The Iceman of the North Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 As of today only one team has managed to get themselves qualified, the hosts South Africa. But the qualification matches has already started. AFC - 4.5 spots The first two qualification rounds are already over, and of the 43 teams entering the contest, two have withdrawn (Bhutan and Guam), Palestine was eliminated through Israeli travel sanctions, and 16 teams have been knocked out of the competition during the first round. In the second round an additional 4 teams were knocked out. The draw in Durban on Sunday will place the 20 teams still in the competition in 5 groups of 4 teams. By September next year, these 20 teams will be halved and placed in two groups of 5 for the fourth round. A year later the top two teams of each group will be qualified, while two third placed teams will face off in a play-off for the honour of knocking New Zealand out of the competition and thus qualifying for the final tournament. CAF - 6 spots, 5 of these to be decided 52 teams entered for a change to get one of the 5 spots in addition to South Africa. In order to get match training, South Africa elected to take part in the qualification rounds, even if they are guaranteed a spot. Before the preliminary round of the bottom ten teams got started São Tomé & PrÃncipe and the Central African Republic withdrew. This meant that only 6 teams had to go through the preliminary round. 3 teams were eliminated, of these Somalia did not get a home match against Djibouti since someone for some reason didn't think Mogadishu was safe enough for football. The remaining 48 teams will be drawn in 12 groups of 4. The 12 group winners and the best 8 runner-ups will advance to the second round. I'm not quite sure how they will determine who the best runner-ups are. The 20 teams advancing for the second round will be split in 5 groups of 4. The 5 winners of each group will qualify for the finals in South Africa, the top three will also qualify for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola. If South Africa advance to this stage, the team will play in the relevant group and any points won will count towards the 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifiers but not those for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. If Angola advance to this stage then all teams in the group will automatically advance to 2010 African Cup of Nations. CONCACAF - 3.5 spots 35 have entered the competition. The bottom 22 teams will meet in the first preliminary knock out round. The 11 winners, and the 13 best teams have to go through a second preliminary round. The 12 teams that advance to the 'semifinal' rounds where they will be placed in 3 groups of 4 teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the final 6 team group. The top 3 teams in this final group will qualify for South Africa, while the fourth team will get the honour of being knocked out by some South American team. CONMEBOL - 4.5 spots With only 10 members there is one big group for all teams. The top 4 teams will qualify for South Africa, while the fifth position has to beat some North American team first. After four rounds Paraguay is leading ahead of minnows Argentina and Brazil. Colombia is currently in the last spot for automatically qualification, while Venezuela is in the fifth spot. But apart from the qualification of Argentina and Brazil, it's way too early to say anything about the final outcome. OFC - 0.5 spots 11 teams entered the competition. The first phase was the football tournament at the 2007 South Pacific Games in Samoa. Seeded side New Zealand did not have to take part of this, while Papua New Guinea was eliminated by not taking part of these games. The three medallists of the games, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu joined New Zealand in the round-robin play off Oceania Nation Cup. The top two teams will face each other in a two-match play-off round for the honour of claiming the title as Oceania Nation Cup Champion and the honour of being eliminated from the World Cup by the winner of the play-off between the third and fourth placed team in the Asian fourth round. UEFA - 13 spots On Sunday the 53 teams will be placed in 8 groups of 6 teams, and one of 5 teams. The winners of the 9 groups will qualify for South Africa, while the 8 best runner-ups will go through play-offs to decide the last 4 spots. Summary as of 22 November 2007 205 teams taking place in the competition 1 team qualified: South Africa 4 teams withdrawn: Bhutan, Central African Republic, Guam and São Tomé & PrÃncipe 2 teams eliminated through technicalities: Palestine and Papua New-Guinea 25 teams eliminated: Afghanistan, American Samoa, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Comoros, Cook Islands, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kyrgyzstan, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tahiti, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vietnam 173 teams still in the qualifying rounds Highest ranking eliminated team (according to the September 2007 FIFA Ranking): Solomon Islands (incidentally this is the highest ranking team in Oceania) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Highest ranking eliminated team (according to the September 2007 FIFA Ranking): Solomon Islands (incidentally this is the highest ranking team in Oceania) Well, they were second to Australia in the last WC qualifying round (yes, they beat New Zealand). