Who has qualified for the 2010 World Cup?

[The Coon Dog]

Here are the countries that have already assured their passage to South Africa:

1 - South Africa - Hosts
2 - Japan - 6 June
3 - Australia - 6 June
4 - South Korea - 6 June
5 - Holland - 6 June
6 - North Korea - 17 June
7 - Brazil - 6 September
8 - Ghana -6 September
9 - England - 9 September
10 - Spain - 9 September
11 - Paraguay - 9 September
12 - Ivory Coast - 10 October
13 - Germany - 10 October
14 - Denmark - 10 October
15 - Serbia - 10 October
16 - Italy - 10 October
17 - Chile - 10 October
18 - Mexico 10 October
19 - USA- 10 October
20 - Switzerland - 14 October
21 - Slovakia - 14 October
22 - Argentina - 14 October
23 - Honduras - 14 October
24 - New Zealand - 14 November
25 - Cameroon - 14 November
26 - Nigeria - 14 November
27 - Algeria - 18 November
28 - Greece - 18 November
29 - Slovenia - 18 November
30 - France - 18 November
31 - Portugal - 18 November
32 - Uruguay - 18 November


Here are the list from each confederation:

Hosts:
South Africa

Asia:
Japan
Australia
South Korea
North Korea

Oceania:
New Zealand

South America:
Brazil
Paraguay
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay

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

Africa
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Nigeria
Algeria

CONCACAF
Mexico
USA
Honduras

*As more countries qualify, I'll update the list. There are quite a few with one foot in the door, but I'll only add them when they are assured of qualification.



BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8087418.stm)

[The Coon Dog]

Brazil secured qualification overnight with a 3-1 win against Argentina, which also threatens Diego Maradona's men, who could quite possibly fail to qualify. Should that happen, look for a reaction in Argentina, the locals will not be best pleased.

[Chops]

Portugal are on the ropes too

[chef]

Honduras beat Trinidad 4-1 to qualifly this afternoon.(much to the pleasure of my dish washer at work)

[The Coon Dog]

Honduras beat Trinidad 4-1 to qualifly this afternoon.(much to the pleasure of my dish washer at work)

Sorry Chef, along way to go in that group just yet. Honduras & USA have 13 points whilst Mexico & Costa Rica have 12 points.

Source (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/nccamerica/index.html)

[Glove38]

Scotland kept there chance alive last night, just need to beat Holland on Wednesday.

[chef]

Sorry Chef, along way to go in that group just yet. Honduras & USA have 13 points whilst Mexico & Costa Rica have 12 points.

Source (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/nccamerica/index.html)

Really:D, the silly bastard had us all at work convinced they had made it.

[The Coon Dog]

Just added Ghana to the list courtesy of their 2-0 win over Sudan.

[The Coon Dog]

England became the 9th country to secure qualification to the World Cup after an emphatic 5-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley.

Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification)

[The Coon Dog]

Add Spain to the list.

[Mantis]

Add Spain to the list.

I thought that was your job??

[The Coon Dog]

I thought that was your job??

Very funny! ;)

[The Coon Dog]

Paraguay have now secured qualification courtesy of their 1-0 win over Argentina.

11 in, 21 to go.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Paraguay have now secured qualification courtesy of their 1-0 win over Argentina.

11 in, 21 to go.

Argentina are struggling. Could they miss out?

[The Underdog]

Argentina are struggling. Could they miss out?

Yes they could. The top four qualify. They are 5 points out of third and have played one more game. They are a point out of 4th place held by Ecuador and only a point ahead of Uruguay in 6th. 5th goes into a playoff with a Concacaf nation.

How they ever thought appointing Maradonna manager was a good idea is beyond comprehension.

[The Coon Dog]

Argentina are struggling. Could they miss out?


Argentina World Cup spot in doubt


Argentina are in danger of missing their first World Cup since 1970 after losing 1-0 to Paraguay - who have now qualified for South Africa in 2010.

[The Boy From Brasil]

Argentina are struggling. Could they miss out?


How good would that be? :D:D:D

[The Boy From Brasil]

From a football standard viewpoint, it is a real disgrace that a maximum of five south american countries should make it. You want the best standard of football being played and it shouldn't be based around global diplomacy. Not wanting to put down the asian, african and central/north american countries but they are not a shadow of some of the lower ranked south american countries. Africa has six countries being represented this year which is more than the south american quota.

I mean, from a personal viewpoint, I would like to see Argentina miss out. Would be day long celebrations through the whole of Brasil if that happened. But on a standards basis, Argentina should definately be there. They have the ability to go further than most other countries providing they are switched on.

[Lantern]

From a football standard viewpoint, it is a real disgrace that a maximum of five south american countries should make it. You want the best standard of football being played and it shouldn't be based around global diplomacy. Not wanting to put down the asian, african and central/north american countries but they are not a shadow of some of the lower ranked south american countries. Africa has six countries being represented this year which is more than the south american quota. .

This has some merit, but then where would the "World" in World Cup come into it? You might as well just call it a transpacific cup or something like that. The fact is that increased participation actually improves the quality of football in the participating countries, as well as in the competition itself. How many of us remember Cameroon beating Argentina AND Colombia, or Senegal beating France, or South Korea beating Italy and Spain? This wouldn't happen if it were a European/South American dominated competition, which would just reinforce the status quo, discourage anyone else to take up the sport seriously, and lose all the flavour of an international competition.

Besides, this is an old argument that lost its currency when Australia, a little team from the tiny Oceania confederation, beat Uruguay, the supposedly fifth best side in the powerful CONMEBOL (South American confederation) -- a side that, by your argument, they should be 'hardly a shadow of' -- to qualify for the World Cup.

The real disgrace is the cultural bias in your post.. if you were fair dinkum about 'merit' being the sole decider of participants, Europe would have twice the number of participants they do.. apart from Brazil and a certain cheating Argentinian midget, no other South American team has done anything in the World Cup for a very long time.. how far has Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile et al progressed in any recent World Cup? (I'll answer this for you -- no further than the second round. Most of them got knocked out in the group stages). Uruguay won their last world cup in 1950 when there were only 13 participants, and historical precendent only counts for so much. Don't tell me they deserve to be there more than Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Japan, the USA, Mexico or Australia, all of which who have progressed as far or further in certain recent WCs than the third best South American side.

I mean, from a personal viewpoint, I would like to see Argentina miss out. Would be day long celebrations through the whole of Brasil if that happened. But on a standards basis, Argentina should definately be there. They have the ability to go further than most other countries providing they are switched on.

How do you deduce this? Surely a (lengthy) qualifying process is ample opportunity to prove it, if it were the case? If you don't qualify, you're not good enough. Quod erat demonstradum.

[Topdog]

From a football standard viewpoint, it is a real disgrace that a maximum of five south american countries should make it. You want the best standard of football being played and it shouldn't be based around global diplomacy. Not wanting to put down the asian, african and central/north american countries but they are not a shadow of some of the lower ranked south american countries. Africa has six countries being represented this year which is more than the south american quota.

