Who can wait a month? I had to speculate the pots and make my own groups:

GROUP A -- South Africa, Greece, North Korea, Paraguay
GROUP B -- Brazil, Slovenia, Honduras, Nigeria
GROUP C -- Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, Uruguay
GROUP D -- Spain, Slovakia, USA, Ghana
GROUP E -- Argentina, Netherlands, Mexico, Cameroon
GROUP F -- Italy, Serbia, South Korea, Chile
GROUP G -- France, Portugal, Australia, Algeria
GROUP H -- England, Switzerland, Japan, Ivory Coast

How about that Group E, eh? Click to continue reading...

All 32 teams for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa are now known.
The complete line up is:
Europe
Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland
Africa
Algeria, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa (hosts)
Asia
Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
South America
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
North & Central America, Caribbean
Honduras, Mexico, USA
Oceania
New Zealand
Tags
World Cup South Africa Click to continue reading...

Qualification is officially over. Playoffs won, tears shed, hearts broken and dreams renewed, it's all over. After Uruguay withstood the Costa Rican pressure late in the evening, the final 32 teams were written into stone though not without a fair bit of controversy.

The following are those 32 teams who will take part in South Africa 2010.

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Now that we have the official list of thd 32 nations taking part in next summers World Cup Finals, all eyes are on the draw December 4th and how teams will be seeded for that draw.

There will be eight groups of four teams, so FIFA needs to split the 32 countries into 4 categories. According to FIFA's regulations:

"The FIFA Organising Committee forms groups for the final competition by seeding and drawing lots whilst taking sports and geographic factors into consideration, as far as possible.

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Yes, that was a handball. Deux handball, no less. Thierry Henry's last-gasp equalizer sent the French through to South Africa and sent Ireland scrambling to try to force a replay "in the interests of fair play."

I agree that's the fair thing to do. I don't think there's any way in hell it'll happen.

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Yesterday, the World Cup field was finalized. There were 6 play-off games that were all pretty exciting. My favorite was Algeria sending Egypt home. I'm also glad that Ireland were eliminated on such a controversial goal. I've never liked them.

Here are the 32 teams that will compete.

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The 32-team field is set for the 2010 World Cup and for the next two weeks until the World Cup Draw on Dec. 4 you will see plenty of sample draws to give soccer fans around the world a sense of where teams just might wind up.

SBI isn't going to miss out on that fun.

Click to continue reading...

The 32-team field is set for the 2010 World Cup and for the next two weeks until the World Cup Draw on Dec. 4 you will see plenty of sample draws to give soccer fans around the world a sense of where teams just might wind up.

SBI isn't going to miss out on that fun.

Click to continue reading...

Hosts South Africa

Europe England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, France

Africa Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria

Asia Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea

Oceania New Zealand

Concacaf United States, Mexico, Honduras

South America Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay

Interactive Guide

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On Friday December 4th we will find out how the group stages will look for the XIX World Cup to take place in South Africa next Summer.
We now know the 32 countries that qualified for the world Cup:
For CONCACAF it was The United States, Mexico and Honduras.
For CONMEBOL it was Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry is the villain of the soccer world today. He will be for a while.
In one of the shadiest moves on the big stage in recent memory, the French legend (after being offside) intentionally handled the ball in setting up the game-winning goal to send his country to the World Cup, and unfairly end Ireland's dreams. Click to continue reading...

With Uruguay seeing off Costa Rica, the field for World Cup 2010 has been completed.Africa - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South AfricaAsia - Australia, Japan, North Korea, South KoreaEurope - Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, SwitzerlandNorth America - Honduras, Mexico, United StatesOceania - New Click to continue reading...

Irish Heartbreak - 1-0 loss to France in WC Qualifier

The following are those 32 teams who will take part in South Africa 2010. And perhaps what's a bit special is the 32 include every single World Cup winner in history, with Uruguayan defeating Costa Rica to advance.

And I assume you've heard about the controversy regarding the Ireland vs France game?