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 UEFA - 13 spots On Sunday the 53 teams will be placed in 8 groups of 6 teams, and one of 5 teams. The winners of the 9 groups will qualify for South Africa, while the 8 best runner-ups will go through play-offs to decide the last 4 spots. Thanks Balder.. For the european draw, we got to wait for the fifa rankings to come out? they got to come out soon, there were lots of games and draw is this weekend.. there will be changes to ranking, but as it were the 8 europeans seeds would be: Italy (duh..) France Germany Spain Netherlands Portugal Czech Republic Croatia the teams which lost points on the hurry to please-no-let-you-be-seeded-for-2008 are Holland and Germany but they are too high up. Portugal probably did not lose enough points to drop to 9 or lower. and then depending on how many points, England Romania Scotland Greece perhaps Romania or Greece could be bumped up into the seeds, but who would fall out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 My traditional, I hate Jack Warner and how he was allowed to get away with all sorts of corrupt acts as CONCACAF president because he gave them a ridiculous 3.5 places. They should have given that half place to Europe. The worst 2nd place team from Europe gets eliminated without even a play off. That's going to be very harsh on them. It could be just because you are in a very hard group. Just looked at the old FIFA rankings. Ireland is 32nd, which sounds pretty good to be honest considering our form. But we are behind Guinea in 31st. What in the world has Guinea been doing. Can anyone name a Guinea player? Looks like we'll be 3rd seeds, which isn't so bad anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 My traditional, I hate Jack Warner and how he was allowed to get away with all sorts of corrupt acts as CONCACAF president because he gave them a ridiculous 3.5 places. I hear you. 3.5 teams! Mexico, USA, some other AND a playofff? geesh. They should have given that half place to Europe. The worst 2nd place team from Europe gets eliminated without even a play off. That's going to be very harsh on them. It could be just because you are in a very hard group. Or to Africa. Not on this campaign, but perhaps a little bit more than 5 places would be good. BTW regarding the poor worst 2nd european team, to make it fairer for the team in the smaller group, to determine the best 2nd place teams results against the 6th ranked team will not be considered. still, harsh. BTW what do you think of there being perhaps more half places? say concacaf got 3 places but that was 2 plus two play off spots with other continents - and I mean, give africa more chances. And not wanting to be heretical or anything but maybe 4.5 spots for 10 conmebol are a bit much, usually brasil just goes around doing as little as it can get away knowing it can qualify as being 4th out of 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Just looked at the old FIFA rankings. Ireland is 32nd, which sounds pretty good to be honest considering our form. But we are behind Guinea in 31st. What in the world has Guinea been doing. Can anyone name a Guinea player? I guess being Irish means that you might be able to name a couple of their players, but I'm surprised that you wouldn't know players like Pascal Feindouno, Dianbobo Balde and Fode Mansare. You really ought to take more note of the great African players.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Who Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I'm gutted to see Malaysia are knocked out before I even have a chance to realise that they have even started trying to qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I'm gutted to see Malaysia are knocked out before I even have a chance to realise that they have even started trying to qualify. T, Africa will have 6 places in the Finals themselves, which is one more than they had last time, so they are doing ok at least. Half of the teams from South American possibly qualifying is a bit silly, yet the teams from that area are at least competitive. What they should do is combine the Americas into one zone. Give them 7 spots and that would leave 1 spot free for somewhere else. The one good thing you can say about the current approach for Brazil is that it at least gets them to play a lot of home games. Otherwise they'd never play there. Pascal Feindouno, Dianbobo Balde and Fode Mansare St Etienne, Celtic and Toulouse. There you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 The rankings are out and are 1 Argentina Argentina 1523 0 Equal -10 2 Brazil Brazil 1502 0 Equal 43 which do not count ( and honestly, Argentina seems approachable to me by some team with the right conditions) then the 9 european seeds will be 3 Italy Italy 1498 0 Equal 111 4 Spain Spain 1349 2 Up 123 5 Germany Germany 1296 0 Equal 51 6 Czech Republic Czech Republic 1290 3 Up 116 7 France France 1243 -3 Down -28 8 Portugal Portugal 1241 0 Equal 38 9 Netherlands Netherlands 1170 -2 Down -37 10 Croatia Croatia 1129 0 Equal -26 11 Greece Greece 1114 3 Up 80 well done to Greece! they earned this one on their own Then the second pot has some interesting names 12 England England 1113 -1 Down -24 13 Romania Romania 1088 -1 Down 2 14 Scotland Scotland 990 -1 Down -59 16 Turkey Turkey 924 12 Up 153 18 