2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Paraguay vs Spain
First, Óscar Cardozo was pulled down by Gerard Piqué in Spain's penalty area and Paraguay was awarded a penalty. Cardozo took the penalty himself but it was saved by Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain soon after launched an attack at the other end of the field, in which David Villa was ruled by the referee to have been brought down by Antolín Alcaraz.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Paraguay vs Spain
Xabi Alonso stepped up to take the penalty kick and seemed to have scored, only for the referee to order it be retaken because of encroachment by a Spanish player into the penalty area before the kick was taken. Xabi Alonso's retake was saved by Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar. As a result, the score remained 0–0 after the three penalty kicks. However, Spain ultimately managed to take the lead in the 82nd minute: David Villa collected a rebounded shot off the post from Pedro, to score himself off both posts. The goal turned out to be the winner for Spain.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Paraguay vs Spain
After the match, Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque conceded that his side were not playing at their best and were starved of possession. He also noted his view that Spain's next opponents Germany were the best team at the World Cup. Paraguay's coach Gerardo Martino stated he would be leaving his position at the end of his contract.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Paraguay vs Spain
Assistant referees:Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)Carlos Pastrana (Honduras)Fourth official:Benito Archundia (Mexico)Fifth official:Héctor Vergara (Canada)


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Uruguay vs Netherlands
Uruguay played the Netherlands in the first semi-final on 6 July 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. The Netherlands won the match 3–2, thereby qualifying for the final for the first time since the 1978 World Cup. Uruguay adopted a defensive posture early in the match, but were only able to hold their opponents scoreless for 18 minutes, when Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored from 35 yards into the top right corner of the goal.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Uruguay vs Netherlands
However, the Netherlands were unable to capitalise on their lead, as Diego Forlán equalised in the 41st minute (1–1) when his shot from 25 yards hit squarely in the middle of the goal was misjudged by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg who missed it by millimetres. The Netherlands regained the lead in the second half, as a pass from Rafael van der Vaart reached Wesley Sneijder who hit it into the side-netting as Muslera dived and missed it by inches. Three minutes later, Kuyt crossed to Robben, who headed it in to make it 3–1. The Netherlands suffered a late scare when Maxi Pereira, who missed a penalty against Ghana, scored a stoppage-time free kick; however, the match finished 3–2 despite desperate Uruguayan attempts to equalise. After the match, Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez spoke of his pride in his team for reaching the semi-finals.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Uruguay vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan)Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)Fourth official:Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)Fifth official:Toru Sagara (Japan)


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Germany vs Spain
On 7 July 2010, Spain defeated Germany 1–0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban to progress to the World Cup Final against the Netherlands. It was the first time that Spain had ever gone through to the final of the World Cup, while it was the second consecutive World Cup in which Germany had lost in the semi-finals, having lost to Italy at home four years before.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Germany vs Spain
Spain had the bulk of possession throughout the match, with Germany adopting a tight defensive structure. Germany created chances on the counter-attack, but Spain also went close to scoring on numerous occasions in each half. The match was deadlocked at 0–0 until the 73rd minute, when Spain was awarded a corner. The corner, taken by Xavi, was met by Carles Puyol, who headed the ball into the net as Manuel Neuer didn't do much to protect it to give Spain the lead. Thereafter, Spain protected its advantage and won the match.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Germany vs Spain
After the match, Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque praised the "excellent performance" of his team, while Germany's coach Joachim Löw predicted that Spain would win the final.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Germany vs Spain
Assistant referees:Gábor Erős (Hungary)Tibor Vámos (Hungary)Fourth official:Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)Fifth official:Peter Hermans (Belgium)


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Uruguay vs Germany
On 10 July 2010, at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Germany defeated Uruguay by 3–2 to claim third place at the World Cup for the second successive time after also finishing third at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the 19th minute, Bastian Schweinsteiger managed to take a shot towards the goal, which Muslera rebounded towards Thomas Müller who scored. Uruguay forced their way back into the game after Luis Suárez's pass put Edinson Cavani through on the left and he slid low into the far corner to put them on level terms after 28 minutes.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Uruguay vs Germany
Diego Forlán then put them ahead in the second half with a beautiful side volley from the edge of the penalty box while goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt didn't move off his line after 51 minutes. Marcell Jansen then scored on 56 minutes after Muslera came for Jérôme Boateng's cross but missed it right in front of Jansen allowing him to head into an empty net. Mesut Özil took a corner in the 82nd minute, which reached a German player, bounced off him and went up to Khedira's head, who headed it in. Uruguay almost forced extra time when Forlán curled a 92nd-minute free-kick onto the bar, but Germany held on to win the match.


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Uruguay vs Germany
After the game, Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez insisted that his side did not deserve to be on the losing side: "We achieved an equal game against a real power, we could have won because in the game [they] were not superior to us... We're not that far away [from Germany's level], the route has been marked, we must learn from this."


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Uruguay vs Germany
Assistant referees:Héctor Vergara (Canada)Marvin Cesar Torrentera Rivera (Mexico)Fourth official:Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)Fifth official:José Luis Camargo (Mexico)


2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final
Assistant referees:Darren Cann (England)Mike Mullarkey (England)Fourth official:Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)Fifth official:Toru Sagara (Japan)


2010 FIFA World Cup officials
Officials for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are selected from a pool of 30 trios of referees and assistant referees announced by the association football governing body, FIFA, on 5 February 2010. The final cut was selected from a group of 38 referees revealed in October 2008, themselves whittled down from an initial group of 54 selected for the Refereeing Assistance Programme in 2007. From the quarter-finals onwards, the pool of referees was reduced to 19.


2010 FIFA World Cup officials, Selection process
In 2007, the FIFA Executive Committee set up the Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) to help prepare the referees in contention to officiate at the 2010 World Cup; 54 were selected to make up the initial group. Over the following months, they were assessed based on their performances at FIFA tournaments, RAP seminars and in their domestic leagues. In September 2008, 53 of the original 54 referees attended an "Elite Referee" seminar in Zürich, Switzerland, where their technical, physical and mental abilities were analysed. The results were presented to the FIFA Referees' Committee, who preselected 38 trios of referees and their assistants on 22 October.


2010 FIFA World Cup officials, Selection process
From this group of 38, ten trios – representing all six confederations – were selected to referee at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, hosted by South Africa as preparation for the World Cup 12 months later. This assignment was viewed by FIFA as part of the referees' assessment, to ensure that they are prepared for the technical and physical demands of the World Cup in South Africa.


