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2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

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The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is an ongoing series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North America), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament, based upon the relative strength and size of the confederations. A total of 204 teams entered the qualification process, with South Africa, as the host, qualifying automatically. The first qualification matches were played on 25 August 2007 and qualification is scheduled to conclude on 18 November 2009.

Entrants

At the close of entries on 15 March 2007, 204 football associations had entered the preliminary competition: 203 out of the 207 FIFA members at that time (including the host nation, South Africa, as the qualification procedure in Africa also acted as the qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations) and the Montenegro team, which later became FIFA's 208th member. The final number of teams entered breaks the previous record of 199 entrants set during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Four FIFA members (all from the AFC) failed to register for the tournament: Bhutan, Brunei, Laos, and the Philippines.[1]

After the close of entries, Bhutan were allowed to enter and were included in the Asian preliminary draw, while Brunei and the Philippines had their late entries rejected.[citation needed]

However, five teams withdrew during qualifying without playing a match: Bhutan, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guam, and São Tomé and Príncipe. In addition, Papua New Guinea failed to meet the registration deadline for the South Pacific Games (which was also the initial stage of the Oceania qualification) and took no part in qualification.

Summary of remaining qualification

Qualifying status as of 14 October 2009
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.
Confederation Teams started Teams that have secured qualification Teams that can still qualify Teams that have been eliminated Places in finals Qualifying end date
UEFA 53 9 8 36 13 18 November 2009
CAF 52+1 2+1 6 44 5+1 14 November 2009
CONMEBOL 10 4 1 5 4 or 5 18 November 2009
AFC 43 4 1 38 4 or 5 14 November 2009
CONCACAF 35 3 1 31 3 or 4 18 November 2009
OFC 10 0 1 9 0 or 1 14 November 2009
Total 203+1 22+1 18 163 31+1 18 November 2009
Legend for Confederation Standings
Confederations still playing qualifying matches
Confederations playing intercontinental playoffs
Confederations that have finished qualifying matches

Qualified teams

The following 23 teams have qualified to date, in chronological order:

Team Qualified As Date of Qualification Finals Appearance Consecutive Qualifications Last Appearance Previous Best Performance Current[q 1] FIFA Ranking [2]
 South Africa Host 0015 May 2004 3rd 1 2002 Group Stage (1998, 2002) 73
 Japan AFC Fourth Round Group A Runners-Up 016 June 2009 4th 4 2006 Round of 16 (2002) 40
 Australia AFC Fourth Round Group A Winners 026 June 2009 3rd 2 2006 Round of 16 (2006) 14
 South Korea AFC Fourth Round Group B Winners 036 June 2009 8th 7 2006 Fourth Place (2002) 49
 Netherlands UEFA Group 9 Winners 046 June 2009 9th 2 2006 Runners-Up (1974, 1978) 3
 North Korea AFC Fourth Round Group B Runners-Up 0517 June 2009 2nd 1 1966 Quarterfinals (1966) 90
 Brazil CONMEBOL Winners 065 September 2009 19th 19 2006 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) 1
 Ghana CAF Third Round Group D Winners 076 September 2009 2nd 2 2006 Round of 16 (2006) 32
 England UEFA Group 6 Winners 089 September 2009 13th 4 2006 Winners (1966) 7
 Spain UEFA Group 5 Winners 099 September 2009 13th 9 2006 Fourth Place (1950) 2
 Paraguay CONMEBOL Third Place 109 September 2009 8th 4 2006 Round of 16 (1986, 1998, 2002) 23
 Ivory Coast CAF Third Round Group E Winners 1110 October 2009 2nd 2 2006 Group Stage (2006) 20
 Germany UEFA Group 4 Winners 1210 October 2009 17th 15 2006 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990) 4
 Denmark UEFA Group 1 Winners 1310 October 2009 4th 1 2002 Quarterfinals (1998) 16
 Serbia UEFA Group 7 Winners 1410 October 2009 11th[q 2] 2[q 2] 2006[q 2] Fourth Place (1930, 1962)[q 2][q 3] 13
 Italy UEFA Group 8 Winners 1510 October 2009 17th 13 2006 Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) 4
 Chile CONMEBOL Runners-Up 1610 October 2009 8th 1 1998 Third Place (1962) 21
 Mexico CONCACAF Fourth Round Runners-Up 1710 October 2009 14th 5 2006 Quarterfinals (1970, 1986) 24
 United States CONCACAF Fourth Round Winners 1810 October 2009 9th 6 2006 Third Place (1930)[q 3] 11
  Switzerland UEFA Group 2 Winners 1914 October 2009 9th 2 2006 Quarterfinals (1934, 1938, 1954) 15
 Slovakia UEFA Group 3 Winners 2014 October 2009 1st 1 None No previous performance 45
 Argentina CONMEBOL Fourth Place 2114 October 2009 15th 10 2006 Winners (1978, 1986) 8
 Honduras CONCACAF Fourth Round Third Place 2214 October 2009 2nd 1 1982 Group Stage (1982) 42
  1. ^ As of 10 October 2009
  2. ^ a b c d 2006 appearance representing Serbia and Montenegro; 1998 appearance representing FR Yugoslavia; eight earlier appearances representing SFR Yugoslavia (7) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1)
  3. ^ a b There was no official World Cup third place match in 1930 and no official third place was awarded at the time; both the USA and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals. However using the overall tournament records, FIFA's official website lists the teams as third and fourth. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1/index.html