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Irish Heartbreak - 1-0 loss to France in WC Qualifier

The following are those 32 teams who will take part in South Africa 2010. And perhaps what's a bit special is the 32 include every single World Cup winner in history, with Uruguayan defeating Costa Rica to advance.

And I assume you've heard about the controversy regarding the Ireland vs France game?

Click to continue reading...

The World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950 became the last team to qualify for South Africa 2010 thanks to a draw with Costa Rica at the Centenario in Montevideo. Substitute Sebastian Abreu - who plays for Aris Salonika in Greece -Â put the hosts ahead 70 minutes but Costa Rica equalised when Deportivo Saprissa's Walter Centeno scored four minutes later.

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No more. Done. Finito. Acabou. The fight for the 32 golden spots to play the most exciting football (and sports) tournament on the planet has ended. Some big ones almost did not manage. And some return after 24 years.

Today was the day for the last 6 squads to qualify. The brave (or lucky?

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Six teams qualified for next year's World Cup in South Africa today, finalizing the field that will compete in the first World Cup in African soil.

France, Slovenia, Uruguay, Portugal, Greece and Algeria advanced to the finals ending the dreams of Ireland, Russia, Costa Rica, Ukraine and Egypt in the process.

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Good piece by Henry Winter in todays Telegraph, about how dangerous a First Round Draw England could get despite the fact that we will almost certainly be seeded (won't be officially announced untill all the teams are through and FIFA has worked out the best way to get the big teams through the fairest way for everyone to play against each other.

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According to Spanish daily MARCA, the bowls for the World Cup final draw have already been arranged. Now, the arrangements are pending approval by the FIFA Executive Committee, and MARCA tends to be wrong quite a bit, so take this with some grains of salt. Given all that, the composition of the bowls is the following: Seeds (Bowl 1): South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England, France (if they beat Ireland) Bowl 2: the remaining UEFA teams Bowl 3: the CAF/CONMEBOL teams Bowl 4: the AFC/CONCACAF teams (Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras) The. Click to continue reading...

Â

Nigeria, Cameroon and New Zealand all qualified for the 201 World Cup last weekend with key victories, leaving just six spots remaining as we head into the last day of qualifying for next summer's World Cup.

Here are the 26 teams that have already qualified for the 2010 World Cup:

Brazil, Spain, England, Argentina, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Cote d'Ivoire, USA, Mexico, Denmark, Paraguay, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Ghana, Chile, Serbia, Switzerland, Honduras, Slovakia and North Korea, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon and New Zealand

There are 12 teams vying for the remaining six spots.

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Â

Nigeria, Cameroon and New Zealand all qualified for the 201 World Cup last weekend with key victories, leaving just six spots remaining as we head into the last day of qualifying for next summer's World Cup.

Here are the 26 teams that have already qualified for the 2010 World Cup:

Brazil, Spain, England, Argentina, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Cote d'Ivoire, USA, Mexico, Denmark, Paraguay, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Ghana, Chile, Serbia, Switzerland, Honduras, Slovakia and North Korea, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon and New Zealand

There are 12 teams vying for the remaining six spots.

Click to continue reading...

Tonight the under-16 Australian girls team will play for a place in the 2010 FIFA under-17 World Cup. The team won eve ry one of its three group games, against China, Taiwan and Japan, but then lost its semi-final against North Korea – who are the reigning world champions at that age group.
But tonight they will play Japan in Bangkok and the winner will be the third-placed team in this year's AFC under-16 c hampionships. Click to continue reading...

Cameroon and Nigeria have guaranteed a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa today. Cameroon beat Morroco 2-0 (second goal by Eto'o) and Nigeria beat Kenya 3 2.

So far 26 countries are going to South Africa next June: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, USA, Honduras, Netherlands, Spain, England, Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Australian, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, New Zealand and South Africa.

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Saturday sees the penultimate day of World Cup qualifers with nine of the 32 places still up for grab.
Already qualified
HOSTS: South Africa
AFRICA: Ghana, Ivory Coast
ASIA: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
EUROPE: Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
S. Click to continue reading...