2010 FIFA World Cup officials, Selection process
The final 30 trios of officials were announced at a meeting of the FIFA Referees Committee in Zürich on 5 February 2010. The trios were assessed using the same criteria as for the original cut. Following their selection, each official underwent FIFA's pre-competition medical assessment (PCMA) at the Schulthess Clinic in Zürich between 25 February and 6 March.


2010 FIFA World Cup officials, Selection process
However, on 27 May 2010, two referees – Carlos Amarilla and Mohamed Benouza – and their assistants were removed from the final list, following the assistant referees' failure in the standard fitness tests, the same tests as those held in Zurich. Uruguayan referee Martín Vázquez and his assistant referees were called up as a replacement trio.


2010 FIFA World Cup officials, Selection process
For the quarter-finals onwards, FIFA trimmed their list of match officials, allowing 10 teams of referees to return home. The teams sent home were those of Roberto Rosetti (Italy), Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay), Stéphane Lannoy (France), Massimo Busacca (Switzerland), Martin Hansson (Sweden), Koman Coulibaly (Mali), Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia), Peter O'Leary (New Zealand), Martín Vázquez (Uruguay) and Joel Aguilar (El Salvador).


2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
The 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on 11 June at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. The ceremony started at 2pm local time and lasted 40 minutes. The ceremony involved 1500 performers, including Thandiswa Mazwai, Timothy Moloi, Hugh Masekela, Khaled, Femi Kuti, Osibisa, R. Kelly, TKZee, Hip Hop Pantsula and the Soweto Gospel Choir.


2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Notable attendees
Although in frail health and 91 years old, the former South African president Nelson Mandela was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, however had pulled out after the death of his great-granddaughter, who was killed in a car crash earlier in the day. A pre-recorded message appeared on the stadium screens instead.


2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Notable attendees
Dignitaries from 4 organizations and 24 countries attended the event, which included 20 heads of state and 18 eminent persons. Alongside the FIFA President Sepp Blatter and the then South African president Jacob Zuma, other delegates included the South African religious leader Desmond Tutu, the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the Mexican president Felipe Calderón, Prince Albert of Monaco.


2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Opening celebration concert
One day prior to the ceremony, the first-ever FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert took place on 10 June at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Warm-up acts including Goldfish, 340ml and Tumi Molekane performed before the internationally televised portion of the concert began at 20:00 SAST. The three-hour main event included performances by Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, The Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, The Dave Matthews Band, Freshlyground, Hugh Masekela, Juanes, K'Naan, Lira, Shakira, The Parlotones, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré and Vusi Mahlasela.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 205 teams entered the qualification competition, with South Africa, as the host, qualifying for the World Cup automatically. The first qualification matches were played on 25 August 2007 and qualification concluded on 18 November 2009. Overall, 2341 goals were scored over 852 matches, scoring on average 2.74 per match.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, 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 by 15 March 2007: Bhutan, Brunei, Laos, and the Philippines.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Entrants
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Entrants
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
The following 32 teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
8 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2014 finals: Denmark, New Zealand, North Korea, Paraguay, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and South Africa.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The qualification process commenced in August 2007 and was 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The distribution by confederation for the 2010 World Cup was:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
UEFA and CAF had a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations was 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
As the host nation, South Africa qualified automatically. As in 2006, the current cup holders – Italy – did not qualify automatically.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, 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. If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams would be ranked by:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
This is a change from 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, where results between tied teams was the first tiebreaker.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
(53 teams competing for 5 berths, host South Africa occupying a 6th berth)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
The remaining 20 teams were placed in 5 groups of 4 teams at a draw held in Zürich on 22 October 2008. The winners of these groups qualified for the World Cup finals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
The qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup was combined with the qualification process for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. Since South Africa was hosting the World Cup, it automatically qualified for that tournament, 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF)
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 meant that they could not qualify for the African Cup of Nations, and all matches in Round 3 counted towards World Cup qualification.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Africa (CAF), Final positions (Third Round)
In Group C, Algeria and Egypt finished with identical overall and head-to-head records. A tiebreaking play-off was contested on 18 November 2009 in Sudan to determine which team would qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with Algeria prevailing 1–0.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Asia (AFC)
(43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths; a playoff against OFC determines which confederation gets the extra berth)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Asia (AFC)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Asia (AFC)
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).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Asia (AFC)
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).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Asia (AFC), Play-off for 5th place (Fifth Round)
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).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Europe (UEFA)
The European qualification games started in August 2008 after Euro 2008. 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 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Europe (UEFA)
The First Round was completed on 14 October 2009. A draw for the Second Round was held in Zurich on 19 October, with the matches played on 14 and 18 November.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Europe (UEFA), Second Round
The Second Round was 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 of the other groups were not included in this ranking.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Europe (UEFA), Second Round
The draw for the second round play-offs was held in Zürich on 19 October, and the matches were played on 14 and 18 November 2009. The eight teams were seeded according to the FIFA World Rankings released on 16 October. The top four teams were seeded into one pot, with the bottom four teams seeded into a second. A separate draw was conducted between each matchup to decide who would host the first leg.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Europe (UEFA), Second Round
France, Portugal, Greece and Slovenia qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, 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)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
The CONCACAF qualification process is identical to that for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
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 held during 2009. The top 3 of this group qualified for the World Cup finals; the 4th-place team advancing to the playoff against the 5th-place CONMEBOL team.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF), Final positions (Fourth Round)
Honduras advanced on goal difference tiebreaker. Costa Rica moved to the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL intercontinental play-off.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, 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)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Oceania (OFC)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, Oceania (OFC), Final positions (Second Round)
New Zealand advanced to the AFC-OFC playoff, against Bahrain, the 5th-placed team of AFC.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, South America (CONMEBOL)
(10 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths; a playoff against CONCACAF determined which confederation filled the extra berth)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification processes, South America (CONMEBOL)
The CONMEBOL qualification process again featured 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 was 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 used nine 'double match days' (with two sets of matches held within a few days of each other). The top 4 teams qualified for the World Cup finals; the 5th-place team advancing to a playoff against the 4th-place CONCACAF team.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
There were two scheduled inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots to the finals. The matches were played in October and November 2009.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the order in which the matches were to be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
Controversy surrounded several of the final qualification matches in November 2009.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
In the second leg of the play-off between France and the Republic of Ireland, French captain Thierry Henry, unseen by the referee, twice illegally handled the ball in the lead up to the decisive goal, which saw France make the final 32 teams ahead of Ireland. The incident caused widespread debate on FIFA Fair Play, and how matches should be refereed at the highest level. The Football Association of Ireland requested a replay on grounds of fairness, but this was denied by FIFA under the Laws of the Game. A widely reported later request by Ireland to be included as an unprecedented 33rd World Cup entrant was later withdrawn by the FAI, and dismissed by the FAI as peripheral to their other more substantial petitions for change in world football made to FIFA.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
Costa Rica also complained over Uruguay's winning goal in the CONMEBOL–CONCACAF playoff.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
There was crowd trouble around two matches between Egypt and Algeria, with the Algerian team bus stoned before the first in Cairo, and reports of Egyptian fans ambushed after the second in Khartoum, Sudan. Local media made lurid reports, and diplomatic relations between the countries nosedived.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
In response to the incidents during qualification, and to a match fixing controversy, on 2 December 2009 FIFA called for an extraordinary general meeting of their executive committee. After the meeting, FIFA announced that they would be setting up an inquiry into technology and extra officials in the game, but they did not announce the widely expected move of fast-tracking the introduction of goal-line referee's assistants, already being trialled in the Europa League, and instead restated that the competition in South Africa would be officiated as before, with just one referee, two assistants, and a fourth official. On the subject of fair play, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification controversies
I appeal to all the players and coaches to observe this fair play. In 2010 we want to prove that football is more than just kicking a ball but has social and cultural value... So we ask the players 'please observe fair play' so they will be an example to the rest of the world.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the final tournament in South Africa, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify. This was the first time Timor-Leste competed in World Cup qualification and the first time Australia attempted to qualify for the World Cup as a member of the AFC, having moved from the Oceania Football Confederation at the start of 2006.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Asia's four automatic qualifying berths were taken by Australia, Japan and both North and South Korea. Bahrain failed to become a fifth Asian representative in the World Cup after losing their AFC/OFC playoff against New Zealand.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Seeding
The initial seeding (used in the draw for the first two rounds) was based on each team's performance during the qualification stage for the previous World Cup. The admission of Australia to the AFC complicated matters slightly (as they had not taken part in the previous AFC qualification cycle, but had progressed to the World Cup finals in Germany - and had advanced further than the AFC qualifiers).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Seeding
Initially, the AFC placed Australia as the first seed even though this contradicted the letter of the seeding - past practice (such as adopted by the AFC in the draw for the qualification to the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament) would have seeded Australia last.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Seeding
By the time of the main qualification draw in Durban (which included the AFC third round), the seeding had been adjusted to rank the top 5 AFC nations according to their performance in the World Cup Final Tournament (of 2006). This resulted in minor changes to the seeding at that point.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Seeding, Seeding for the first two rounds
Teams ranked 1–5 received a bye from the first two knockout rounds and are entered into the third round. Teams ranked 6–43 entered at the first round, with teams ranked from 6–24 drawn against teams ranked from 25–43. Of the first round winners, the eight lowest remaining seeds would go on to play in the second round. The other teams would receive a bye to the third round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
The official draw took place on 6 August 2007 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Teams from Pot A were randomly paired with a team from Pot B.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round
Of the nineteen teams that progressed from the first round, the eight lowest seeded teams by FIFA rankings were required to play in the second round (the other eleven teams received a bye to the third round). As with the first round the draw took place on 6 August 2007 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round
As the teams involved were not known at the time, the draw placed teams ranked 16-19 against teams ranked 12-15. The ties drawn were