Qualification process

The qualification process commenced in August 2007 and will be completed in November 2009. An initial draw for preliminary qualification (qualifying groups in Oceania, and knockout ties in CAF and AFC) had been announced for Zurich 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 25 November 2007. 34 teams had been eliminated before the actual draw — 6 from OFC, 5 from CAF and 23 from AFC — and CONMEBOL qualification also had started (no draw was required for this confederation, as all 10 members play in the same group, with the order of fixtures the same as for the 2006 qualification rounds). The 4 remaining teams from OFC had also started playing the final stage as a single group, and no draw was needed. 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.

The distribution by conference for the 2010 World Cup is:[3]

  • Europe (UEFA): 13 places
  • Africa (CAF): 5 places (+ South Africa qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 6 places)
  • Asia (AFC): 4 or 5 places
  • South America (CONMEBOL) 4 or 5 places
  • North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 or 4 places
  • Oceania (Oceania Football Confederation): 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, with CONCACAF's fourth-place team facing CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and AFC's fifth-placed team facing the winner of the OFC.

As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically. As in 2006, the holders - Italy - did not qualify automatically. They will be seeded similarly to the way Brazil was in the 2006 tournament.

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 itself.[4] If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:

  1. goal difference in all group matches
  2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches
  3. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
  4. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
  5. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
  6. 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.

Confederation qualification processes

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 and last match day: Saturday 14 November).
Legend for Qualifying Countries
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup and 2010 African Cup of Nations
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 African Cup of Nations
Countries that cannot qualify for the 2010 World Cup but can qualify for the 2010 African Cup of Nations
Countries that can no longer qualify for either tournament

Current positions (Third Round)

Group A
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 1)
Group B
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 2)
Group C
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 3)
Group D
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 4)
Group E
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 5)

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).

Legend for Qualifying Countries
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the AFC play-off

Final positions (Fourth Round)

Group A
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Group A
Group B
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Group B

Play-off for 5th place (Fifth Round)

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bahrain  (a) 2–2  Saudi Arabia 0–0 2–2

2 – 2 on aggregate; Bahrain advanced on the away goals rule to the AFC-OFC playoff against New Zealand, the winner of the OFC zone (2008 OFC Nations Cup).

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 contested the European qualifying competition. As a result, the nine group-winners qualified 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 were not counted for consistency between the five- and six-team groups.

The group stage was completed on 14 October 2009. A draw for the play-offs will be held in Zurich on 19 October, with the matches held on 14 and 18 November.