I mean, from a personal viewpoint, I would like to see Argentina miss out. Would be day long celebrations through the whole of Brasil if that happened. But on a standards basis, Argentina should definately be there. They have the ability to go further than most other countries providing they are switched on.

Most of the lower ranked South American countries are crap if we are being honest. They certainly look good in the home games but how many of them crumble when playing outside of their comfort zone.

Take out Brazil and the Africans and Asians actually have a better record in the World Cup in the last 2-3 tournaments. The only place that gets too many is CONCACAF. How they were represented by 4 nations last time is beyond me.

On a standards basis Argentina at the moment deserve to miss out. They are playing horrible football and have an idiot as a manager.

[Lantern]

These are the current FIFA world rankings, which aren't perfect, but are the best guide we have to respective quality of the confederations:

1 Brazil 1604 0 -38
2 Spain 1588 0 -2
3 Netherlands 1376 0 -3
4 Italy 1186 1 5
4 Germany 1186 0 -9
6 Russia 1129 0 -32
7 England 1127 0 -8
8 Argentina 1113 0 33
9 Croatia 1101 1 70
10 France 1040 -1 -19
11 USA 974 1 -17
12 Greece 971 -1 -30
13 Serbia 916 1 -9
14 Australia 907 2 11
15 Switzerland 898 -2 -32
16 Denmark 892 -1 -17
17 Portugal 880 0 -1
18 Czech Republic 870 4 20
19 Bulgaria 860 4 21
20 Côte d'Ivoire 852 -2 -22
21 Chile 846 5 29
22 Israel 844 3 22
23 Paraguay 842 -3 -14
24 Mexico 835 6 36
25 Ukraine 829 -6 -40
26 Romania 827 1 13
27 Turkey 826 1 17
28 Uruguay 820 -7 -31
29 Cameroon 819 0 16
30 Scotland 804 -6 -33
31 Northern Ireland 795 1 11
32 Egypt 786 1 7
32 Ghana 786 3 14
34 Nigeria 773 0 0
35 Gabon

There are only FOUR South American teams (TWENTY-TWO European teams!) in the top 35 (Ecuador is 36th) -- Brazil (1st), Argentina (8th), Paraguay (23rd) and Uruguay (28th).

In contrast, there are six African teams, which means that powerhouses like Gabon are rated higher than the likes of Colombia and Chile (currently in a qualifying spot in CONMEBOL but not even ranked in FIFA's top 50). Sure, this is a quirk of the ranking system, but also points out that perhaps the South American countries aren't as fantastic as perception can sometimes render it.

I wouldn't say that any of Ivory Coast, Ghana, USA, Mexico, Australia, Japan, South Korea et al are a "shadow" of Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia or Chile.. if anything, recent form suggests that the non-CONMEBOL teams would start favourites. South American football is wonderful, and has plenty of passion, colour and quality, but this is also true in plenty of other parts of the world, and if you took your cultural blinkers off, 'Boy from Brasil', you would learn to appreciate this. Ole!

[The Boy From Brasil]

I wouldn't say that any of Ivory Coast, Ghana, USA, Mexico, Australia, Japan, South Korea et al are a "shadow" of Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia or Chile.. if anything, recent form suggests that the non-CONMEBOL teams would start favourites. South American football is wonderful, and has plenty of passion, colour and quality, but this is also true in plenty of other parts of the world, and if you took your cultural blinkers off, 'Boy from Brasil', you would learn to appreciate this. Ole!

You make some good points and have research to bring it up(even though I am not a huge fan of the FIFA world rankings). So can't really argue with a lot of what you are saying.

My point wasn't so much that the Asian and African countries are crap, just that the contingent of the South American countries making up the final field is too light on IMO. If you take out Boliva and Peru, I would back the rest of the South American countries against the lower qualified Asian and African countries. And certainly would back them against the North/Central American ones.

But there is a trade off between standards or quality and that of the World Game representing the world. So its a juggling act and different regions are going to complain no matter what the final make up is. IMO there should be one more South American country(at least) making the final squad, but that is only my opinion. As you say, the gap between potential and World cup performance can sometimes be quite vast for some of the South American countries. So maybe the problem is in their own doing. I still would like to see one more place available for them however. :)

[Lantern]

And certainly would back them against the North/Central American ones.



I understand your points -- but this, again, I'll say that this is (largely) perception. USA, Honduras, Costa Rica and Mexico have all participated in the Copa America (CONMEBOL's main footballing competition) in the last fifteen years and done very well.

In 1995, the US beat both Argentina and Chile to win their group and make it to the semis before losing to -- you guessed it -- Brazil (by a solitary goal). In 2001, Mexico finished second (to Colombia, again by a solitary goal), beating Brazil on the way to the final, and Honduras finished third (beating Uruguay)! Mexico also has a couple of other second and third place finishes (one as recently as 2007), so the CONCACAF teams are historically certainly no mugs.

I know some deride the quality of the Copa America because Brazil and Argentina sometimes don't send their best players, but you will know better than I, 'Boy from Brasil', how seriously the rest of South America take it.

[The Coon Dog]

Its all about politics.

Each Confederation would shaft another if it was a benefit to them.

I don't see a great deal of difference between the way FIFA & the IOC operate to be honest.

[Topdog]

My point wasn't so much that the Asian and African countries are crap, just that the contingent of the South American countries making up the final field is too light on IMO. If you take out Boliva and Peru, I would back the rest of the South American countries against the lower qualified Asian and African countries

If it wasn't in South America I would back the lower ranked Asians and Africans.

[The Boy From Brasil]

I would say that FIFA would be praying like crazy that Argentina can make it through. They would not want big draw cards like Messi to miss the world cup. Not only that, Argentina has a massive following in youth football as well.So many reasons for FIFA to be hoping that Argentina can pull the proverbial finger out and actually qualify.

[Lantern]

I would say that FIFA would be praying like crazy that Argentina can make it through. They would not want big draw cards like Messi to miss the world cup. Not only that, Argentina has a massive following in youth football as well.So many reasons for FIFA to be hoping that Argentina can pull the proverbial finger out and actually qualify.

Have you been to Africa or Asia and seen the throngs (quite literally) of youth in soccer jerseys of one type or another? When Nakata signed for Roma his jersey sold out in half an hour when it was released in Japan. Guys like Park Ji-Sung literally has a billion fans, from Korea, China etc. Wasn't Man U accused of cynically buying that Chinese player (Dong Fangzhuo) just to sell jerseys in China? Isn't this also why all the big clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man United, Liverpool etc.) go on off-season tours to Asia and Africa, and not to South America?

Argentina has a rich, rich, history in soccer, but if an African or Asian nation wins the World Cup, the financial rewards for FIFA would be on a scale that would dwarf anything previously seen.

[Topdog]

As always excellent point Lantern.

[The Boy From Brasil]

Argentina has a rich, rich, history in soccer, but if an African or Asian nation wins the World Cup, the financial rewards for FIFA would be on a scale that would dwarf anything previously seen.

I was talking about the qualification process in the South American leg. What I meant that secretly FIFA would be hoping that Argentina manages to scrape through a qualification into the World Cup over some of the other South American countries. I wasn't referring to Asia or Africa.