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round
The top 5 seeds were joined by the eleven highest-ranked winners from the first round and the four second round winners.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Qualified teams
1 On 30 October 2007, the Kuwait Football Association was suspended from international football competitions by FIFA. On 9 November 2007, Kuwait was conditionally reinstated to international football competitions by FIFA.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Seeding
These 20 teams were drawn into five groups of four teams at the main group draw in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. The seeding for the main draw was the same for the first two rounds, with the exception that the five seeded nations (those that qualified for the 2006 finals) were ordered on the basis of results in the 2006 finals tournament. This saw Iran move from fifth to third, and Japan and Saudi Arabia ranked equal fourth.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Groups
The teams in each group played each other twice, once home and once away. The teams that finished first and second in their group qualified for the fourth round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Groups, Group 1
On 26 May 2008, FIFA decided to suspend Iraq from international competition, after the Iraq Football Association was disbanded by the government on 20 May 2008. The suspension was provisionally and conditionally lifted on 29 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Groups, Group 1
Qatar fielded the ineligible player Emerson in the 2–0 defeat of Iraq on 26 March 2008, prompting world governing body FIFA controversially to suspend the player but clear Qatar of any wrongdoing, in direct contradiction to its decisions against Singapore.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Groups, Group 1
Iraq appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it was rejected by the CAS, saying that Iraq submitted documents and the appeal fees too late.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
In the fourth round, the 10 remaining teams were drawn into 2 groups of 5 teams.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Seeding
The 10 qualifiers were drawn into two groups of five teams at the draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 June 2008. The seeding for the fourth round was based on that used in the third round draw, but Saudi Arabia and Japan (seeded equal 4th in that draw) were separated by a random selection held at the start of the fourth round draw.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Seeding
The top 6 ranked qualifiers were split into 3 pots of 2 teams, with the bottom 4 ranked nations grouped together in a separate pot. Each group was allocated 1 team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3, and 2 teams from Pot 4.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Groups
The teams in each group played each other twice, once home and once away. The top 2 teams in each group qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa. The third-placed teams met in a play-off to determine who would play the OFC winner, New Zealand, in a separate playoff for a spot in the Finals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fifth round
Teams finishing 3rd in the fourth round groups played each other to determine a possible 5th qualifier from Asia. The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fifth round
Bahrain advanced to the Asia-Oceania play-off on the away goals rule.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The Fifth Round winner then played the winner of the OFC qualifying group, New Zealand, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Qualified teams
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Goalscorers
There were 374 goals scored in 144 games, for an average of 2.60 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup AFC–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, New Zealand, and the fifth-placed team from the Asian qualifying tournament, Bahrain.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
The games were played on 10 October and 14 November 2009 in Riffa and Wellington, respectively. With New Zealand winning 1–0 on aggregate score in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 1982 tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
It was the second consecutive FIFA World Cup play-off Bahrain played, Bahrain lost 2–1 on aggregate to Trinidad and Tobago in their previous play-off.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
New Zealand took part in their first FIFA World Cup inter-confederation play-off after years of Australia appearing in the inter-confederation play-offs of 1986 vs Scotland, 1994 (1st play-off vs Canada and 2nd play-off vs Argentina), 1998 vs Iran, 2002 vs Uruguay, and 2006 vs Uruguay, and Israel appearing in 1990 against Colombia.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress. New Zealand won 1–0 on aggregate and a second consecutive appearance for an OFC team in the FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Aftermath
New Zealand qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa and were drawn into Group F with defending champions Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay. After drawing 1–1 with Slovakia in their opening match, New Zealand drew 1–1 with Italy, and in their final match, they also drew 0–0 with Paraguay; meaning they finished third in the group on three points. New Zealand's three draws meant that they were the only unbeaten team at the 2010 World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Aftermath
After the play-off, Bahrain qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. They went on to finish third in Group C; losing 2–1 to South Korea in their opening match, then beating India 5–2, before being eliminated from the competition after a 1–0 defeat to Australia.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) section of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw teams compete for five berths in the final tournament in South Africa. The qualification stage doubled as the qualification stage for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, with fifteen teams qualifying for the finals held in Angola.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
In total, 53 nations participated; however, due to the presence of the two tournaments' respective hosts, 52 teams were involved in each competition. South Africa qualified automatically as host for the World Cup, and Angola qualified as host for the African Cup of Nations. Both nevertheless competed in the qualifying phase to attempt to qualify for the other tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
This was the first time since 1934 that the hosts would compete in World Cup qualifiers. Angola's situation mirrored that of Egypt in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Africa, which doubled as the qualifiers to the 2006 African Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round
Five knockout ties were originally required, involving the ten lowest ranked African countries (based on FIFA rankings as of July 2007). The actual draw was apparently conducted one day before the format was announced by CAF. The pairings were:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round
São Tomé and Príncipe and the Central African Republic both withdrew in early September. As a result, Swaziland and Seychelles (the highest ranked of the ten nations) were no longer required to play in this round, and the teams they were originally matched against, Somalia and Djibouti, were redrawn to play each other instead. The tie between Djibouti and Somalia was played as a one leg tie in Djibouti, as Somalia was not deemed suitable for FIFA matches; the other two ties were played as two leg ties.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round
The 48 qualifiers (45 direct entrants plus 3 winners of the first round) were split into 12 groups of 4 in the draw held in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. Teams in each group played a home-and-away round-robin in 2008, with the 12 groups winners and 8 best runners-up advancing to the third round. As not all groups were of equal size after the exclusion of Ethiopia and the withdrawal of Eritrea, when ranking the runners-up, their results against their group's 4th placed team would not be counted.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
One team from each of the following pots were drawn into each group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Cameroon Nigeria Ivory Coast Morocco Ghana Tunisia Egypt Guinea Senegal Mali Angola Togo