  • Next match day: 14 November (4 matches, with a total of 8 matches left ending on 18 November).
Legend for Qualifying Countries
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
Countries that advanced to the UEFA playoffs

Final positions

Group 1
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 1
Group 2
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 2
Group 3
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 3
Group 4
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 4
Group 5
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 5
Group 6
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6
Group 7
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7
Group 8
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 8
Group 9
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 9

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 each group are not included in this ranking.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates20 August 2008 – 18 November 2009
Teams53 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played268
Goals scored725 (2.71 per match)
Attendance6,050,105 (22,575 per match)
Top scorer(s)Greece Theofanis Gekas
(10 goals)
2006
2014

The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals in South Africa. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, nearly two months after the end of UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of Montenegro.

Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland qualified in the first round by winning their groups. France, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia qualified via the second round play-offs.

Format

Teams were drawn into eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. The nine group winners qualified directly, while the best eight second-placed teams contested home and away play off matches for the remaining four places. In determining the best eight second placed teams, the results against teams finishing last in the six team groups were not counted for consistency between the five and six team groups.[7]

Seeding

After initially proposing to use a similar system to recent World Cup and European Championship qualification (based on results across the previous two European qualification cycles), the UEFA Executive Committee decided on 27 September 2007 at its meeting in Istanbul that seeding for the qualifiers would be based on FIFA World Rankings, in accordance with the FIFA World Cup regulations (which note that where teams are ranked on "performance" criteria, the FIFA World Rankings must be used).[8]

The November 2007 FIFA World Ranking the most recent at the time of the preliminary draw and used to determine the groups. Initially scheduled for 21 November, FIFA moved the release date of the ranking to 23 November to include the final match days of Euro 2008 qualification.[9]

Pot A
Team Rank
 Italy 3
 Spain 4
 Germany 5
 Czech Republic 6
 France 7
 Portugal 8
 Netherlands 9
 Croatia 10
 Greece 11
Pot B
Team Rank
 England 12
 Romania 13
 Scotland 14
 Turkey 16
 Bulgaria 18
 Russia 22
 Poland 23
 Sweden 24
 Israel 26
Pot C
Team Rank
 Norway 28
 Ukraine 29
 Serbia 30
 Denmark 31
 Northern Ireland 32
 Republic of Ireland 35
 Finland 36
  Switzerland 44
 Belgium 49
Pot D
Team Rank
 Slovakia 50
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 51
 Hungary 52
 Moldova 53
 Wales 58
 Macedonia 59
 Belarus 60
 Lithuania 61
 Cyprus 65
Pot E
Team Rank
 Georgia 77
 Albania 82
 Slovenia 83
 Latvia 88
 Iceland 89
 Armenia 90
 Austria 91
 Kazakhstan 110
 Liechtenstein 122
Pot F
Team Rank
 Azerbaijan 125
 Estonia 128
 Malta 139
 Luxembourg 152
 Montenegro 172
 Andorra 174
 Faroe Islands 195
 San Marino 197

Draw

The draw for the group stage took place in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007.[10] During the draw, teams were drawn from the six pots A to F (see above) into the nine groups below, starting with pot F, which filled position 6 in the groups, then continued with pot E filling position 5, pot D in position 4 and so on.[11]

Summary

Table – top row: group winners, second row: group runners-up, third row: others. The winner of each group qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup together with the winners of the play-off. The play-offs took place between the eight best runners-up among all nine groups while the worst group runner-up did not qualify.

  Group winners qualified directly for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
  Worst runner-up and all other teams were eliminated after the first round
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9