[The Coon Dog]

The Ivory Coast, Germany, Denmark, Serbia & Italy have now qualified for the World Cup.

[The Coon Dog]

Bahrain 0
New Zealand 0

1st Leg result.

Big chance for the Kiwi's at home in the return leg at Wellington on November 14. Importantly though, Bahrain didn't concede an away goal.

[angelopetraglia]

Ireland 2
Italy 2

Italy has now qualified for the World Cup.

Ireland hearts broken with last minute goal from Italy.

Ireland score in 88th min to take 2-1 lead. Italy then score in 90th minute to equalize for the 2nd time.

[The Coon Dog]

Chile have now qualified from South America, Mexico & the USA have qualified from the CONCACAF region.

[The Coon Dog]

Argentina World Cup spot in doubt


Argentina are in danger of missing their first World Cup since 1970 after losing 1-0 to Paraguay - who have now qualified for South Africa in 2010.

Drama aplenty in South America this morning!

Last place Peru score in the 90th minute to draw level with Argentina, only to concede a goal in the 3rd minute of injury time to trail 2-1. Whilst the Argentinians were celebrating Peru kicked off & hit the bar!

So, how does that leave South America with 1 game each left on Wednesday?

Brazil, Paraguay & Chile have qualified. 4th qualifies & 5th goes into a play off against a CONCACAF country.

Argentina & Uruguay can qualify, Ecuador can reach the play off & all could miss out, depending on results.

4th - ARGEN 25 pts GD +2
5th - URUGU 24 pts GD +9
6th - ECUAD 23 pts GD -3

A draw will be good enough for Agrentina as they are away to Uruguay. If there is a winner in that match, the winner progresses to the World Cup. A draw & a win to Ecuador who are away to Chile would see Argentina progress on goal difference.

If Argentina lose & Ecuador win, then Argentina would miss out all together.

* Just noticed that Venezuela can still reach the play offs if they win in Brazil & Uruguay & Ecuador both lose.

[The Boy From Brasil]

Fantastic effort by Chile to make it through. I thought they might struggle to make it, but they have powered home. For argentinians it would be like salt into the open wound, with their team precariously placed in hoping to make the world cup, and El Loco guiding Chile into World Cup qualification stage.

Good to see Brasil in full tanking mode losing to Boliva :p Is there a harder home ground to play at in the world in any sport than La Paz?

Not sure who the fourth team will be to go through to the World Cup qualification. Maybe Uruguay but who knows. It will go down to the wire.

[Sedat]

The Argies have a very difficult assignment on Wednesday in Montevideo - as the Socceroos are only too well aware, the Centenario is a tough place to try and grind out a result.

[The Coon Dog]

The 9 group winners have been decided in Europe & the following all progress through:

Holland
England
Spain
Germany
Denmark
Serbia
Italy
Switzerland
Slovakia

The 8 best placed runners up go through to a 2 legged play off with the 4 winners also progressing. The 8 best placed runners up with a chance to progress are:

Russia
Greece
Ukraine
Slovenia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Portugal
Ireland
France

A draw for the play-offs will be held in Zurich on 19 October, with the matches held on 14 and 18 November.

[Chops]

I hope its France vs Portugal

[The Coon Dog]

I hope its France vs Portugal

Not sure that will occur ES.

Teams will be seeded on the basis of the next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which will be published on 16 October. A draw will also be conducted to determine the home teams for the first legs.

I would imagine that the top 4 teams would play the bottom 4 teams.

[Chops]

Not sure that will occur ES.

Teams will be seeded on the basis of the next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which will be published on 16 October. A draw will also be conducted to determine the home teams for the first legs.

I would imagine that the top 4 teams would play the bottom 4 teams.

Between 8 teams if there is seeding, its hardily a draw.

[Topdog]

Argentina just scored in the 85th minute to go in front 1-0.

They have qualified.

[The Coon Dog]

Thanks Topdog, I was just waiting for the final whistle.

Argentina join Switzerland & Slovakia on the plane to South Africa courtesy of their 1-0 win in Uruguay. Uruguay now go into a play off against a team Costa Rica (who conceded a 90th minute goal to the USA to slip below Honduras).

[aker39]

Thanks Topdog, I was just waiting for the final whistle.

Argentina join Switzerland & Slovakia on the plane to South Africa courtesy of their 1-0 win in Uruguay. Uruguay now go into a play off against a team Costa Rica or Honduras (will edit later, when results known).


Costa rica led until the 95th minute but USA found an equaliser. With Honduras beating El Salvador 1-0, Honduras get the automatic qualifying spot and Costa Rica will play Uruguay for last spot in WC.

[The Coon Dog]

Honduras have now qualified, bringing the total number of teams to have qualified to 23. Just 9 remain.

Of the 9, 3 will come from Africa, 4 from Europe & there are 2 play offs; New Zealand v Bahrain & Costa Rica v Uruguay.

[The Coon Dog]

Not sure that will occur ES.

Teams will be seeded on the basis of the next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which will be published on 16 October. A draw will also be conducted to determine the home teams for the first legs.

I would imagine that the top 4 teams would play the bottom 4 teams.

The four seeded teams are:

France
Portugal
Russia
Greece


The unseeded teams are:

Ukraine
Ireland
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Slovenia


The draw, to be conducted on Monday will pit one seeded team against one unseeded team in each of the 4 ties.

[anfo27]

The four seeded teams are:

France
Portugal
Russia
Greece


The unseeded teams are:

Ukraine
Ireland
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Slovenia


The draw, to be conducted on Monday will pit one seeded team against one unseeded team in each of the 4 ties.

I'm happy with that. I was worried for a time there that Portugal wouldn't qualify but after seeing this I'm confident we'll get through.

[angelopetraglia]

The draw for the 2nd stage of European World Cup Qualifying is on the 19th October in Zurich (as state by TCD earlier).

Does anyone give any of the unseeded teams a chance against any of the seeded teams?

[Chops]

The draw for the 2nd stage of European World Cup Qualifying is on the 19th October in Zurich (as state by TCD earlier).

Does anyone give any of the unseeded teams a chance against any of the seeded teams?

All of the unseeded teams could beat Greece. Ireland should be seeded.

[Topdog]

Ukraine could upset France or Portugal.

Think Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Ireland and Russia are the next best after France and Portugal and all of them could trouble them two.

[The Coon Dog]

The draw was made overnight for the 8 teams in Europe:

Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

Ties to be played November 14 and 18.

[The Coon Dog]

Christiano Ronaldo won't play against BH this weekend due to injury. Still can't see Portugal losing.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Christiano Ronaldo won't play against BH this weekend due to injury. Still can't see Portugal losing.

Portugal are playing Box Hill?

Can Box Hill play more than 12 Hawthorn players?

[The Coon Dog]

For those interested, the Ireland v France clash will be televised live on ESPN on Sunday morning at 7am.

[Topdog]

nice, thanks for that TCD.

[anfo27]

The draw was made overnight for the 8 teams in Europe:

Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

Ties to be played November 14 and 18.

If i could pick from the 4 teams to play Portugal then Bosnia would have been 1st choice, very pleased with that.