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Zambia South Africa Cape Verde DR Congo Algeria Burkina Faso Benin Mozambique Libya Ethiopia Congo Zimbabwe


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Uganda Botswana Equatorial Guinea Tanzania Gabon Malawi Sudan Burundi Liberia Rwanda Eritrea Namibia


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Gambia Mauritania Kenya Chad Lesotho Mauritius Niger Swaziland Seychelles Sierra Leone Madagascar Djibouti


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 3
Note: Angola were automatically qualified as hosts of the 2010 African Cup of Nations. However, they were subject to the same rules as other nations for continuation to the next stage of the qualifiers. Failure to advance from this group eliminated them from the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 4
Note: South Africa were automatically qualified as hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, they were subject to the same rules as other nations for continuation to the next stage of the qualifiers. Failure to advance from this group eliminated them from the qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 7
On 19 March 2008, FIFA announced the immediate suspension of the Malagasy Football Federation (FMF). The suspension was lifted on 19 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 8
Ethiopia played four matches in this group, before FIFA announced the immediate suspension of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) on 29 July 2008. On 12 September 2008, FIFA excluded the EFF from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and the results of their matches were cancelled. While it was not clear if they were also explicitly excluded from the 2010 African Cup of Nations, their failure to complete the remaining fixtures effectively eliminated them from the tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 10
On 28 March 2008, FIFA announced the immediate suspension of the Chadian Football Federation. The suspension was lifted on 7 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 10
Chad was disqualified from the 2010 African Nations Cup qualifiers after failing to show up for their away match against Sudan, despite security guarantees. The match was subsequently rescheduled. Only matches between Mali, Sudan and Congo were taken into account for the qualification of the second round of the preliminaries of the African Cup of Nations. However, Chad was still able qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This could have led to complications if Chad had advanced to the next round or if Chad's exclusion the now alternate group standings had produced different group winners and impacted on the ranking of the second-placed side.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Group 11
Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers on 25 March 2008 and were not replaced.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Rankings of runners-up
Along with the 12 group winners, the 8 highest-ranked runners-up also advanced to the third round. Because not all groups contained an equal number of teams, only results against the first- and third-placed teams in each group counted.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round
The 20 remaining sides were split into five groups of four. The draw for the groups took place on 22 October 2008 in Zürich, Switzerland.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round
The five group winners qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and were joined by the group runners-up and third-placed teams in qualifying for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Teams were seeded based on their FIFA World Rankings in October 2008 (number in parentheses). One team from each of the following pots was drawn into each group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Cameroon (12) Egypt (22) Ghana (25) Nigeria (27) Ivory Coast (29)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Guinea (41) Morocco (43) Tunisia (47) Mali (53) Algeria (56)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Burkina Faso (63) Gabon (67) Zambia (70) Kenya (79) Benin (81)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Rwanda (87) Togo (91) Mozambique (100) Sudan (106) Malawi (109)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Qualified teams
The following six teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Goalscorers
There were 506 goals scored over 198 games, for an average of 2.54 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football) qualification stage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa consisted of 35 national teams competing for the three berths given automatically to CONCACAF by FIFA. The United States, Mexico and Honduras qualified. The fourth-place finisher, Costa Rica, played a two-game playoff with the CONMEBOL fifth-place finisher, Uruguay, for a possible fourth berth.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Format
The First and Second Rounds reduced the 35 entrants to 24 and 12 teams, respectively. The remaining 12 teams were then placed into three Third Round groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Fourth and final qualification group. The Third Round began in August 2008 and ended in November 2008. The top 3 teams from the Fourth Round group of 6 (held from February to October 2009) qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 4th place team competed in a home-and-away playoff against the 5th-place team from CONMEBOL.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Seeding
The draw took place on 25 November 2007 in Durban, South Africa and it determined the fixtures for the preliminary rounds. In addition, because second round winners are paired off for the third round, the top 13 seeds have been subdivided as follows:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Seeding
In the 2nd round, the 13 top-ranked CONCACAF teams from the May 2007 FIFA World Ranking joined 11 winners from the 1st Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
The 22 teams ranked 14 to 35 competed in the First Round. Teams ranked 14th–24th were randomly drawn against teams ranked 25th–35th. Teams played home and away against their opponents, except three ties: Puerto Rico–Dominican Republic, Grenada–U.S. Virgin Islands and Montserrat–Suriname, which were played over one leg in late March due to several Member Associations failing to meet the new FIFA Stadium standards and being unable to secure a home venue. The winners advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
3 Played as one leg due to a lack of acceptable grounds for FIFA competition.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
4 Played as one leg at Trinidad and Tobago because neither side are able to provide a suitable venue according to FIFA's guidelines.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
5 Played in the United States because Anguilla's stadium is not a suitable venue.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
In the Second Round, the 11 first round winners joined the 13 teams which received a bye to the Second Round. Teams ranked 1st–12th were randomly drawn against the unseeded teams (the 11 first round winners plus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which was ranked 13th). Teams played home and away against their opponents and the winners advanced to the next round. Matches took place in June 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
1 Saint Lucia moved their home leg to the United States.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
2 Belize moved their home leg to the United States.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round
The winners from the Second Round were placed into three groups of four teams, where they played a double round robin home and away schedule. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Fourth Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fourth round
The six teams that reached the fourth round formed one double-round-robin, home-and-away group nicknamed the "Hexagonal." The top three teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth place team qualified for a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fourth round
The allocation of teams in the draw took place in Johannesburg, South Africa on 22 November 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The 4th place team played the 5th place team from the CONMEBOL (South American Zone) Qualification in a home and away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas. The CONCACAF side played the first leg at home.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Qualified teams
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF–CONMEBOL qualification play-off were a series of two-legged home-and-away ties between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, Costa Rica, and the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament, Uruguay.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off)
The games were played on 14 and 18 November 2009. In the first leg, held in San José, Uruguay beat Costa Rica 1–0 in San José, while in the second leg played at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, both teams tied 1–1. Uruguay won the series 2–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2010 World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
It was the third consecutive FIFA World Cup play-off that Uruguay has participated in after 3–1 on aggregate win over Australia for Korea/Japan 2002 and losing to Australia 4–2 on penalties for Germany 2006.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, The Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw ten teams competing for places in the finals in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL. Matches were scheduled so that there were always two games within a week, which was aimed at minimizing player travel time, particularly for players who were based in Europe.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
The top four teams in the final standings qualified automatically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fifth-placed team met the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in a two-legged play-off for a place at the World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Standings
On 24 November 2008, FIFA suspended the Peruvian Football Federation from all international competition due to governmental interference in its operations. The suspension was lifted on 20 December 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Results
The round-by-round fixtures were same as the 2006 qualifying tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Inter-confederation play-offs
The team from fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round (Costa Rica) entered into a home and away play-off against the team which finished fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group (Uruguay). The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Goalscorers
There were 234 goals scored in 92 games, including three own goals, for an average of 2.54 goals per game (Costa Rica's single goal in the inter-confederation play-offs not included).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Notes
