2010 FIFA World Cup qualification scored over 852 matches, scoring on average 2.74 per match. 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
2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA) The 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers for (UEFA) was the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification championship for Europe, held in May 2008, in Benidorm, Spain. Hosts Spain won the championship, with Portugal finishing second and Russia winning the third place play of to finish third, beating Italy who finished fourth. The four nations moved on to play in the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseille, France from July 17 - July 27. France qualified as the fifth European nation, being the hosts of the world cup.