I think Ukraine are a good chance while Ireland & Slovenia are slight chances and then there's Bosnia who don't have a snow flakes chance in hell.

I have to feel for Uruguay after seeing the goal they conseded with 5 to go, lucky lucky goal. Can't see Argentina doing any damage at the World Cup with Maradona in charge.

[The Coon Dog]

The Kiwi's are through to the World Cup, defeating Bahrain 1-0 on aggregate after winning the 2nd leg by that score. The last team the Kiwi's qualified was 1982.

[The Coon Dog]

Cameroon & Nigeria qualified overnight.

Egypt scored in the 95th minute to defeat Algeria 2-0 which means both teams finished level on points & goal difference. They will play a one off decider in Sudan on 18 November.

[The Coon Dog]

Scores in the first leg ties in Europe:

Russia 2
Slovenia 1

Greece 0
Ukraine 0

Ireland 0
France 1

Portugal 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 0

[Sockeye Salmon]

The Kiwi's are through to the World Cup, defeating Bahrain 1-0 on aggregate after winning the 2nd leg by that score. The last team the Kiwi's qualified was 1982.

Bahrain would have gone through on away goals had they converted the penalty that was saved by the Kiwi keeper.

[anfo27]

Scores in the first leg ties in Europe:

Russia 2
Slovenia 1

Greece 0
Ukraine 0

Ireland 0
France 1

Portugal
Bosnia-Herzegovina

Good result for Slovenia to snatch a late goal. The greeks look to be in a little trouble but would like to see Ukraine get through. Bit disappointing with Portugal currently only 1 goal up, that will make it very nerve racking for the 2nd leg.

Well done to the kiwis to get over Bahrain who aren't a bad side. Wouldn't it be great to get the kiwis in our group.

[The Coon Dog]

The final 6 matches are to be played this morning/afternoon.

In the one off match in Sudan it finished:

Egypt 0
Algeria 1

Algeria qualify.


The remaining 5 matches are over 2 legs.

Ukraine 0
Greece1

Aggregate score:

Ukraine 0
Greece 1

Greece qualify.


France 1
Ireland 1
(After Extra Time)

Aggregate score:

France 2
Ireland 1

France qualify.


Bosnia-Herg 0
Portugal 1

Aggregate score:

Bosnia-Herg 0
Portugal 2

Portugal qualify.


Slovenia 1
Russia 0

Aggregate score:

Russia 2
Slovenia 2

Slovenia qualify under away goals rule.

[Chops]

Ireland have equalized. Go ireland

[aker39]

If you want to watch the Ireland v France game, go here.

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=55249&part=sports

Choose CCTV5 and Media Player

[Sedat]

The 'Guus effect' wasn't enough to get Russia to the World Cup. They will be absolutely kicking themselves for conceding a late away goal in the first leg when they were 2-0 up.

[Chops]

Can we now get Guus back and get rid of Pim as he is hopeless.

No love for the Greeks qualifying?

[Chops]

F. france just scored. It was handball too

[aker39]

That handball was as bad as Maradona's

[Sedat]

No love for the Greeks qualifying?
Very happy. Good effort to get through away from home against a pretty classy opponent. Apart from Greek fans, I don't think there would be too many people out there happy to see them qualify for the World Cup - they won't be winning any beauty contests with the tightly structured defensive way that King Otto has them playing, but they will be a tricky opponent to break down whichever group they end up in.

Pim surely has used up 8 lives throughout his tenure as Australian coach - not even Collingwood got more luck playing at Victoria Park. Having said that, we are a pretty tough team to break down defensively, but we are missing a massive slice of creativity and flair in the middle of the pitch.

[aker39]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/common/imagedata/0,5001,7189014,00.jpg

[Chops]

Even though they were a bit stiff I don't think the Irish weren't good enough. Shouldn't lose at home in a 2 leg qualifier. As for the French, hate them. Henry is a cheat and Domenique a whinging sook.

[Lantern]

Pim surely has used up 8 lives throughout his tenure as Australian coach - not even Collingwood got more luck playing at Victoria Park. Having said that, we are a pretty tough team to break down defensively, but we are missing a massive slice of creativity and flair in the middle of the pitch.

No love for Brett Holman? Haha.

Are we crying out for a Nicky Carle to cement his place in the team?

[Lantern]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/common/imagedata/0,5001,7189014,00.jpg

Tool.

Now sit back and watch FIFA sit on their hands and claim that there is nothing they can do even though there are provisions to sanction the player by fines and suspensions, or even force a replay, just because it's Henry and he's too big a name for the spineless bastards to tackle.

ps. Heck, with the referee and linesmen all missing Henry being CLEARLY offside in the first place (by so far it wasn't funny) plus not one, but TWO blatant hand-balls, it's almost as if FIFA itself gave directives to the officials to get the bigger team to the World Cup, but that can't possibly be the case, can it? Oh wait...

[aker39]

The worst thing about this handball is the it was 100% intentional.

The ball was about to go out and he clearly puts his hand out to stop it and basically pushed the ball down to his boot.

[Lantern]

The worst thing about this handball is the it was 100% intentional.

The ball was about to go out and he clearly puts his hand out to stop it and basically pushed the ball down to his boot.

Whatever reputation he ever had, Henry has just entered football folklore as a tool of the highest order, and will forever be remembered for that act long after his playing career is over.

[Sedat]

Squeaky bum time for Uruguay at the Centenario. Just conceded an away goal to Costa Rica with 15 minutes left to make the scoreline 1-1. One more slip-up by Uruguay and Costa Rica will claim the last place in the World Cup.

[The Coon Dog]

Here are all 32 qualifiers:

Here are the countries that have already assured their passage to South Africa:

1 - South Africa - Hosts
2 - Japan - 6 June
3 - Australia - 6 June
4 - South Korea - 6 June
5 - Holland - 6 June
6 - North Korea - 17 June
7 - Brazil - 6 September
8 - Ghana -6 September
9 - England - 9 September
10 - Spain - 9 September
11 - Paraguay - 9 September
12 - Ivory Coast - 10 October
13 - Germany - 10 October
14 - Denmark - 10 October
15 - Serbia - 10 October
16 - Italy - 10 October
17 - Chile - 10 October
18 - Mexico 10 October
19 - USA- 10 October
20 - Switzerland - 14 October
21 - Slovakia - 14 October
22 - Argentina - 14 October
23 - Honduras - 14 October
24 - New Zealand - 14 November
25 - Cameroon - 14 November
26 - Nigeria - 14 November
27 - Algeria - 18 November
28 - Greece - 18 November
29 - Slovenia - 18 November
30 - France - 18 November
31 - Portugal - 18 November
32 - Uruguay - 18 November


Here are the list from each confederation:

Hosts:
South Africa

Asia:
Japan
Australia
South Korea
North Korea

Oceania:
New Zealand

South America:
Brazil
Paraguay
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay

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

Africa
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Nigeria
Algeria

CONCACAF
Mexico
USA
Honduras


*The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals will be staged in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009

[aker39]

Got to feel for Costa Rica. They were 10 seconds away from qualifying in the last game against the USA.

