sent Buffon the wrong way. Juve blew three early second half chances to equalise before Grosso repeated his trick against Australia and went over Almiron's legs as he dived in with a suicidal tackle.