North Korea has given awards to its national football squad for qualifying for next year's World Cup — the first time the team has made the tournament in more than four decades, state media said Tuesday. Merit citations, medals or watches inscribed with the name of leader Kim Jong-Il were awarded . Click to continue reading...

Confirmed qualifiers in alphabetical order: Australia, Argentina (yes, they did it - and it wouldn't have been the same without them), Brazil, Chile, Denmark, England, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, North Korea, Paraguay, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and USA.

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The following teams have already Qualified for the 2010 World Cup:

2010 World Cup Teams:

South Africa
Japan
Australia
South Korea
Netherlands
North Korea
Brazil
Ghana
England
Spain
Paraguay
Ivory Coast
Germany
Denmark
Serbia
Italy
Chile
Mexico
United States
Switzerland
Slovakia
Argentina
Honduras

In addition, the following teams are in the playoffs to determine the final 9 teams to join the above group in South Africa next year:

Bahrian (AFC) v New Zealand (Oceania)
Costa Rica (CONCACAF) v Uruguay (Conmebol)

UEFA Playoff teams:

Russia
Greece
Ukraine
France
Slovenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Portugal
Republic of Ireland

"2010 World Cup Teams" was originally published at Soccerlens. Click to continue reading...

The World Cup of 2010 is already taking shape, with twenty-three of the 32 teams on offer having already staked a claim towards a tournament berth.
Already Qualified:
South Africa (CAF - as hosts)
Japan (AFC)
Australia (AFC)
South Korea (AFC)
Netherlands (UEFA)
North Korea (AFC)
Brazil (CONMEBOL)
Ghana (CAF)
England (UEFA)
Spain (UEFA)
Paraguay (CONMEBOL)
Cote d'Ivoire (CAF)
Germany (UEFA)
Denmark (UEFA)
Serbia (UEFA)
Italy (UEFA)
Chile (CONMEBOL)
Mexico (CONCACAF)
USA (CONCACAF)
Switzerland (UEFA)
Slovakia (UEFA)
Argentina (CONMEBOL)
Honduras (CONCACAF) Click to continue reading...

Rumors that a certain former England coach was on the verge of taking the helm of North Korea's football team, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 44 years, sent FootyFactor headquarters into a tizzy yesterday.

In the history of odd couples, we cannot think of a more far-fetched but perfectly harmonious pair than North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and Swedish hard man Sven Goran Eriksson.

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Argentina is playing in South Africa. Maradona can breathe. The hermanos beat Uruguay 1 0 with a goal on the 84th minute by Bolatti. This ends Argentina's war to qualify, as they take the 4th and last spot for a South American country. Uruguay will now go to play-offs (against Honduras or El Salvador), standing in the 5th spot.

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A lot of wild stories on the wire the other day involving international soccer.
And why not? It's international week.
First off, Belgium and Everton star Marouane Fellaini is having an interesting spat with his national team. Apparently that wisdom teeth surgery he had a while back was not given with the good graces of his country. Click to continue reading...

Sven-Goran Eriksson is understood to have turned down an offer from North Korea to become their technical adviser for next year's World Cup.
Don't be surprised if Sven is found floating face down in the Thames... Click to continue reading...

Svennis set to turn down North Korea role Notts County director of football Sven Goran Eriksson is reportedly set to reject an offer to coach North Korea at next summer's World Cup. The communist state wanted Eriksson to take the role on a temporary basis for the duration of the tournament. A 'close friend' of Eriksson's said: [. Click to continue reading...

Midfielder Choe Kum Chol of North Korea challenges for the ball with Berthier Eyobele of Congo during their friendly match in Le Mans, western France, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/David Vincent) If Sven-Goran Eriksson finds himself lea... Click to continue reading...

Midfielder Choe Kum Chol of North Korea challenges for the ball with Berthier Eyobele of Congo during their friendly match in Le Mans, western France, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/David Vincent) If Sven-Goran Eriksson finds himself lea... Click to continue reading...