Denmark

Switzerland

Slovakia

Germany

Spain

England

Serbia

Italy

Netherlands

Portugal

Greece

Slovenia

Russia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ukraine

France

Republic of Ireland

Norway

Sweden

Hungary

Albania

Malta

Latvia

Israel

Luxembourg

Moldova

Czech Republic

Northern Ireland

Poland

San Marino

Finland

Wales

Azerbaijan

Liechtenstein

Turkey

Belgium

Estonia

Armenia

Croatia

Belarus

Kazakhstan

Andorra

Austria

Lithuania

Romania

Faroe Islands

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Montenegro

Georgia

Scotland

Macedonia

Iceland

First round

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Denmark Portugal Sweden Hungary Albania Malta
1  Denmark 10 6 3 1 16 5 +11 21 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–0 3–0
2  Portugal 10 5 4 1 17 5 +12 19 Advance to second round 2–3 0–0 3–0 0–0 4–0
3  Sweden 10 5 3 2 13 5 +8 18 0–1 0–0 2–1 4–1 4–0
4  Hungary 10 5 1 4 10 8 +2 16 0–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 3–0
5  Albania 10 1 4 5 6 13 −7 7 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–1 3–0
6  Malta 10 0 1 9 0 26 −26 1 0–3 0–4 0–1 0–1 0–0
Source: [12]

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Switzerland Greece Latvia Israel Luxembourg Moldova
1   Switzerland 10 6 3 1 18 8 +10 21 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 2–0
2  Greece 10 6 2 2 20 10 +10 20 Advance to second round 1–2 5–2 2–1 2–1 3–0
3  Latvia 10 5 2 3 18 15 +3 17 2–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 3–2
4  Israel 10 4 4 2 20 10 +10 16 2–2 1–1 0–1 7–0 3–1
5  Luxembourg 10 1 2 7 4 25 −21 5 0–3 0–3 0–4 1–3 0–0
6  Moldova 10 0 3 7 6 18 −12 3 0–2 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–0
Source: [12]

Group 3

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Slovakia Slovenia Czech Republic Northern Ireland Poland San Marino
1  Slovakia 10 7 1 2 22 10 +12 22 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 0–2 2–2 2–1 2–1 7–0
2  Slovenia 10 6 2 2 18 4 +14 20 Advance to second round 2–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 5–0
3  Czech Republic 10 4 4 2 17 6 +11 16 1–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 7–0
4  Northern Ireland 10 4 3 3 13 9 +4 15 0–2 1–0 0–0 3–2 4–0
5  Poland 10 3 2 5 19 14 +5 11 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 10–0
6  San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 47 −46 0 1–3 0–3 0–3 0–3 0–2
Source: [12]

Group 4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Germany Russia Finland Wales Azerbaijan Liechtenstein
1  Germany 10 8 2 0 26 5 +21 26 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 4–0
2  Russia 10 7 1 2 19 6 +13 22 Advance to second round 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 3–0
3  Finland 10 5 3 2 14 14 0 18 3–3 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–1
4  Wales 10 4 0 6 9 12 −3 12 0–2 1–3 0–2 1–0 2–0
5  Azerbaijan 10 1 2 7 4 14 −10 5 0–2 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–0
6  Liechtenstein 10 0 2 8 2 23 −21 2 0–6 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–2
Source: [12]

Group 5

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Spain Bosnia and Herzegovina Turkey Belgium Estonia Armenia
1  Spain 10 10 0 0 28 5 +23 30 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 1–0 1–0 5–0 3–0 4–0
2  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 6 1 3 25 13 +12 19 Advance to second round 2–5 1–1 2–1 7–0 4–1
3  Turkey 10 4 3 3 13 10 +3 15 1–2 2–1 1–1 4–2 2–0
4  Belgium 10 3 1 6 13 20 −7 10 1–2 2–4 2–0 3–2 2–0
5  Estonia 10 2 2 6 9 24 −15 8 0–3 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–0
6  Armenia 10 1 1 8 6 22 −16 4 1–2 0–2 0–2 2–1 2–2
Source: [12]

Group 6

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification England Ukraine Croatia Belarus Kazakhstan Andorra
1  England 10 9 0 1 34 6 +28 27 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 2–1 5–1 3–0 5–1 6–0
2  Ukraine 10 6 3 1 21 6 +15 21 Advance to second round 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 5–0
3  Croatia 10 6 2 2 19 13 +6 20 1–4 2–2 1–0 3–0 4–0
4  Belarus 10 4 1 5 19 14 +5 13 1–3 0–0 1–3 4–0 5–1
5  Kazakhstan 10 2 0 8 11 29 −18 6 0–4 1–3 1–2 1–5 3–0
6  Andorra 10 0 0 10 3 39 −36 0 0–2 0–6 0–2 1–3 1–3
Source: [12]