The should have played Carlos Hernandez

[aker39]

*The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals will be staged in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009


For those that are keen, the draw will be at 3.30am on 5th December Melbourne time.

I'll be getting up to watch it.

[anfo27]

Cheating frogs, just can't understand how so many things got missed on that one play.

[The Coon Dog]

7qZJrOcgkYM

How could they miss that?

[Sedat]

It has already been dubbed "The Hand of Frog" :D

[FrediKanoute]

Absolute disgrace......sure a game goes for 90mins + extra time and Ireland had their chances to seal it, but to lose/be eliminated because of blatent cheating that is asking too much of the players to accept.

Personal opinion is that the Ref's and Linesmen should be banned from officiating at any level for 12 months. Further HEnry should be banned from the World Cup finals. What sort of message does it send?

If there was ever a more pressing need for goal line technology and for referee's to be able to seek video assistance this is it. It works in cricket, it works in rugby it even works in tennis, but yet the world's most popular ame refuses to accept that its time to move on technologically. I had this debate after Australia were eliminated from the world cup courtesy of a dive (cheat!) and my ironically Irish mate said that it would ruin the game......he's changed his tune after last night.

[Sedat]

On the positive side, wasn't it terrific to see Shane McInerney back in gainful employment for the first time since the 2009 PF.

[Mantis]

On the positive side, wasn't it terrific to see Shane McInerney back in gainful employment for the first time since the 2009 PF.

:D

I like your work.

[The Coon Dog]

FIFA have announced the seeded teams for the World Cup.

There will be four pots in the draw - one containing the top seeds, the second with countries from Asia, Oceania and north/central America, the third with the five other African nations and three South American countries, and a fourth pot with the other eight European countries.

Australia can't be in the same group as New Zealand as they are in the same pot. All 8 groups will feature one team from each of the 4 pots.

One: Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain.

Two: Australia, Honduras, Japan, North Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, USA.

Three: Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Four: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland.

Worst case scenario as I see it would be a group featuring Spain, Australia, Ivory Coast & Portugal.

Best case scenario would be South Africa, Australia, Algeria & Slovenia.

[Chops]

Best case scenario would be South Africa, Australia, Algeria & Slovenia.

Any home team during a WC is a tough proposition. There are no easy games. We are just as likely to be beaten by a Slovenia then by a Brazil.

[Chops]

Worst case scenario as I see it would be a group featuring Spain, Australia, Ivory Coast & Portugal.


Portugal's form is nothing to write home about.

I really don't believe this best/worst case stuff as you need to beat who ever you play. Brazil at the last WC, we should have beaten them.

[Sockeye Salmon]

If you avoid drawing France or Portugal you'd fancy your chances of going through, I would think.

[Chops]

If you avoid drawing France or Portugal you'd fancy your chances of going through, I would think.

Both are overated, on the day we could beat both. However, with this coach, I wouldn't be surprised if we miss the 2nd round even in the so called easy group.

[aker39]

Any home team during a WC is a tough proposition. .

Who would you prefer to draw from the seeded pot then.

[Sedat]

The dream draw from a marketing perspective would be England, Australia, Uruguay and Greece. Plenty of spice and relevance in every encounter from the perspective of the general Australian public, which would ensure maximum media coverage. Mind you getting thorugh to the knock-out stages from that group will be very tough.

Pot 2 contains some of the weaker nations so there is every chace Australia will be handed as difficult a group as we had in 2006 - not a terrible thing to have if you're well prepared and playing good football in the lead-up to the WC but Australia will have to improve significantly between now and June if they are to be in the frame for the knock-out stages of the tournament.

[The Coon Dog]

The dream draw from a marketing perspective would be England, Australia, Uruguay and Greece. Plenty of spice and relevance in every encounter from the perspective of the general Australian public.

Bit of a bummer Greece qualifying. Can no longer use that joke about Greece failing to qualify for the World Cup, because every time they got a corner they built a fish & chip shop on it! ;)

[Sedat]

Bit of a bummer Greece qualifying. Can no longer use that joke about Greece failing to qualify for the World Cup, because every time they got a corner they built a fish & chip shop on it! ;)
An oldie but a goodie :D

Jokes aside, Greece are going to be a very tough nut to break down - they are basically a better organised and better coached version of Australia, with their two central defenders plying their trade in Serie A, the toughest defensive league in world football. By contrast our central defenders are either old, slow and out of form (Neill, Moore) or untried and constantly changing (Williams, Coyne, Milligan, Beauchamp, etc..). Our defensive core desperately needs some continuity between now and the WC - it has chopped and changed far too much in the last couple of years. We will be found out against stronger and faster teams if we don't address this area of weakness.

[Chops]

Who would you prefer to draw from the seeded pot then.

I don't really care, lets face it we aren't a chance to win it so I want to see improvement. If they get to the second round cos they played dud sides in the first round then get bungled out straight away it just masked that they haven't improved. We want to be the best so we must prove ourselves against the good sides not the crap ones. No one goes far in a WC let alone wins it, cos they had a good draw.

[The Coon Dog]

I don't really care, lets face it we aren't a chance to win it so I want to see improvement. If they get to the second round cos they played dud sides in the first round then get bungled out straight away it just masked that they haven't improved. We want to be the best so we must prove ourselves against the good sides not the crap ones. No one goes far in a WC let alone wins it, cos they had a good draw.

Thats nonsense ES!

I'd much rather make it to the 2nd round by beating some dud sides than being knocked straight out having played some good sides.

[Chops]

Thats nonsense ES!

I'd much rather make it to the 2nd round by beating some dud sides than being knocked straight out having played some good sides.

Why is it nonsense? We aren't going to win it so the best we can hope for is improvement. Making the second round doesn't show improvement if we just beat crap sides. It will just mask the obvious deficiencies in our game, mean nothing needs to be changed and gives everyone false hope for the future.

[The Coon Dog]

Why is it nonsense? We aren't going to win it so the best we can hope for is improvement. Making the second round doesn't show improvement if we just beat crap sides. It will just mask the obvious deficiencies in our game, mean nothing needs to be changed and gives everyone false hope for the future.

Because you're worried about showing improvement at a major showpiece, not getting results!

Give me 3 poor wins over 3 honorable losses any day.

[Sedat]

Because you're worried about showing improvement at a major showpiece, not getting results!

Give me 3 poor wins over 3 honorable losses any day.
I see where Ernie is coming from, but at the end of the day results will ultimately capture the attention of the general public and the nation's media. The diehard football fans quite rightly want to see continued improvement in technical ability and tactical acumen (something that to be honest isn't currently happing with the national squad). But the reality is that non-diehards (about 95% of the population) are only interested in taking the wild ride for the 3 or 4 (or hopefully more) matches that we play in the WC - and these are the people that FFA will try and convert into diehards with the media saturation that a successful (in relative terms) campaing like 2006 will generate. Factor in the hopeful announcement of a WC in our country (an increasingly likely scenario) and the medium term growth and development of the code is assured in this country, and then you'll see technical and tactical improvement to match the world's best on a consistent basis.

[anfo27]

Thats nonsense ES!

I'd much rather make it to the 2nd round by beating some dud sides than being knocked straight out having played some good sides.