This was the first time that Argentina lost more than 2 or 4 matches and has not finished as leader (1st) or runner-up (2nd) of their qualifying group, during a FIFA World Cup qualification.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) selected New Zealand to compete in a two-legged home-and-away playoff against Bahrain, the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Oceania is the only confederation that does not have an automatic place in the finals.) Its final round was the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Consequently, New Zealand is also considered the OFC Nations Cup champion, and represented the OFC in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
This was the first OFC World Cup qualifying campaign since Australia's move from the OFC to the AFC.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
The first phase began at the 2007 Pacific Games in Samoa, with the football tournament doubling as an OFC World Cup qualifying competition. The gold, silver, and bronze medallists (New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, respectively) advanced to the second phase.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
The three medallists joined seeded side New Zealand in a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008, also acting as the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
There were some confusion as to how the final qualifier for the playoff against an AFC nation would be selected. The FIFA website initially indicated that the top two sides from the round robin would advance to a play-off which would determine the qualifier, but the OFC articles did not include this round (with the round-robin winner advancing automatically). Later FIFA articles confirmed that the round-robin winner would advance automatically.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round
The 2007 South Pacific Games held the first round. The draw was held on 12 June 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand. Tuvalu were not members of FIFA and so would have been unable to qualify for the World Cup had they proceeded to the OFC Nations Cup stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round
It was not even clear whether Tuvalu would be eligible to advance that far had they finished in a medal position, as the OFC press release for the second stage draw stated that "nine eligible member associations battle it out for the gold, silver and bronze medals that will hand them a berth in a Stage Two round robin home and away playoff with New Zealand" - implying one nation (Tuvalu) would not be eligible. This question was rendered moot, however, as Tuvalu finished last in their table.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round
Papua New Guinea, having initially entered the 2010 World Cup and indicated their intention to enter the South Pacific Games, were involved in a dispute with their sporting authorities and failed to meet the official accreditation deadline for the South Pacific Games. This meant they were effectively disqualified from the World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round, Knockout stage
The three medalists, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, advanced to the 2008 OFC Nations Cup (together with automatic qualifier New Zealand).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Second round
New Zealand qualified for the play-off with the AFC 5th-placed team, as well as the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The Oceania champion (New Zealand) played the 5th Place team from the Asian qualifiers, Bahrain, in a two-legged play-off; New Zealand beat Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Qualified teams
The following team from OFC qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Goalscorers
There were 150 goals scored over 38 games (including the intercontinental play-off), for an average of 3.95 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Seeding
The FIFA World Ranking used for seeding was the most recent at the time of the preliminary draw, namely the November 2007 edition. Initially scheduled for 21 November, the release date of the ranking was moved to 23 November to include the final match days of Euro 2008 qualification.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Seeding
Teams in bold eventually qualified for the final tournament, teams in bold italic qualified for the final tournament through the play-offs, and teams in italic participated in the play-offs but did not qualify for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Seeding, Draw
The draw for the group stage took place in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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 winners of play-off. The play-offs took place between the eight best runners-up among all nine groups. The ninth group runner-up did not qualify.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Second round, Seeding and draw
Ukraine (22) Republic of Ireland (34) Bosnia and Herzegovina (42) Slovenia (49)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualified teams
The following 13 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Goalscorers
There were 725 goals scored over 268 games by 399 different players, for an average of 2.71 goals per game. England were the highest scorers in the European section with 34 goals. Malta did not score any goals, but did score two own goals. The top scorer was Theofanis Gekas of Greece, who scored ten goals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)
For the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, there were two scheduled inter-confederation play-offs to determine the final two qualification spots to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The ties themselves were not drawn, but were allocated by FIFA as:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
This allocation allowed better start times of the matches than the previous one, because teams were now in closer time zones. The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, The Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, AFC v OFC
New Zealand won 1–0 on aggregate and qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, CONCACAF v CONMEBOL
Uruguay won 2–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Goalscorers
There were 4 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 1 goal per match.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fifth Round
The AFC Fifth Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was held on 5 and 9 September 2009 between the two teams that finished third in the fourth round. The order for the matches was decided by a random draw held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fifth Round
The winning team advanced to a play-off against the winner of the OFC qualifying group, New Zealand. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fifth Round
The winner switched twice during the stoppage time in the second leg: before the stoppage time, the score was tied by 1-1 and therefore Bahrain had an advantage by away goals rule. In the first minute of the stoppage time, Saudi Arabia pulled the advantage to themselves by Hamad Al-Montashari. However, this was reversed again by Bahraini Ismael Abdullatif in the third minute of the stoppage time and Bahrain progressed on away goals.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fifth Round, AFC Fifth Round play-off
2–2 on aggregate; Bahrain advanced on the away goals rule.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
This page provides the summaries of the AFC First Round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Format
In this round teams ranked from 6–24 were randomly drawn against teams ranked from 25 to 43, and the draw took place on 6 August 2007 in the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Teams ranked from 1–5 received a bye to the third round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Format
The matches were held between 8 October 2007 and 30 October 2007. The 11 highest ranked teams (according to the first round seeding) among the 19 winners advanced to the third round of the Asian qualifiers, while the eight remaining teams advanced to the second round in November 2007.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Iraq won 7 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Uzbekistan won 11 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Thailand won 13 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Qatar won 6 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
China PR won 11 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
2 – 2 on aggregate after extra time; Jordan won 6 – 5 on penalty kicks and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
United Arab Emirates won 6 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Bahrain won 4 – 1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Hong Kong won 11 – 3 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Syria won 5 – 1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Yemen won 3 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Tajikistan won 6 – 1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Korea DPR won 9 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Oman won 4 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Singapore won 7 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Lebanon won 6 – 3 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Turkmenistan won 5 – 1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Qualified teams
Among the 19 winners, top 11 winners advanced to the third round while the remaining 8 teams advanced to second round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The AFC Fourth Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 June 2008. The round commenced on 6 September 2008, and finished on 17 June 2009.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The top two countries in each group at the end of the stage qualified directly to the World Cup Finals in South Africa, with the two third-placed countries advancing to the AFC play-off.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Format
The 10 teams (2 teams from each group in the third round) were divided into four pots for the draw, three containing two teams and one containing four. The seeding for the fourth round was based on that used in the third round draw, but Saudi Arabia and Japan (seeded equal 4th in that draw) were separated by a random selection held at the start of the fourth round draw. The pots were as follows:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Format
The 10 teams were split into two groups of five teams each – each containing one team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3, as well as 2 teams from Pot 4.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Format
The top two teams in each group qualified for the World Cup Finals, with the two third-placed sides advancing to a playoff. All teams played home and away against each of the other four teams in the group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Goalscorers
As of 17 June, there have been 81 goals scored in 40 games, for an average of 2.03 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Notes
Several Iranian players started their away match against South Korea wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election. Most removed them at half-time. The newspaper Iran reported that Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hosein Kaebi, and Vahid Hashemian had received life bans from the Iranian FA for the gesture. However, the Iranian FA denied this claim in a response to FIFA's inquiry saying that "the comments in foreign media are nothing but lies and a mischievous act." The Iran national team head coach Afshin Ghotbi also confirmed that it was a rumour and Iranian FA "has not taken any official stand on this issue."