Group 7

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Serbia France Austria Lithuania Romania Faroe Islands
1  Serbia 10 7 1 2 22 8 +14 22 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 1–1 1–0 3–0 5–0 2–0
2  France 10 6 3 1 18 9 +9 21 Advance to second round 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 5–0
3  Austria 10 4 2 4 14 15 −1 14 1–3 3–1 2–1 2–1 3–1
4  Lithuania 10 4 0 6 10 11 −1 12 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 1–0
5  Romania 10 3 3 4 12 18 −6 12 2–3 2–2 1–1 0–3 3–1
6  Faroe Islands 10 1 1 8 5 20 −15 4 0–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–1
Source: [12]

Group 8

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Italy Republic of Ireland Bulgaria Cyprus Montenegro Georgia (country)
1  Italy 10 7 3 0 18 7 +11 24 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 1–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–0
2  Republic of Ireland 10 4 6 0 12 8 +4 18 Advance to second round 2–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–1
3  Bulgaria 10 3 5 2 17 13 +4 14 0–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 6–2
4  Cyprus 10 2 3 5 14 16 −2 9 1–2 1–2 4–1 2–2 2–1
5  Montenegro 10 1 6 3 9 14 −5 9 0–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1
6  Georgia 10 0 3 7 7 19 −12 3 0–2 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–0
Source: [12]

Group 9

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Netherlands Norway Scotland North Macedonia Iceland
1  Netherlands 8 8 0 0 17 2 +15 24 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup 2–0 3–0 4–0 2–0
2  Norway 8 2 4 2 9 7 +2 10 0–1 4–0 2–1 2–2
3  Scotland 8 3 1 4 6 11 −5 10 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–1
4  Macedonia 8 2 1 5 5 11 −6 7 1–2 0–0 1–0 2–0
5  Iceland 8 1 2 5 7 13 −6 5 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–0
Source: [12]

Ranking of second placed teams

Because one group had one team fewer than the others, matches against the sixth placed team in each group were not included in this ranking. As a result, eight matches played by each team counted for the purposes of the second placed table.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 4  Russia 8 5 1 2 15 6 +9 16 Advance to second round (play-offs)
2 2  Greece 8 5 1 2 16 9 +7 16
3 6  Ukraine 8 4 3 1 10 6 +4 15
4 7  France 8 4 3 1 12 9 +3 15
5 3  Slovenia 8 4 2 2 10 4 +6 14
6 5  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 4 1 3 19 12 +7 13
7 1  Portugal 8 3 4 1 9 5 +4 13
8 8  Republic of Ireland 8 2 6 0 8 6 +2 12
9 9  Norway 8 2 4 2 9 7 +2 10
Source: [12]

Second round

The UEFA second round (often referred to as the play off stage) was contested by the best eight runners up from the nine first round groups. The winners of each of four home and away ties joined the group winners in the World Cup finals in South Africa. Norway, with 10 points, was ranked 9th so failed to qualify for the second round.

Seeding and draw

The eight teams were seeded according to the FIFA World Rankings released on 16 October (shown in parentheses in the table below). The draw for the ties was held in Zürich on 19 October, with the top four teams seeded into one pot and the bottom four teams seeded into a second. A separate draw decided the host of the first leg.[13]

Pot 1 (seeded)
Team Pos
 France 9
 Portugal 10
 Russia 12
 Greece 16
Pot 2 (unseeded)
Team Pos
 Ukraine 22
 Republic of Ireland 34
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 42
 Slovenia 49

Matches

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Republic of Ireland  1–2  France 0–1 1–1 (aet)
Portugal  2–0  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 1–0
Greece  1–0  Ukraine 0–0 1–0
Russia  2–2 (a)  Slovenia 2–1 0–1