I agree with that.

To get to the second round again would be a great result. I'm not confident we can do it though as this team is inferior to our last WC team.

I would like our group to look like this. South Africa, Paraguay or Uruguay & Slovenia.

[The Coon Dog]

I agree with that.

To get to the second round again would be a great result. I'm not confident we can do it though as this team is inferior to our last WC team.

I would like our group to look like this. South Africa, Paraguay or Uruguay & Slovenia.

Paraguay are a very good team, almost won the South American group.

[Chops]

Because you're worried about showing improvement at a major showpiece, not getting results!

Give me 3 poor wins over 3 honorable losses any day.
What does that prove if we lose the next?
Bugger all.
Getting results for Australia means bettering the achievements at the last WC or beating a powerhouse.
3 wins against dud sides then a loss is not better than last WC. Its treading water.

[aker39]

In terms of us hosting the World Cup, I think us getting out of the group stage will add to cause.

[Lantern]

In terms of us hosting the World Cup, I think us getting out of the group stage will add to cause.

And you have to be in it to win it, so even if we beat three dud sides (not that there are any real duds in the WC) to get out of the group stages, once you're in the knock-out stage anything can happen -- a lucky goal and suddenly you're in the quarter-finals (and the Top 8) of the biggest sporting event of the world.

It's infinitely better than getting knocked out in the group stages, no matter how honorably.

And as Greece showed a couple of European Cups ago, once you're there anything -- ANYTHING -- can happen.

--

And finally, easy draws aren't just about the group stages -- there have been armchair rides by some teams all the way to semi-finals of some World Cups, and we don't think any less of their achievements.

[Chops]

And you have to be in it to win it, so even if we beat three dud sides (not that there are any real duds in the WC) to get out of the group stages, once you're in the knock-out stage anything can happen -- a lucky goal and suddenly you're in the quarter-finals (and the Top 8) of the biggest sporting event of the world.

Pie in the sky stuff. Lucky goal? I bet we get more bad luck than good.

It's infinitely better than getting knocked out in the group stages, no matter how honorably.

Yes it is but it ain't gonna happen. If Australia get to the last 8 its a miracle.



And as Greece showed a couple of European Cups ago, once you're there anything -- ANYTHING -- can happen.


Greece were the best team of that tournament. I highly doubt Australia will be. Yes they had a little bit of luck but it was more to do with being well organised, well coached and the other teams were a shambles. I doubt that would ever happen at a WC either.



And finally, easy draws aren't just about the group stages -- there have been armchair rides by some teams all the way to semi-finals of some World Cups, and we don't think any less of their achievements. Please tell me especially in recent WC history when this has happened? News to me.

[Lantern]

Pie in the sky stuff. Lucky goal? I bet we get more bad luck than good. .

Why so pessimistic? Plenty of upsets happen in soccer -- didn't the US just get to the Confed Cup final recently by beating, wait for it, Spain? And that's before we even start talking about Cameroon, Senegal, South Korea, Denmark in Euro 92 etc. etc. etc. In the second round you have every chance of meeting a middling team like a Mexico or Denmark, which we would have a shout against.

Even at the last World Cup after all the upsets in the first round I found myself sitting in a stadium watching Ukraine play Switzerland in the 2nd round for a spot in the quarters (if it went to form it was supposed to be France vs Holland, but after starting the tournament badly both of them ended up 2nd in their groups) -- on our performances we would probably have accounted for either of Ukraine/Switzerland and made the quarters too (it was easily the worst game of football I had ever seen -- 0-0 after 120 minutes, both teams missed their first 3 penalties and Switzerland missed their 5th as well.)

Yes it is but it ain't gonna happen. If Australia get to the last 8 its a miracle..

Your opinion, which you're entitled to. However, like I said, it's soccer. In the last World Cup it was supposed to be a miracle if we got out of the group stages but we ended up scaring the living daylights out of the eventual champions in a game that really could have gone either way.. I don't think that's grounds for pessimism, especially when it comes to Australians and sport -- we have a habit of punching way above our weight when we put our collective minds to it.

Greece were the best team of that tournament. I highly doubt Australia will be. Yes they had a little bit of luck but it was more to do with being well organised, well coached and the other teams were a shambles. I doubt that would ever happen at a WC either.

Did you really thought that Greece was the 'best team' in that tournament? They had a very canny coach and a little bit of good fortune, but if that's your definition of the 'best team' then I am surprised at your judgment.

And if teams can be a shambles at a European Championships, why not at a World Cup? Plenty of teams have gone to the World Cup in absolute shambles -- last minute coach changes, player revolts, disputes over bonuses etc...

Please tell me especially in recent WC history when this has happened? News to me.

Turkey in 2002? Their group had Brazil, China and Costa Rica, and they beat Japan and Senegal in the knockout stages before losing to a cheating Brazil (Rivaldo holding his head in his hands incident + blatantly wasting time for over half the game) in the semis.

In a way, Italy in the last WC also had a pretty easy run, having us and then Ukraine in the quarters -- they made the semis without playing much football of any real quality.

I already mentioned Ukraine vs Switzerland at the last WC, and it depends on your definition of 'recent', but West Germany in '86 had Denmark, Scotland (who have NEVER gotten out of a group stage in a World Cup, which is not something we want to emulate) and a hapless Uruguay in their group stage, beat Morocco in the second round, and beat Mexico on penalties in the quarterfinals. Sure, Morocco and Mexico are no mugs, but Germany avoided all the form teams in the tournament until playing France in the semis.

England made the '90 semis after beating Belgium and Cameroon (again, no mugs, but not exactly Brazil and Holland either) in their 2nd round and quarters, and how can we forget Sweden in '94 playing in the final four after beating 'giants' Saudi Arabia in the 2nd round and Romania (Hagi notwithstanding) on penalties in the quarters?

That's probably the biggest point -- in the knockout stages there are penalty shoot-outs, which means that no matter how crap you are, if you park the bus you always have a shooters chance of making it through. Heck, Argentina made the FINAL in 1990 doing exactly that.

[Chops]

Sorry Lantern most of what you wrote is incorrect, I'm not going over it all.
A few points
To say Italy had an easy run at the last WC is BS. One hindsight, and two they beat basically all comers.
Turkey were a good side in 2002.

Using an Argentinean side with probably the best player ever in it as an example of side with luck shows you lack of knowledge of the game.

[Lantern]

Sorry Lantern most of what you wrote is incorrect, I'm not going over it all.
A few points
To say Italy had an easy run at the last WC is BS. One hindsight, and two they beat basically all comers.
Turkey were a good side in 2002.

Using an Argentinean side with probably the best player ever in it as an example of side with luck shows you lack of knowledge of the game.

Fair enough! :)

ps. To answer your points:

1. I never said Argentina was lucky (but if making it out of the group stages after losing to Cameroon and finishing THIRD in their group behind Romania isn't "luck" I don't know what is), but they certainly played with penalties in mind -- apart from one moment of Maradona brilliance in the second round to get the ball to Caniggia to score, I don't know how having the 'best player ever' made any difference in 0-0 draws (and missing penalties in the shoot-out). As a matter of recollection, Maradona was limited by a knee-injury and was more a nuisance to referees than anything else (and the biggest time-waster!), and apart from Caniggia, the team was relatively weak.

