2010 FIFA World Cup qualification the finals, with CONCACAF's fourth-place team facing CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and AFC's fifth-placed team facing the winner of the OFC. As the host nation, South Africa qualified automatically. As in 2006, the current cup holders – Italy – did not qualify automatically. 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: This is a change from 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, where results between
2006 FIFA World Cup squads of players employed by foreign clubs, and 22 out of the 23 players were registered in Europe. Although Turkey, Scotland, and Russia failed to qualify for the finals, their domestic leagues were represented by 12, 11, and 10 players respectively. In total, domestic leagues from 48 different countries had players at the 2006 World Cup. Finalised clubs' listing as per FIFA, excluding players on standby and loans. 2006 FIFA World Cup squads This article lists the confirmed national football squads for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Germany, between 9 June and 9 July 2006. Before announcing their