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round
This page provides the summaries of the AFC Second Round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Format
Among the 19 winners of the first round, the 11 highest ranked teams (according to the first round seeding) received a bye and advanced to the third round of the Asian qualifiers (along with the 5 teams directly seeded to the third round). The eight remaining first round winners played in this round. Those ranked 16–19 were randomly drawn against teams ranked from 12–15, and the draw (which allocated positions in the draw by seeding only) took place on 6 August 2007 in the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Matches
Turkmenistan won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Matches
Syria won 11–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Matches
Singapore won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Matches
Thailand won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Goalscorers
There were 22 goals scored in 8 games, for an average of 2.75 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Goalscorers
Players in bold advanced to the next round in qualifying.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The AFC Third Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw which was conducted in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007. The round began on 6 February 2008 and finished on 22 June 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The top two countries in each group at the end of the stage progressed to the fourth round, where the ten remaining teams will be divided into two groups of five.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
The 20 teams (five teams given a bye directly to the third round, 11 highest-ranked winners from the first round, and four winners from the second round) were divided into four pots for the draw, each containing five teams. The pots were drawn as follows:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
The 20 teams were split into five groups of four teams each – with all teams playing home and away against each of the other three teams in the group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
The top two teams in each group qualified for the fourth round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round
This page provides the summaries of the CAF First Round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2010 African Cup of Nations.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Format
Five knockout ties were originally required, involving the ten lowest ranked African countries (based on FIFA rankings as of July 2007). The actual draw was apparently conducted one day before the format was announced by CAF. The pairings were:


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Format
São Tomé and Príncipe and the Central African Republic both withdrew in early September. As a result, Swaziland and Seychelles (the highest ranked of the ten nations) were no longer required to play in this round, and the teams they were originally matched against, Somalia and Djibouti, were redrawn to play each other instead. The tie between Djibouti and Somalia was played as a one leg tie in Djibouti, as Somalia was not deemed suitable for FIFA matches; the other two ties were played as two leg ties.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Madagascar won 10 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Djibouti advanced to the Second Round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Djibouti, as Somalia was not deemed suitable for FIFA matches.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Sierra Leone won 1 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Goalscorers
There were 14 goals scored over 5 games, for an average of 2.80 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round
This page provides the summaries of the CAF second round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification  and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. The 48 qualifiers (45 direct entrants plus 3 winners of the first round) were split into 12 groups of four in the draw held in Durban, South Africa, on 25 November 2007. Teams in each group played a home-and-away round-robin in 2008, with the 12 groups winners and 8 best runners-up advancing to the third round. As not all groups were of equal size after the exclusion of Ethiopia and the withdrawal of Eritrea, when ranking the runners-up, their results against their group's 4th placed team would not be counted.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
One team from each of the following pots was drawn into each group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
Cameroon Nigeria Ivory Coast Morocco Ghana Tunisia Egypt Guinea Senegal Mali Angola Togo


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
Zambia South Africa Cape Verde DR Congo Algeria Burkina Faso Benin Mozambique Libya Ethiopia Congo Zimbabwe


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
Uganda Botswana Equatorial Guinea Tanzania Gabon Malawi Sudan Burundi Liberia Rwanda Eritrea Namibia


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
Gambia Mauritania Kenya Chad Lesotho Mauritius Niger Swaziland Seychelles Sierra Leone Madagascar Djibouti


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 6
Eight people, all young men, were crushed to death by crowds before this match outside the stadium.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 8
Ethiopia were excluded from the competition on 2008-09-12 due to FIFA's suspension of the Ethiopian Football Federation, and the results of their matches were annulled.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 11
Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers on 25 March 2008 and were not replaced.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Rankings of runners-up
Along with the 12 group winners, the 8 best runners-up also advanced to the third round. In determining the rankings of the runners-up, results against the fourth-placed team (for groups with 4 teams) would be excluded (and are hence excluded from the table below).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round
This page provides the summaries of the CAF Third Round matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. The 20 qualifiers (the 12 group winners and the best 8 runners-up from the second round) were split into five groups of four, in the draw held on 22 October 2008 in Zürich. Teams in each group will play a home-and-away round-robin in 2009, with the 5 groups winners advancing to the World Cup Finals in South Africa (together with hosts South Africa).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round
This round also doubles as the qualification stage for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, with the top three teams in each group qualifying for the finals (together with hosts Angola).


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Teams were seeded based on their FIFA World Rankings in October 2008 (number in parentheses). One team from each of the following pots was drawn into each group.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Cameroon (12) Egypt (22) Ghana (25) Nigeria (27) Ivory Coast (29)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Guinea (41) Morocco (43) Tunisia (47) Mali (53) Algeria (56)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Burkina Faso (63) Gabon (67) Zambia (70) Kenya (79) Benin (81)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Rwanda (87) Togo (91) Mozambique (100) Sudan (106) Malawi (109)


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Group C, Tiebreaking play-off
Alleged crowd violence at the playoff and the preceding match led to diplomatic tension between Egypt and Algeria.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Goalscorers
As of 15 November, there have been 134 goals scored over 60 games at an average of 2.23 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round
The first round of qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the CONCACAF section featured the 22 teams ranked 14 to 35 on the FIFA ranking for CONCACAF as of May 2007. The teams ranked 14th to 24th were randomly drawn against the teams ranked 25th to 35th. The draw took place on 25 November 2007 in Durban, South Africa. The top 13 CONCACAF teams received a bye and advanced directly to the second round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Format
In this round, there were 11 matches and the winners advanced to the second round. All games were played in home and away format, except three ties: Puerto Rico–Dominican Republic, Grenada–U.S. Virgin Islands and Montserrat–Suriname, which were played over one leg in late March due to several Member Associations failing to meet the new FIFA Stadium standards and being unable to secure a home venue.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Teams
Barbados  Turks and Caicos Islands  Saint Lucia  Bermuda  Cayman Islands  Aruba  Antigua and Barbuda


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Teams
Saint Kitts and Nevis  Bahamas  British Virgin Islands  Puerto Rico  Dominican Republic  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Teams
U.S. Virgin Islands  Montserrat  Suriname  El Salvador  Anguilla  Nicaragua  Netherlands Antilles