From a well-known soccer publication:
The 1990 World Cup is widely regarded as one of the poorest World Cups ever. It generated a record low goals-per-game average and then-record of 16 red cards were handed out. Most teams relied heavily on defensive play and hard tackling, as well as aggressive intimidation of the referee. In the knockout stage, many teams would "play it safe" for 120 minutes and try their luck in the penalty shoot-out, rather than risk going forward. Ireland and Argentina were prime examples of this trend of cautious defensive play; the Irish made it to the quarter-finals after scoring just twice in five games and drawing all their matches until their defeat to Italy. Argentina, meanwhile, scored only five times en route to the final.

The final, perhaps uniquely, saw West Germany as the peoples' favourites to win. Argentina had alienated most neutrals with their foul play, theatrical diving and constant hounding of the referee. Maradona was a leading culprit and the footballing demi-god of 1986 had been replaced by a moaning, complaining prima donna dwarf.

2. I agree with you that Turkey was a good side in '02 -- I never suggested otherwise, but was using them as an example of a relatively easy path to the semis of a WC. With all due respect, China, Japan, Senegal and Costa Rica I think we can agree is a relatively easy path.

3. Of course there's hindsight in this discussion -- the whole point is whether it's better to go further in the tournament via some lucky circumstances or to bow out honorably, and I'm using previous examples, so the whole discussion in premised on hindsight. That doesn't invalidate the observations.. Italy did very well in the last WC, and like you said, beat all comers -- my point of view doesn't preclude that. All I was pointing out is that their 2nd round and QF opponents were RELATIVELY soft compared to some others in the same stage. If it went to seedings they were supposed to meet one of France or Holland in the QF but got Ukraine instead, who were, quite frankly, crap.

--

ES, I know that your point is that Australia as we stand are not good enough, and don't have a canny enough coach to work our way through tricky ties, and getting out of a weak group would only mask that. You also believe that change is necessary for the national team to improve, and I can see your point. I too am a little bit worried about Pim's experience at this level, but he's done all he's been asked to do, and until he does otherwise, I suppose that some faith is required. He's bought himself the opportunity to prove himself, I think, and he may well surprise.

[anfo27]

Paraguay are a very good team, almost won the South American group.

I don't take to much notice of that as South American teams generally play well against each other but when it comes to playing the rest of the world (except the big2) they always struggle.

I can't think of a South American team other than the big 2 that has done anything at the world cup in the last 20-30 years.

[Remi Moses]

ireland should have qualified :mad::mad:

[The Coon Dog]

The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been completed this morning in South Africa.

Here is the draw:

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France


Group B
Argentina
South Korea
Nigeria
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Ghana
Serbia

Group E
Holland
Japan
Cameroon
Denmark

Group F
Italy
New Zealand
Paraguay
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
North Korea
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Honduras
Chile
Switzerland

[The Coon Dog]

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/untitled1.jpg
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/untitled2.jpg
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/untitled3.jpg
http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/TheCoonDog/Other%20stuff/untitled4.jpg

[The Coon Dog]

Looking at our group, here's how our opponents qualified:

Germany - finished 1st in group 4 with 26 of a possible 30 points. Others in group were Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan & Lichtenstein. Current FIFA World Ranking is 6.

Serbia - finished 1st in group 7 with 22 of a possible 30 points. Others in the group were France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania & Faroe Islands. Current FIFA World Ranking is 20.

Ghana - finished 1st on group D with 13 of a possible 18 points. Others in the group were Benin, Mali & Sudan. Current FIFA World Ranking is 37.

Australia are currently ranked 1 place below Serbia at 21.

[Sedat]

On first impressions, there are 3 very soft groups (England, Spain and Italy would be doing cartwheels this morning) and 5 tough groups (A, B, D, E and G).

Unless Serbia implodes (something they are prone to do in major tournaments), we will have our work cut out just to get out of the group stage.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Looking at our group, here's how our opponents qualified:

Germany - finished 1st in group 4 with 26 of a possible 30 points. Others in group were Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan & Lichtenstein. Current FIFA World Ranking is 6.

Serbia - finished 1st in group 7 with 22 of a possible 30 points. Others in the group were France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania & Faroe Islands. Current FIFA World Ranking is 20.

Ghana - finished 1st on group D with 13 of a possible 18 points. Others in the group were Benin, Mali & Sudan. Current FIFA World Ranking is 37.

Australia are currently ranked 1 place below Serbia at 21.

With the 'pot' system they use, how did we end up in the same group as two European group winners?

[aker39]

With the 'pot' system they use, how did we end up in the same group as two European group winners?


Because the pots were (other than the seeded pot) based on confederations.

[Lantern]

On first impressions, there are 3 very soft groups (England, Spain and Italy would be doing cartwheels this morning) and 5 tough groups (A, B, D, E and G).

Unless Serbia implodes (something they are prone to do in major tournaments), we will have our work cut out just to get out of the group stage.

And Ghana are certainly no mugs either!

To continue SS's point, the pot system being divided by region rather than by qualifying performance has failed everyone with our group comprising four qualifying group winners!

[Chops]

And Ghana are certainly no mugs either!

To continue SS's point, the pot system being divided by region rather than by qualifying performance has failed everyone with our group comprising four qualifying group winners!

And what does group form means come next July? Complaining just for the sake of it. Had we drawn France, Portugal, Argentina,etc were not group winners would that have made you happier?

[The Coon Dog]

So, who wants to hazard a guess as to which 2 teams will qualify from each group?

The numbers in brackets are the FIFA World Rankings (some of them beggar belief to be honest).

Croup A - South Africa (86), Mexico (15), Uruguay (19) & France (7). I feel France will qualify & South Africa won't. A battle between Uruguay & Mexico. France & Mexico to qualify.

Group B - Argentina (8), South Korea (52), Nigeria (22) & Greece (12). Argentina to get through & a toss of the coin for the other spot. Argentina & Nigeria to qualify.

Group C - England (9), USA (14), Algeria (28) & Slovenia (33). England & USA to qualify.

Group D - Germany (6), Australia (21), Ghana (37) & Serbia (20). Germany to get through & Serbia & Australia to battle it out for the other spot. Germany & Serbia to qualify.

Group E - Holland (3), Japan (43), Cameroon (11) & Denmark (26). Holland comfortably & throw a blanket over the rest. Holland & Cameroon to qualify.

Group F - Italy (4), New Zealand (77), Paraguay (30) & Slovakia (34). Italy in a canter despite being notoriously slow starters. Paraguay ahead of the other 2. Italy & Paraguay to qualify.

Group G - Brazil (2), North Korea (84), Ivory Coast (16) & Portugal (5). Brazil to progress, North Korea to miss out & the other 2 to battle it out. I have a feeling Drogba's Ivorians will sneak it. Brazil & Ivory Coast to qualify.

Group H - Spain (1), Honduras (38), Chile (17) & Switzerland (18). Spain easily. Honduras to miss out & Chile might just shade the Swiss. Spain & Chile to qualify.