Bulgaria Bulgaria 877 16 Up 160 22 Russia Russia 861 -6 Down -99 23 Poland Poland 855 -3 Down 18 24 Sweden Sweden 853 0 Equal 32 26 Israel Israel 852 11 Up 145 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Most recent FIFA ranking has Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Croatia and Greece as the 9 highest ranked European nations. England have dropped to twelve and will be in pot 2, together with the Romania, Scotland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Sweden and Israel. Ireland have dropped to 35th, but I don't think that has any effect on the seeding. ETA: Teresa beat to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Wolf Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Im pulling for Trinidad Tobago again. Watching their fans was as much fun as watching them play. YW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Who Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 It's a good thing South Africa are already qualified. I do like the idea of merging the Americas into one big yet more sensible qualifying competition (ie NOT round robin). Especially if it reduces CONMEBOL's allocation. There aren't enough good teams in the region to warrant the number of places they get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 I'm gutted to see Malaysia are knocked out before I even have a chance to realise that they have even started trying to qualify. Even worse that Papua New Guinea is out without even playing a match (or withdrawing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Can't have much complaints about the FIFA seeds. All the teams that topped the European qualifiers are top seeds, except for Romania, who didn't qualify for the last WC, so that makes sense. N Ireland pass us out again, which is deserved since they can draw with Denmark, while we can draw with only Wales. Argentina are top ranked, probably deserved but as T said (and Brazil proved very recently) very beatable. It's a good thing South Africa are already qualified. Its nice that they are taking part in the qualifiers anyhow. Give them some quality practice before the real thing. And see how good they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I do like the idea of merging the Americas into one big yet more sensible qualifying competition (ie NOT round robin). Especially if it reduces CONMEBOL's allocation. There aren't enough good teams in the region to warrant the number of places they get. Not a bad idea, logistically complicated and conmebol would not like it, but in all might be sensible. And if they are trying to launch club football in the USA ( all stories I hear about it make it sound so very strange) they would benefit in exposure for a chance to compete in the libertadores cup. Won´t happen though, see Pod´s comments about Warner .... BTW, considering this draw, I just got an niggling bad feeling that we will draw England, no, enough already. It´s not over sport reasons ( though they are IMO one of the best teams in pot 2 obviously) it´s just I can not handle english language media again. No. Please no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Its nice that they are taking part in the qualifiers anyhow. Give them some quality practice before the real thing. And see how good they are. This is also the qualification for the 2010 African Cup of nations in Angola. If they want to take part in that, they have to take part in the qualifiers. Of course it is a bonus that they'll get much better preparations for the World Cup than what is usual for hosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 BTW, considering this draw, I just got an niggling bad feeling that we will draw England, no, enough already. It´s not over sport reasons ( though they are IMO one of the best teams in pot 2 obviously) it´s just I can not handle english language media again. No. Please no. Heh, though if there ever was a time to play England withouth the English press getting to annoying, now would be it. This is also the qualification for the 2010 African Cup of nations in Angola. If they want to take part in that, they have to take part in the qualifiers. Of course it is a bonus that they'll get much better preparations for the World Cup than what is usual for hosts. Ah, I was wondering why they were even allowed to do that, seemed strange, so that's why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 What the fuck is this about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 What the fuck is this about? The real world, now get yourself back to your fantasy world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 What was that, an american complaining of the existance of the world cup? Inevitable law of internet, but geesh, first thread is not even 24 hours old, or 20 posts long. Save the trolling for 2009 at least... Heh, though if there ever was a time to play England withouth the English press getting to annoying, now would be it. I am still traumatized anyway. Too soon. Plus honestly, I really do believe this will be good for Engand, it will ( hopefully) put expectations down, which will allow confidence to grow when expectations are met, and they might get Capello after all. England with Capello ( or Scolari) against Portugal without Scolari ( yeah, he is going, been saying so for a while), me no like. But above all, yeah, it´s the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.