Qualified teams

The following 13 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 Denmark Group 1 winners 10 October 2009 3 (1986, 1998, 2002)
  Switzerland Group 2 winners 14 October 2009 8 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006)
 Slovakia Group 3 winners 14 October 2009 0 (debut)
 Germany Group 4 winners 10 October 2009 16 (1934, 1938, 19542, 19582, 19622, 19662, 19702, 19742, 19782, 19822, 19862, 19902, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
 Spain Group 5 winners 9 September 2009 12 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
 England Group 6 winners 9 September 2009 12 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006)
 Serbia Group 7 winners 10 October 2009 10 (19303, 19503, 19543, 19583, 19623, 19743, 19823, 19903, 19983, 20063)
 Italy Group 8 winners 10 October 2009 16 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
 Netherlands Group 9 winners 6 June 2009 8 (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006)
 Greece Second round (play-off) winners 18 November 2009 1 (1994)
 Slovenia Second round (play-off) winners 18 November 2009 1 (2002)
 Portugal Second round (play-off) winners 18 November 2009 4 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006)
 France Second round (play-off) winners 18 November 2009 12 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Competed as West Germany. A separate team for East Germany also participated in qualifications during this time, having only competed in 1974.
3 From 1930 to 1998, Serbia competed together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia as part of Yugoslavia, while in 2006 as Serbia and Montenegro together with Montenegro.
4 From 1934 to 1990, Slovakia competed as Czechoslovakia.

Top goalscorers

There were 725 goals scored in 268 matches, for an average of 2.71 goals per match.

10 goals

9 goals

7 goals

6 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for all groups and the play-off rounds:

References

  1. ^ "Record number of 204 teams enter preliminary competition" (Press release). FIFA. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  3. ^ "Clear declaration to defend the autonomy of sport" (Press release). FIFA. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
  4. ^ "Regulations 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa" (PDF). FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c FIFA.com
  6. ^ EXCO unveils World Cup programme
  7. ^ "EXCO unveils World Cup programme". UEFA.com. Geneva: Union of European Football Associations. 25 June 2007. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  8. ^ "All clear for December EURO draw". UEFA.com. Geneva: Union of European Football Associations. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking on Friday 23 November 2007". FIFA.com. Zurich: Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  10. ^ "Preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup". FIFA.com. Zurich: Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Preliminary Draw Information" (PDF). FIFA.com. Zurich: Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 22 November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2010, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Key Decisions Reached in Rio". FIFA.com. Rio de Janeiro: Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.

Play-off matches

{{TwoLegResult| Russia |Russia| v. | {{country data POR} |flag icon/core|variant=Portugal|size=}}
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Greece Greece v. Slovenia Slovenia 14 Nov 18 Nov
Ukraine Ukraine v. France France 14 Nov 18 Nov
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 14 Nov 18 Nov

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[1] 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.

Legend for Qualifying Countries
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
Country that advanced to the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff
  • The qualifications for this zone ended on Wednesday, October 14.

Current positions (Fourth Round)

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF Fourth Round

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.[2]

  • In this zone, the qualifications finished on 19 November 2008.

Final positions (Second Round)

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - OFC Nations Cup New Zealand advanced to the AFC-OFC playoff, against Bahrain, the 5th-placed team of AFC.

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.

  • The qualifications for this zone ended on Wednesday 14 October.
Legend for Qualifying Countries
Countries that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
Country that advanced to the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff

Current positions

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONMEBOL

Inter-confederation play-offs

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.[3]

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. Bahrain qualified for the play-off by winning the AFC Fifth placed play-off in September 2009.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bahrain   New Zealand 0–0 14 November

CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place

The fourth-place team in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round (Costa Rica) will enter into a play-off against the fifth-place team in the CONMEBOL qualifying group (Uruguay). The participants were not decided until the final day of qualifying in both confederations on 14 October 2009.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Costa Rica   Uruguay 14 November 18 November

References

  1. ^ "CONCACAF Exco meets in Netherlands Antilles" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference regulations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Intercontinental play-off dates confirmed

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