[Chops]

I suppose also when Italy were assigned to play North Korea in 1966 or England were to play the USA in 1950 they thought they got the easier draw.

[angelopetraglia]

Anyone making the journey to South Africa?

Booked flights this morning and looking forward to my first World Cup. Can't wait.

[Lantern]

Anyone making the journey to South Africa?

Booked flights this morning and looking forward to my first World Cup. Can't wait.

I am. Have a good time, I'm sure you will. :)

[Lantern]

And what does group form means come next July? Complaining just for the sake of it. Had we drawn France, Portugal, Argentina,etc were not group winners would that have made you happier?

Hmm.. good point. I guess it just seemed weird how the groups were divided by confederations rather than by qualifying form, but when you put it like that it may not have made a huge difference anyway.

[anfo27]

So, who wants to hazard a guess as to which 2 teams will qualify from each group?

The numbers in brackets are the FIFA World Rankings (some of them beggar belief to be honest).

Croup A - South Africa (86), Mexico (15), Uruguay (19) & France (7). I feel France will qualify & South Africa won't. A battle between Uruguay & Mexico. France & Mexico to qualify.

Group B - Argentina (8), South Korea (52), Nigeria (22) & Greece (12). Argentina to get through & a toss of the coin for the other spot. Argentina & Nigeria to qualify.

Group C - England (9), USA (14), Algeria (28) & Slovenia (33). England & USA to qualify.

Group D - Germany (6), Australia (21), Ghana (37) & Serbia (20). Germany to get through & Serbia & Australia to battle it out for the other spot. Germany & Serbia to qualify.

Group E - Holland (3), Japan (43), Cameroon (11) & Denmark (26). Holland comfortably & throw a blanket over the rest. Holland & Cameroon to qualify.

Group F - Italy (4), New Zealand (77), Paraguay (30) & Slovakia (34). Italy in a canter despite being notoriously slow starters. Paraguay ahead of the other 2. Italy & Paraguay to qualify.

Group G - Brazil (2), North Korea (84), Ivory Coast (16) & Portugal (5). Brazil to progress, North Korea to miss out & the other 2 to battle it out. I have a feeling Drogba's Ivorians will sneak it. Brazil & Ivory Coast to qualify.

Group H - Spain (1), Honduras (38), Chile (17) & Switzerland (18). Spain easily. Honduras to miss out & Chile might just shade the Swiss. Spain & Chile to qualify.

I'll have a crack.

Group A: 4 teams that won't do anything. France look the strongest on paper & i don't rate the home team or Mexico. France & Uruguay

Group B: Argentina & Nigeria look the obvious choices but Greece are very organised & so disciplined. Having said that i think the greeks struggle against non-european style football. Argentina & Nigeria

Group C: England in a canter but not easy to pick 2nd. The US are always under rated, don't know much about Algeria but history says never underestimate the unknown Africans & Slovenia are a very handy team. England & US (just)

Group D: I would love to say Australia but i just can't see it in this tough group. Serbia are very very dangerous on their day but have the capacity to really stink it up at times & Ghana another very good African side. The way Serbia & Ghana play their style of football can suit Australia and us at our very best can beat these teams. Germany & Ghana

Group E: The Danes & Japan are good quality teams but won't trouble the other 2 teams. Holland & Cameroon

Group F: What a draw for Italy, they won't even have to get out of first gear. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the 3 remainng teams pinch 2nd spot as they are all average at best. Italy & Paraguay

Group G: Shattered to see my boys get the group of death. Would rather have Brazil than Germany or Italy though. Head says Ivory Coast heart says Portugal. Brazil & Portugal

Group H: The Eoropean champions couldn't have asked for a better passage through to the 2nd round. Toss up between the Swiss & Chile. [B]Spain & Switzerland

[Rocco Jones]

A question to Lantern and Angelo (and anyone else who is going). My partner and I are looking at going. Do you guys think the packages are the best value, doing everything yourself or a combo (trying to get tickets, booking accomo or flight with package deal etc)?

[angelopetraglia]

We are doing it without a package tour.

We were lucky enough to get tickets through the first FIFA ballot (for all Australian games through to the round of 16). I think that is the key. Once you have the tickets you can make a choice what you want to do.

Football Australia are currently doing a ballot for tickets now http://mk.footballaustralia.com.au/mk/get/FFA_WC2010_TKTS

If you need to rely on the packages to actually get tickets to the games then you are probably not left with too many choices.

Getting flights wasn't too bad, we waited until the draw was confirmed and booked first thing Saturday morning. Probably would have been better to make an educated guess an book flights prior (however we wanted to see all the group games with the least possible time away due to family/work commitments).

We still need to work out transport within South Africa and the accommodation. I'm sure the planning and working out what we are going to do will be half the fun, but it is not for everyone. Others prefer to just know what date they leave and when they return and confident all the details will be worked out for them.

The packages are not cheap (i.e. $10k for the Green and Gold Army). I'm not sure exactly how much it will cost us in total, but I think we can do it for less than $10k.

[The Coon Dog]

Ghana, who are in our group have just made it through to the African Cup of Nations Final. It's going to be very hard for Australia to qualify.

[angelopetraglia]

Yes. It is a super tough group.

Ghana can be anything or can be nothing. The African nations are highly inconsistent, who knows which Ghana will turn up for the game against us. However right at this point in time they look in very good shape.

Germany is Germany. It doesn't matter what their form is, who is in their team, come big tournaments they are incredibly difficult to play against. There were 3rd last time and runners up the time before that. Since World War II their worst result is the quarter finals, that is some pedigree.

Serbia will also be a very difficult opponent.

The key for Australia is to have our best talent fit and playing well come June. The Harry groin injury is a big, big worry. Without a fit Kewell and Cahill we simply don't have the offensive creative talent to worry the teams in our group.

[Rocco Jones]

The key for Australia is to have our best talent fit and playing well come June. The Harry groin injury is a big, big worry. Without a fit Kewell and Cahill we simply don't have the offensive creative talent to worry the teams in our group.

Just announced on 9's sports news that he has received the best possible prognosis and should be back playing in a month.

Our group is going to be very difficult but their is hope.

Germany and Serbia are both very difficult opponents. I think we are just about shot if we go 1-0 down in either game. Our best chance seems to getting a point or two from 0-0 draws against these two teams and hopefully catching Ghana on an off day than having them have an on day against Serbia. Sometimes having a quality 4th team can be a blessing in disguise, with the par to get through to the 2nd round dropping. I see it as a group where 4 points + decent GD will be enough.

[angelopetraglia]

A real concern that the big H is still not playing. Hopefully he will play for Galatasaray this weekend. We NEED this man up and firing.

Another big concern is that Bresciano has not played since early Feb either due to a back injury that required surgery. He was in great form and was playing every game for Palermo that are in a tight fight with Sampdoria for the 4th Champions League spot.

A huge plus is that Cahill has been doing what he does best. In the right spot at the right time and finding the back of the net. 3 goals in his last two games is a good form.

Hopefully both Kewell and Bresciano can play some games in the last month of their respective seasons and find some form before the world cup.

Can't believe it is only 51 days away.