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 1, Group 1A
Barbados won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to play United States in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 1, Group 1B
Saint Lucia won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to play Guatemala in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 1, Group 1C
Bermuda won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to play Trinidad and Tobago in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 1, Group 1D
Antigua and Barbuda won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to play Cuba in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 2, Group 2A
Belize won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to play Mexico in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 2, Group 2B
3–3 on aggregate. Bahamas advanced on the away goals rule to play Jamaica in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 2, Group 2C
Puerto Rico advanced to play Honduras in the Second Round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Puerto Rico, as the Dominican Republic failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 2, Group 2D
No matches in this round. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were drawn to play Canada in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 3, Group 3A
Grenada advanced to play Costa Rica in the Second Round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Grenada, as the U.S. Virgin Islands failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 3, Group 3B
Suriname advanced to play Guyana in the Second Round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Trinidad and Tobago, because neither side were able to provide a suitable venue according to FIFA's guidelines.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 3, Group 3C
El Salvador won 16–0 on aggregate and advanced to play Panama in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Group 3, Group 3D
Netherlands Antilles won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to play Haiti in the Second Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Goalscorers
A total of 68 goals were scored over 19 games, for an average of 3.58 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round
This page provides the summaries of the CONCACAF Fourth Round, often referred to as "The Hexagonal" or "The Hex", matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. The three group winners and three runners-up from the Third Round contest this round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round, Format
In this round, the group winners and runners-up from the Third Round formed a single double-round-robin, home-and-away group. The top three teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth place team competed in a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round, Results
The allocation of teams in the draw took place in Johannesburg, South Africa on 22 November 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round, Goalscorers
88 goals were scored in 30 games, for an average of 2.93 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round
The second round of qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup from the CONCACAF section featured the 13 top-ranked CONCACAF teams in the FIFA World Rankings as of May 2007, along with the 11 winning teams from the First Round. The draw took place on 25 November 2007 in Durban, South Africa.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Format
In this round 12 of the remaining 24 teams would be eliminated. There were 12 ties and the winners advanced to the next round. All games were scheduled to be played in home and away format. Further organisation were involved in the draw, with the 12 ties grouped into three groups of four – each feeding into a separate Third Round group. Within each group of four ties, one tie included a team ranked 1-3, one included a team ranked 4-6 and two included teams ranked 7-12. The 13th ranked side (who received a bye in the first round), were ensured a tie against a team ranked 7-12. All other ties were against First Round Winners.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 1, Group 1A
United States won 9–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 1, Group 1B
Guatemala won 9–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 1, Group 1C
Trinidad and Tobago won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 1, Group 1D
Cuba won 8–3 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 2, Group 2A
Mexico won 9–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 2, Group 2B
Jamaica won 13–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 2, Group 2C
Honduras won 6–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 2, Group 2D
Canada won 7–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 3, Group 3A
Costa Rica won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 3, Group 3B
Suriname won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 3, Group 3C
El Salvador won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Group 3, Group 3D
Haiti won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Goalscorers
A total of 90 goals were scored over 24 games, for an average of 3.75 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round
The third round of qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup from the CONCACAF section featured the 12 winners from the Second Round. The draw took place on 25 November 2007 in Durban, South Africa.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round, Format
In this round, the winners from the Second Round were placed into three groups of four teams, determined by the draw. Here, they played a double round robin home and away schedule. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Fourth Round.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round, Goalscorers
A total of 103 goals were scored over 36 games, for an average of 2.86 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 1 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised 2006 fourth-place finishers Portugal, along with Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The group was won by Denmark, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Portugal entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1, Matches
The match schedule was determined on 6 January 2008 at a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1, Goalscorers
There were 62 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 2.06 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 2 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The group was won by Switzerland, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Greece entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2, Matches
The match schedule was established at a meeting in Israel on 8 January 2008. However, Greece and Latvia failed to come to an agreement on matches between themselves, and, since the match schedule was not finalised by 16 January 2008 deadline, FIFA conducted a random draw to determine the fixtures. The draw took place in Zagreb, Croatia at 16:00 CET on 30 January 2008, the eve of the XXXII Ordinary UEFA Congress.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2, Goalscorers
There were 86 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 2.86 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 3 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised the Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The group was won by Slovakia, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Slovenia entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3, Matches
The match schedule was determined at a meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia on 16 January 2008. The August 2009 date in the international match calendar was moved forward by one week, from 19 August to 12 August 2009, at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 27 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3, Goalscorers
There were 90 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 3 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 4 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised 2006 FIFA World Cup hosts Germany along with Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The group was won by Germany, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Russia entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4, Matches
The fixtures for the group were determined on 10 January 2008, after a meeting between representatives of each nation in Frankfurt, Germany. The August 2009 date in the international match calendar was moved forward by one week, from 19 August 2009 to 12 August 2009, at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 27 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4, Goalscorers
There were 74 goals scored over the 30 games, an average of 2.46 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 5 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised European champions Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The group was won by Spain, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup without dropping a single point in qualification. The runners-up Bosnia and Herzegovina entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5, Matches
A meeting was held in Barcelona, Spain on 8 January 2008 to determine the fixtures for Group 5. However, the Bosnian delegation arrived several hours late, and Spain and Turkey were unable to agree on scheduling. Since the fixtures were not finalised by 16 January 2008 deadline, FIFA conducted a random draw to determine the fixtures. The draw took place in Zagreb, Croatia at 16:00 CET on 30 January 2008, on the eve of the XXXII Ordinary UEFA Congress.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5, Goalscorers
There were 94 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 3.13 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 6 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The group was won by England, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Ukraine entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, Matches
The fixture list was determined on 14 January 2008 in Zagreb, Croatia. The August 2009 date in the international match calendar was moved forward by one week, from 19 August to 12 August 2009, at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 27 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, Goalscorers
There were 107 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 3.56 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 7 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria and Faroe Islands.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The group was won by Serbia, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up France entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7, Matches
The representatives of the six federations met in Vienna, Austria on 8 December 2007 to decide on a fixture calendar. The August 2009 date in the international match calendar was moved forward by one week, from 19 August to 12 August, at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting in May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7, Goalscorers
There were 81 goals scored during the 30 games, an average of 2.7 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 8 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised 2006 FIFA World Cup winner Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
The group was won by Italy, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up the Republic of Ireland entered the UEFA play-off stage.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8, Matches
The representatives of the six federations met in Sofia, Bulgaria on 15 January 2008 to decide on a fixture calendar.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8, Goalscorers
There were 77 goals scored during the 30 games, an average 2.56 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 9 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Iceland and Macedonia. This group had one team fewer than the other eight.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9
The group was won by the Netherlands, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup without dropping a single point in qualification. As runners-up, Norway were in contention for the UEFA play-off stage, but their record was the worst of all runners-up, and so they were eliminated.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9, Matches
The fixtures were decided at a meeting held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 14 December 2007. The August 2009 date in the international match calendar was moved forward by one week, from 19 August 2009 to 12 August 2009, at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 27 May 2008.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9, Goalscorers
There were 44 goals scored over 20 games, for an average of 2.2 goals per game.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The UEFA second round was contested by the best eight runners-up from the nine first round groups from the UEFA segment of the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in football. The winners of each of four home and away ties joined the group winners in the World Cup in South Africa. The matches, which are often referred to as 'play-offs', were played on 14 and 18 November 2009. The draw for the ties was held in Zürich on 19 October, with the teams drawn by South African player Steven Pienaar.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round, Qualification
The eight best runners-up from the UEFA First Round qualified for the play-offs. With one group having one team fewer than the others, matches against the sixth-placed team in the group are not included in this ranking.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round, Seeding and draw
In September 2009, FIFA announced that they would be seeding teams for the play-off draw. The eight eventual qualifiers were seeded according to the world rankings released on 16 October 2009. The top four teams were placed into one pot, with the bottom four teams placed into a second. A separate draw was conducted between each matchup to decide the host of the first leg.